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Franz Swaty?

G'day all.
I have a Franz Swaty hone and I have a few questions about it. Im curious about its reputation (if any). It appears to be very fine, so a touch up hone perhaps? Although the translated description on the inside of the box it came in states that it will cut fast with good feedback. Also should it be used dry?
Any info would be much appreciated
Thanks

Shaun
 
The swaty is a very good stone. its what's known as a barbers hone and is designed as a touch up stone. You can use it dry or with water or with some shaving cream. They usually come with a designation like 3 line or 2 line.
 
^ What he said. I often finish hone on a Swaty. One of my top favorites. It's also harder to lap than many other barber hones, but well worth doing.
 
Thank you both.
A couple more questions!
Should i use the side with the engraving on it or the other "plain" side? I'm kind of assuming the plain side as it offers more surface area. Also, would 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper be ok to lapp it? I work in a glass factory so nice thick plate glass is no problem to come by.
 
It looks like you have some chips there. You want to be careful because they could damage your razor. I have the same hone and have never had to lap it though I really don't use it. I would use the other side if its in better shape.
 
All hones work more efficiently when lapped. I've always used diamond plates for lapping the harder barber hones. Thick plate glass should be flat enough to work well w wet/dry paper. Swatys are pretty hard and 325 grit or so will lap it faster. 600 or even 1200, once its flat, will smooth up the tactile feedback while honing. Remember to chamfer the edges after lapping.

The "logo" side might be ok (used cautiously), more so on the far long side edge which looks less chipped. As already stated, I would also prefer to use the back side if it is less chipped.
 
There is a lot argument about franz swaty.they have different grits and not all the same.
The stone which you are showing in picture do have 3 lines written but it is not actually 3 line franz swaty hone.
Actual 3 line franz swaty does act same as 4 k norton.
There is couple more 3 line swaty's out there american ,German etc.German 3 line swaty is the lowest girt one.
I do understand most of you will confuse with this post but i want you guys understand reality.i will post real 3 line swaty and 3 line written swaty+2 line written swaty.
 
U

Utopian

A "Swaty" hone that is labeled "The Swaty" is not a Swaty hone. The same is true for any hone that is labeled "Three Line." Both are clones of a Swaty made by one of the numerous companies that took advantage of the popularity of the Swaty hone by making hones that looked like them and sometimes even used the Swaty name on their labels.

Some of them are just as good as Swaty hones and some are not as good, but they are not Swaty hones.
 
A "Swaty" hone that is labeled "The Swaty" is not a Swaty hone. The same is true for any hone that is labeled "Three Line." Both are clones of a Swaty made by one of the numerous companies that took advantage of the popularity of the Swaty hone by making hones that looked like them and sometimes even used the Swaty name on their labels.

Some of them are just as good as Swaty hones and some are not as good, but they are not Swaty hones.


d'oh!

I just picked up two "Franz Swaty Three Line Razor Hone". ("Three Line" being the middle line.)

Thankfully I only paid like $7.50 for the pair. One has some bad pitting, the other seems ok.
 
I was going to buy a swaty online but I don't know much about them since I use my coticule and BBW for honing. If I were to get one, is the two line one that reads

"FRANZ SWATY
Marburg-Austria"

Any good? The one I saw was of a lightish brown color not grey or dark like ones I have seen before.

any info would be great.
 
Mine Says

Franz Swaty
Wahring Bei Wien
Austria

Since the last time I posted in this thread I have lapped the hone with 600 grit wet/dry, it was virtually flat to start with and have used it on 3 straights in various states of sharpness. It is a very fine stone and my sharpest razor was sharper, but just. The duller ones got 50 odd strokes each with very little improvement.
 
U

Utopian

I was going to buy a swaty online but I don't know much about them since I use my coticule and BBW for honing. If I were to get one, is the two line one that reads

"FRANZ SWATY
Marburg-Austria"

Any good? The one I saw was of a lightish brown color not grey or dark like ones I have seen before.

any info would be great.

Yes. It's good. That is a Swaty two line hone. See if you can figure out why!:rolleyes:
 
U

Utopian

Are you saying that the number of "lines" has nothing to do with the grit of the hone but how much detail was given on it's origin?

That is correct. I think the three line was made by the father and the two line by the son but I'm not certain that my recollection is correct. There is very little difference between the two line and the three line but most seem to believe the three line is better. In my experience, there is no discernible difference.
 
Can this stone be used as a strop before shaving, just to maintain a sharp edge a bit longer between professional sharpening?
thanks for your replies
Mario
 
Not as a strop, no.

A strop is a surface that is nonabrasive or so microscopically abrasive as to seem nonabrasive that the razor is run on spine first to dry, remove rust, apply oil, and realign the edge through plastic deformation. It is typically leather and linen or a similar fabric weave. Other substances can be used (some woods, newspaper, etc).

What a swaty can be used for is the occasional touchup of a few passes (edge leading) when stropping ceases to be sufficient to restore the razors edge. For this reason it is considered a "touch up" hone. And yes, this will allow you to continue to use the razor longer between having it professionally sharpened.

However, after using the swaty, the edge will not be anywhere near as sharp as it should be after a professional sharpening, as most professional sharpeners will have much better hones than the swaty; so it will be a bit of a compromise to use it.


The following is unrelated to your question:
Since this thread got bumped; I'll add that there are many, possibly dozens of swaty's. There are the original ones (Three and two lines stamped with two different european locations as their place of manufacture). Then there are Pikes three line (and possibly two), SRD's in the same. Then SRD's and American Hone Co "copies" which used their own forms, as well as other manufacturers.

What I've noticed is that the original european ones seem the finest, with the american ones being very, very divergent in speed, quality and fineness. The good ones (with their own molds) tend to be either slightly behind the European ones in both speed and grit, or (the ones still using the original molds but with pike/SRD boxes and labels) noticeably coarser but still consistent and far faster. Then there are others that are very, very coarse, very inconsistent in grit, or in other ways just generally bad.

Then there are dozens more, perhaps hundreds; of stones that are also red, single grit, quite smooth, the same dimensions, etc... basically swaty clones. They also vary quite a lot. Some are as fine or finer than Swaty's, but they vary a great deal.
 
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Would you recommend any stone such as a Naniwa 12K grit or any other as fine perhaps?
if not, I'll stick to stropping.
thanks a lot for your very informative answer.
best regards.
Mario
 
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