Oil stone book recommendations sought

[Mr_P]

Hi all,

Think a few members on here have this taths publication

Natural 19th and Early 20th Century Sharpening Stones and Hones

by Brian Read and Doug Morgan

http://www.taths.org.uk/special-publications.htm

at £11 it looks like a no-brainer but do I have any other options ?

I just want an idiots guide to identifying oil stones with lots of pictures.

Thanks in advance,
Carl

 

[AndyT]

It's a good book and you might as well get it - I don't know of any equivalent - but it's not quite a spotter's guide. It does illustrate a lot of stones - all the ones that the authors had collected - but there are more types that they did not have specimens of.
Also, just looking at a stone and trying to say what it is is about as hard as looking at a board and saying what tree it came from. Appearance does narrow down the possibilities in both cases but is rarely enough to be definitive. And just as a botanist reaches for a microscope to look at timber cell structure, a mineralogist relies on a microscope too. That can be interesting, but is less help if you don't have a scanning electron microscope yourself!

 

[Mr_P]

Thanks Andy,

Just dug out my old security pass for the local semi-conductor plant where I used to dabble in sweet F.A (failure analysis) but realised even if I could blag my way past security and manage to fire up the electron microscope it wouldn't do me any good without photo's/samples of identified stones.

On a serious note, are these any good for £13, 500x microscope ?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-500X-8LED- ... 2a3c7a1bf9

but I would still have the same problem without an identified sample for comparison.

 

[bridger]

Thanks Andy,

Just dug out my old security pass for the local semi-conductor plant where I used to dabble in sweet F.A (failure analysis) but realised even if I could blag my way past security and manage to fire up the electron microscope it wouldn't do me any good without photo's/samples of identified stones.

On a serious note, are these any good for £13, 500x microscope ?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-500X-8LED- ... 2a3c7a1bf9

but I would still have the same problem without an identified sample for comparison.

I have a unit that looks identical. They come with a variety of options of resolution etc in the same case, so not sure mine is the same as yours, but mine is mid-range and really amazingly good for the ridiculously low price.

 

[AndyT]

I've no idea but there are lots of YouTube videos demonstrating that or very similar models and I'm tempted to get one!

 

[bugbear]

I've no idea but there are lots of YouTube videos demonstrating that or very similar models and I'm tempted to get one!

Most of the Brent Beach/Steve Elliott images were taken using these. Very informative.

BugBear

 

[bugbear]

I've no idea but there are lots of YouTube videos demonstrating that or very similar models and I'm tempted to get one!

Most of the Brent Beach/Steve Elliott images were taken using these. Very informative.

BugBear

Steve Elliot seriously pimped his;

https://web.archive.org/web/20090612084 ... scope.html

BugBear

 

[jimi43]

Natural 19th and Early 20th Century Sharpening Stones and Hones is well worth the money...no...let's rephrase that...it's a steal! :wink:

It's a tad scientific...and a bit haphazard but a great book to take a stab at what you may find out there secondhand.

There are some fairly classic ones which you can recognise from a hundred yards on a foggy night in November but there are others which will elude even the most seasoned hone hunters without scientific analysis or better still...a little sticker on them....which kinda helps.

Oh...and if it looks like a giant rhubarb and custard sweet (showing age Jim!)...buy it!

Jimi

 

[Harbo]

M&S sell those Jimi - sweets that is!

Rod

 

[bridger]

I have a unit that looks identical. They come with a variety of options of resolution etc in the same case, so not sure mine is the same as yours, but mine is mid-range and really amazingly good for the ridiculously low price.

here's an image from mine:

a straight razor being restored from pretty bad condition, with a hair. the edge of straights is thin enough that a small rust pit near the edge goes right through.

 

[Mr_P]

Thanks Bridger,

Any good with chisel/ plane iron logo's ?

Think that might be the clincher, I did see a video with a coin and it looked promising.

 

[bugbear]

Any good with chisel/ plane iron logo's ?

Think that might be the clincher

I believe resolving those is more about lighting than magnification. A logo is easily big enough not to need a microscope.

post795656.html?hilit=worn#p795656

BugBear

 

[bridger]

Any good with chisel/ plane iron logo's ?

Think that might be the clincher

I believe resolving those is more about lighting than magnification. A logo is easily big enough not to need a microscope.

post795656.html?hilit=worn#p795656

BugBear

the scope might be useful for distinguishing between a stamped or etched mark and a rust pit, but for the most part I think that BugBear is right about strong oblique lighting being the useful tool