Barber's Hone (Franz Swaty)

I just recently got a barber's hone (a dark brown, almost blackish stone)
with the name "Franz Swaty" engraved in it. (it mentions Austria as well.)

How do I use this?
What angle to I sharpen at?
I assume I strop afterwards...
How do I know the stone is ready to use?
Is there a way to clean the stone, specifically?
Sweet God... what have I done, straight razor world?!

They are usually used with lather, a typical barber hone touchup is only 5-10 strokes.
You hone at the angle set by your razor, blade and spine have to touch the stone, always.
Stropping is key.
You need to lap it flat , assuming it isn't. 300-400 grit wet/dry sandpaper on a true flat stone tile or glass will do the trick.

Lapping a swatty is a PITA. Don't bother unless there is damage on the surface. They are very hard so unlikely to dish.

Hold the stone in the palm of your open hand, put water or a thin lather on it, and hone with the razor flat and very light pressure, in an X pattern. This might help.





If you need to clean it try powdered kitchen cleaner like Ajax or Jif.

These stones are for touching up a already honed razor when it starts to pull. They are not really for honing a blunt ebay razor, or anything like that.

Along those lines, and admittedly hijacking but it seems to fit here, does a barbers hone count as a "finishing hone"? That is, does it make sense to use one after my norton 8k? The crox is just really messy... I suppose I could just try it....

Depending on the barber hone, a lot of them are around 8k. I find the edge off CrOx finer and smoother. They are considered a finishing hone, but these days there are nicer options, IMO.

legion said:

Lapping a swatty is a PITA. Don't bother unless there is damage on the surface. They are very hard so unlikely to dish.

Click to expand...

Very true. I finally just chamfered the good edges on mine, and angled the edges that had been chipped so a blade won't contact those chipped areas. Wet sanding with 220-paper (followed by 320-grit) accelerated the process, but be extra careful with that one.

+1 on the chromium oxide after honing with your Swaty.