Yes you guessed it, yet another mystery hone!

[jpcwon]

So a friend of mine sent me a hone to play with, and I can't figure out what it is.. It kinda looks like a coticule with the slate backing, but it's definitely not like any coticule I've ever had (and I've had more than a few). What I did was I dulled a razor on glass, and raised a milky slurry with it (the slurry looks kind of like coticule slurry but does not behave like it). I then did circles & x strokes until I could shave arm hair again. A few observations:

-the stone seems to be on the soft side and is porous. (It absorbs water, coticules do not).
-It's definitely not the fastest stone on the block....It took me a while to bring the razor back to shaving arm hair.
-it has unique smooth feedback not unlike a Thuri, but definitely NOT a coticule....
-Seems like it could be a finisher. It feels like it'd be around the 8-10k mark IMO....(could be wrong there)....it feels very fine...
-I don't have any experience with novaculite, but could this possibly be a piece of that?
-I like it!!

The stone is very pleasant to hone on and it's my belief that it was made for razors (based on size & feedback)....what i'd like to do is hone a razor up on coticule then finish with the mystery stone...I'd be curious to see what the edge feels like... Now I cannot tell if it's a manmade hone or not. Kinda seems like if it were manmade it would be more uniform looking. You can kind of see there's a dark swirl pattern in the stone down by the bottom. This does not seem to affect honing. Any ideas on what this guy could be?? Thanks in advance for any input you may have!!

Here are a few pics:

 

[Gamma]

Are you positive it's a natural stone?

Reason I ask -
My Grandfathers B-hone was coti-esque, had a similar base and a splotch pattern on top like that.

 

[jpcwon]

Not sure Gamma...very well could be manmade....I just figured a manmade hone would look more uniform but I could be wrong...

 

[Steve56]

+1 Gamma,

If it's vintage and absorbs water, it's likely not an Arkansas since they are typically oil stones.

Fascinating stone, thanks for posting.

Cheers, Steve

 

[jpcwon]

+1 Gamma,

If it's vintage and absorbs water, it's likely not an Arkansas since they are typically oil stones.

Fascinating stone, thanks for posting.

Cheers, Steve

Hey no prob! Yeah I don't know why "novaculite" popped into my head, but I can definitely tell it's not an Ark! I am somewhat stumped TBH....I don't know that much about barbers hones & the like, so maybe it's some variation of something more common? Not sure...

 

[Gamma]

I'm pretty sure there are ways to tell if it's synthetic.

 

[gumbo]

It's not a binder and coti-dust hone?

Maybe some other man-made with a chalky base like a thuri?​It's cool, whatever it is!

 

[jpcwon]

It's not a binder and coti-dust hone?

Maybe some other man-made with a chalky base like a thuri?​It's cool, whatever it is!

That was my initial thought, but then I used it & nothing about it performs like a coticule....hmmm....

I left out what may be an important detail: It gives off an earthy smell when wet which led me to suspect natural, but the rounded corners makes it look like a man-made stone....I am not the best at determining this, hence my thread!!

 

[Brooksie967]

Could be one of the "synthetic coticules". Do the acid test.

 

[David]

Hey guys, first post here. Im new to honing and Jp was nice enough to take this hone and try and figure out what it is. Jp, not sure if I told you this but I put a drop of CLR on it and it did indeed fizz and bubble. So would that mean that it's synthetic?
David

 

[Brooksie967]

Fizz and bubble equals synthetic yes.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Fizz and bubbles mean there is Lime in it. Many natural stones have lime in them.

In this case however, I'd say that stone does look pretty much exactly like a reconstituted coticule (except smoother, they tend to look a bit grainy from the ones I've seen). And I've heard that, for whatever reason, they are not able to do low grit work in the way mined coticules can. My guess is they are just super-low in garnet concentration.

I'm unaware of any natural stone other than a coticule that could be. So if you're certain it's not a coticule, I'd say it's pretty much a certainty it's synth. And my best guess for which synth would be one of the reconstituted coticules.

And honestly, that dark swirl doesn't look like anything I've seen on a natural stone. My first guess would be a stain. My second guess would be some crap that got in the mix of a synthetic hone when it was being made.

 

[jpcwon]

Very interesting guys, thanks for the replies!

I am still not sure what this could be. I mean the closest thing it looks like is a coticule, but it doesn't really behave like one. I am going to go out on a limb and say that it is some sort of synth. Ian's suspicion of somthing getting caught up in the mix to form that swirl sounds like a distict possibility..... And I guess a recon'd coticule would be porous since it was made of coticule dust, right?

The slurry does look like coticule slurry though, so maybe it is a reconstituted coticule.... Either way it's a very interesting stone for sure...I am going to hone a blade on coticule this weekend and finish on the mystery hone. I will let you all know how the edge turns out!

 

[ADRSPACH]

Tray to contact Hatzicho in Germany. He has a decent collection of those manmade Cotis. perhaps he can be more help.

 

[life2short1971]

I know what it is. Its a synthetic JP. I have seen many of them and they all look the same. They do make an excellent finisher once smoothed out so its still a good hone to have.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Jp?

 

[life2short1971]

JP as in the name of the thread starter.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Ahh, I read it as a "Synthetic JP".

 

[life2short1971]

My apologies for not being more clear Ian.

 

[jpcwon]

Thanks, Scott (and everyone) for the input. I shaved with an edge off of this stone and it was a very pleasant experience. I actually really liked the edge! I will continue to play around with the stone. As of right now, I will just conclude that it's some sort of synth, not unlike a barber's hone...