Carborundum Brand Razor Stones
Carborundum was the name given to silicon carbide, also known as SiC, by Edward Goodrich Acheson. He founded the Carborundum Company and moved it to Niagra Falls NY in 1895 and they were in business until the early 1980s.
The Carborundum Company manufactured SiC powder, and they also produced sharpening stones and wheels. Among the sharpening stones they offered, a small number of them were intended for sharpening razors. These stones were always labeled as ‘Razor Hones’. If the box for a Carborundum stone does not say ‘Razor Hone’ – it was not intended for use with razors.
The #101-103 razor hones were filled with an unknown lubricant at the factory. It’s possible that these stones were ‘filled’ with petroleum jelly; instruction sheets from ‘unfilled’ stones suggested that doing so would ‘tame’ the cutting action.
It’s possible that this is why the 115s, 118s, 106 and 104 stones seem to be coarser, but it does not explain why they seem softer.
A few of the razor hone came with directions to ‘fill’ the stone with soap by placing hot lather on top of it and letting it soak in while it cools. The instructions go on to say that using hot water on the stone will bring up the slick soap for honing. I can see how soap impregnated into the stone ‘might’ make the stone seem ‘harder’.
The following list of Carborundum Razor Hones is not 100% complete. Eventually, I hope to find info for the following stones; 103A, 103/C, 103G, 45, 124, 159, 180.
The information that follows is culled from Carborundum catalogs, and my own personal experience with these stones.
Note - a couple of these hones are made from aluminum oxide.
The Carborundum Razor Hones
Unknown # - Single grit SIC stone There is no number on box or stone. The box is black, hinged, and heavily printed. I’ve seen several sizes of this stone; 4.0" x 0.9 x 0.5", 4.0 x 1.5 x 0.5, 4.25 x 1.25 x 0.5”, 4.0 x 2.0 x 0.5” .
45 – An Aloxite hone for re-sharpening double-edge safety razor blades. One side features a concave surface for honing the flexible DE blades on.
67 – This is not a hone, it is a foil-wrapped stick of razor strop dressing made from SIC and wax.
79 -This razor hone was to be used by professional barbers; it was called the Dry Barber Hone and sold under the ‘Aloxite’ brand name. This single grit aluminum oxide stone was sold with what appears to be a fine-grit carborundum rubber stone.
The advertising claim was that it had “the same texture’ as a ‘Belgian Hone’.
The directions say to use this hone dry, and to use the rubber to clean the hone’s working surface; this maintenance was to be done with the hone submerged in clear water. In one 1940s catalog, the #201 combination stone sold for $1.50, and the #79 was priced at $2.50; extra rubbers were $0.25.
Dimensions: 4.0 x 2.0 x 0.7”
101 – This single grit SIC stone seems to be comparable to a 6-8k JIS stone.
Dimensions: 5.0 x 1.5 x 0.5
101A – This single grit SIC stone was impregnated with a lubricant at the factory. The grit is fine, seemingly identical to the #101 stone.
Dimensions: 5.0 x 2.0 x 0.5”
102 - This single grit SIC stone was impregnated with a lubricant at the factory. The grit is fine, seemingly identical to the #101 stone.
Dimensions: 4.0 x 1.5 x 0.5"
103 – This single grit SIC stone was impregnated with a lubricant at the factory..
Dimensions: 4.0 x 2.0 x 0.4”
103A/103C/103G – These are single grit SIC stones that are the same size as the non-suffixed #103. I have not found any data on these variants; I suspect they were ‘filled’ with different lubricants.
104 - This single grit SIC stone was sold ‘unfilled’; the instructions suggested that it could be used with oil, lather or dry. The 104 seems to be a bit softer than the #101 stone, although there’s no mention of this in the manufacturer’s literature.
Dimensions: 3.0 x 2.0 x 0.6”
105 - “Professional Razor Hone’ - This single grit SIC stone is an extra long version of the 100-103 stones.
Dimensions: 8.0 x 2.0”
106 – This single grit SIC stone was sold unfilled; the instructions suggested that it could be used with oil, lather or dry. These seem to be softer and not as fine as the #101 stone, although the manufacturer makes no mention of that in their literature.
Dimensions: 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.5"
115s – This single grit SIC stone was sold unfilled; the instructions suggested that it could be used with oil, lather or dry. The 115s seems to be identical to the #118s but larger, and it also seems to be softer and not as fine as the #101 stone, although the manufacturer makes no mention of this in their literature.
Dimensions: 4.0 x 2.0 x 1.0”
118s This single grit SIC stone was sold unfilled; the instructions suggested that it could be used with oil, lather or dry. The 118s seems to be identical to the 115s, but thicker. Like the 115s, it seems softer and not as fine as the lower-numbered stones although the manufacturer makes no mention of that in their literature.
Dimensions: 4.0 x 2.0 x .75
152 – This two sided SIC stone features a coarse side and a fine side.
Dimensions: 5.0 x 2.0 x 0.6”
200 – This is a single grit aluminum oxide ceramic-type barber hone. Manufacturer’s data says it’s slower than the SIC stones, and that it produced a finer edge.
Dimensions: 5.0 x 2.5 x 0.5”
201 – This dual grit SIC/aluminum oxide stone features two ‘fine’ sides that can be used wet or dry. When the SIC side is used dry, the instructions say to finish on the Aloxite side. When used wet, it says to try both sides to see which is best.
Dimensions: 4.0 x 1.9 x 0.6”