Carborundum Aloxite #79 Barber Hone
This was one of two barber hones that the Carborundum company made specifically for ‘professional’ use. This stone was sold under the Aloxite brand as the ‘dry razor hone’. The included rubber stone seems to be a piece of Carborundum stone, similar to the 106 and 118s hones.
The directions printed on the inside of the lid say to use the stone dry and to clean it with the rubber while it’s submerged in clear water. This is a very soft stone – lapping it goes very quickly.
When used, this stone is fast – very fast; faster than the other Carborundum hones and most likely faster than most barber hones. The resulting edges are very sharp and lots of stropping afterwards is highly recommended. This stone cuts so fast that, even with a light touch, 4-5 x-strokes will bring up a failing edge.
This particular example had two large chips on the end. Lapping them out would mean ruining the label so I angled that end to keep the chips from causing problems down the road. Both sides of the stone are lapped and useable. Originally, the rubber was completely clogged with stone/steel swarf, and it’s been lapped clean and ready for use again.
The #79 stone was comparatively expensive - in the 1940s, it sold for twice the price of the other hones @ $2.50, and extra rubber stones were $0.25 each.
Approx. Dimensions: 4.0 x 2.0 x 0.75” / 102 x 51 x 19 mm
Weight: 7.8 oz / 220 g