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Making a hone

It seems that hone making is a lost art to the common man. I was wondering if anyone here has "made" their own hone. From what little I can find on the subject, natural stones cut from different types of hard sandstone seem to be the best. Like the Arkansas blue stone for example. And the mass production way that old barber stones were made. Which they were made with powdered iron ore mixed and cooked like pottery.

Question # 1: This being said. My question is, Anyone know any recipes of how to mix and mold a hone? I think maybe a fine concrete mixed with chromium/iron/aluminum powder may work if done right?

Question # 2: Does anyone know anything on making a hone from natural stone?
 
Look for a recent thread called How do you Make Hones? I am looking into it myself, maybe we can team up.
Natural stones are just cut out of a rock (to the best of my knowledge).
 
True that. However, given our overall tendency for doing things the hard way (we're straight shavers after all), I think it's a legit question. Pretty hard core DIY, but interesting nonetheless ;)
 
Not that hardcore... shellac and abrasives are cheap compared to hones... Found some good recipes for them actually after some serious research involving books from the late 1800's and some current information on knife forging forums... I'm doing it either way lol
 
Not that hardcore... shellac and abrasives are cheap compared to hones... Found some good recipes for them actually after some serious research involving books from the late 1800's and some current information on knife forging forums... I'm doing it either way lol

I used to have one of those books to which you refer. So many sometimes toxic & dangerous work methods now nearly lost in time! Wish I could remember the relevant recipes. On the face of it, it's not rocket science. Abrasive with a binder. I've been considering trying it myself and looking at material availability. Oh... if boron nitride wasn't so expensive. Futzing around with unusual stuff can be entertaining!
 
This thread was meant towards people interested in hone making and any information on doing so wished to be shared. I already know of others who have made their own hones successfully. So please guys, lets keep the thread current. Where is the can do attitude anymore?
 
I think that if I was going to attempt making a hone, I'd start with some sort of pottery clay.. I'd load it up with some kind of abrasive and fire it in a kiln.
Since most abrasives can be used successfully on a simple substrate - I don't know that the resulting fired brick would really be all that useful.
Fun - yes, it sounds like fun to try and make one and if I had a kiln I'd probably be doing it right now... there is a pottery place around the corner though.. :0).
 
All synthetic hones are made with an adhesive (natural hones are cut from solid rock). Pottery is coated with an acrylic so water doesn't turn it to mush. And ceramic is fired clay at high temperatures.I know someone who made his with .5 chromium oxide and shellac (laquer/acrylic for wood). And its a beautiful finishing stone. He said it took him a few tries to get the ratio right. Hopefully I can get my supply's sometime this weekend!
 
Man... "it cant be done" ...lol.

Didn't I see that in another thread... ? Seriously, the Belgians and Japanese seem to have a corner on the coticule markets since they supposedly have the best native stones to work with. The best natural stones supposedly come from certain schists - I am not an expert, I just read the Wikipedia article.

So I guess my question to you is - Are you trying to make a synthetic stone like Norton? Or are you thinking of carving a coticule out of your local native rock?
 
All synthetic hones are made with an adhesive (natural hones are cut from solid rock). Pottery is coated with an acrylic so water doesn't turn it to mush. And ceramic is fired clay at high temperatures.I know someone who made his with .5 chromium oxide and shellac (laquer/acrylic for wood). And its a beautiful finishing stone. He said it took him a few tries to get the ratio right. Hopefully I can get my supply's sometime this weekend!

Now that is interesting to know. I finally found what seems to be a source locally for Linde A polishing compound, which is .3um AlO. I'll probably try suspending that in polyurethane for a cheap first try. If that brings any sort of success, it may be worth looking into some very fine form of terra cotta mix as a matrix. On the face of it, the Swaty type hones have an appearance that suggest it. Having trouble finding a good material in tha 1+um range tho. It's just hard to find locally.

It isn't like this hasn't been done before, but it sure is interesting to see it replicated.
 
Now that is interesting to know. I finally found what seems to be a source locally for Linde A polishing compound, which is .3um AlO. I'll probably try suspending that in polyurethane for a cheap first try. If that brings any sort of success, it may be worth looking into some very fine form of terra cotta mix as a matrix. On the face of it, the Swaty type hones have an appearance that suggest it. Having trouble finding a good material in tha 1+um range tho. It's just hard to find locally.

It isn't like this hasn't been done before, but it sure is interesting to see it replicated.

Check out THIS THREAD, post 31. Lots of fine abrasives in the form of pigments. You can also find white aluminum oxide online in a variety of micron sizes... 0.05, 0.3, 1, 3, 5, 9, 12, etc. I have no idea on cost, since I haven't really contacted anyone to see how much they would cost.
For a 0.3 micron hone to work, you will have to really max out your finishing stone, and go straight to this hone (or use another finer yet hone, but no stropping on 0.5 CrOx, rounding the edge...). I would enjoy trying one out, that's for sure (one reason why I would like to make one)!
 
Check out THIS THREAD, post 31. Lots of fine abrasives in the form of pigments. You can also find white aluminum oxide online in a variety of micron sizes... 0.05, 0.3, 1, 3, 5, 9, 12, etc. I have no idea on cost, since I haven't really contacted anyone to see how much they would cost.
For a 0.3 micron hone to work, you will have to really max out your finishing stone, and go straight to this hone (or use another finer yet hone, but no stropping on 0.5 CrOx, rounding the edge...). I would enjoy trying one out, that's for sure (one reason why I would like to make one)!

Oh yeah, pigments are a likely source, but I haven't found a good source locally. That's a part of the challenge. I live in a large metro area and pretty much anything I want should be available. It adds an interesting snipe hunt aspect and I get to see the inside of places I wouldn't see otherwise. Lapidary suppliers tend to have a fair amount of fine abrasives, but also tend to push diamonds pretty hard. That can get pricey for what is basically a simple low tech experiment.

And yeah, Linde A will probably be the edge of practicality. I'm still on the hunt for materials leading up to it. And by all means, if I make it work, I'll make at least one extra for you or whoever dares to try it.
 
Oh yeah, I forgot! You like to home-brew where you can... In the post I linked to above, there is a 3 micron paste that you may be able to get at a wood working supply store. You can look into the corundum that is linked, and you may be able to get that locally. Info on this type of pigment (to add sparkle as I understand):
For the last few centuries Japanese painting technique has made use of a new quality of pigments for watercolor painting and woodblock printing. This particular technique is called Enogu, for which pigments are made in exactly specified particle sizes - the particles are basically all the same size and shape. Colors of a unique particle size appear more brilliant. The sizes are given with the numbers: no. 8 = 50 µ, no. 10 = 27 µ, no. 12 = 14 µ, no. 14 = 5 µ.
If you were able to get corundum and that paste, you would have a good setup all the way to 3 micron. The corundum is expensive for my taste, and the 3 micron only comes in the paste (that I found). I have been driven to looking online, but I do appreciate your quest!

And, yes, if your hones turn out good (and don't break the bank) I would really like to try one. I am thinking for a 0.3 micron hone that the Chromium Oxide linked above would be the way I go. It costs less than the 0.3 micron Aluminum Oxide I have been able to find, it gives a nice smooth edge on a pasted balsa strop, and would add a touch of green to my hone collection!
 
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