Boxed Carborundum 103 Razor Hone
This is a Carborundum 103 Razor hone, the box is labeled and marked as such. It’s important to make sure that any Carborundum to be used with a straight razor says ‘Razor Hone’ on the box or label – otherwise it was not intended for use with straight razors. The hones dedicated for use as barber hones were much finer and very consistent.
These are fast stones – 4-8 passes will bring a failing edge back into the shave. A lot of stropping after the touch-up and before the shave is highly recommended. Too many passes can bring up a wire edge, so care must be taken to limit the stroke count. 3-6 passes is usually enough to get the job done well.
These hones can be used dry, or wet. I prefer to put lather or a soap/water mix on them though. The extra cushion does help and it also seems to allow more passes.
There were many Carborundum razor hones – the 100, 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105 all seem to be identical – the only difference being the size and possibly the years they were made. This 103 does not have its original side-label, but the box is present and it’s in very solid condition.
I think barber hones are nice to have around, they look cool and work great. They’re simple inexpensive maintenance hones; great for travel and keeping in the shave den for a quick tune up.
I don’t think it’s possible to assign a ‘grit’ to any of these stones – they’re too fast and they weren’t intended to be used as a ‘finisher’ stone. Even so – I feel that these Carborundum stones bring up an edge that’s a bit higher than what you might get off an 8k water-stone. That sensation is purely subjective on my part. While many might say these hones are even finer than that, there are probably those that will say they are not that fine. What I can say for certainty is that I’ve used them when traveling and they get me a shaving edge on a razor that’s tugging.
To me – that alone is worth the price of admission.
Approx. Dimensions: 4.0 x 2.0 x 0.4” / 102 x 51 x 11
Weight: 4.0 oz / 115 g