At Bakers Travertine Power Clean, we always want to make sure you are armed with all the correct information on what services & processes you need for your natural stone flooring. Many natural stone cleaning companies reference “Honing” as one of their services or processes to bring your stone back to life.
So, what is Honing anyway?
Merriam Webster defines Honing as:
- to sharpen with or as if with a fine abrasive stone
- whetting edge tools
- for sharpening knives, blades, etc.
Now you’re probably asking, “Now what does that have to do with my flooring?”
Answer: Nothing.
Honing has as many different meanings as there are stone finishers honing stone. The finisher may refer to it as a procedure, the tile retailer may refer to it as a look or shine of the stone. The term has become too diluted and over-used to provide and accurate description. Even travertine that has already been honed at the factory does not mean it looks good. Factory honed tiles tend to be uneven, patchy, shiny in one spot, dull in another. This is why we try to avoid using the term to describe the appearance of our finished stone or our finishing process.
DYK: Honing processes such as diamond pads, sanding screens and powders will actually open up the stone, making cleaning tougher and reducing the ability of the penetrating sealer to keep water from eroding the stone over the course of time. Yikes!
Our process is better described as a “Custom Abrasive Process”, and better than the usual honing service that most finishers provide. We know the right abrasives for each project as travertine comes in different densities and composition. There is no “One Size Fits All” approach to travertine finishing.
About Our Custom Abrasive Process:
Our proven custom Abrasive Process beats the standard travertine honing process provided by other stone-floor-care services: The Power Clean System has been specifically designed for Travertine. We don’t rely on just the standard materials and methods that our competitors use. We’ve tested standard abrasives, powders, and tools that are readily available for Marble. We found that just because it says on the label it works for Marble doesn’t mean it will produce a good result for travertine. Our focus has always been to develop the safest system for travertine specific characteristics.
This term is widely used in the stone finishing industry, with no clear definition of what it actually means and what service you will be provided. Leaving the you, as the customer, confused and trusting in contractors that may not have your best interest. When you are reaching out for quotes with local company make sure you are informed and ask questions! You’re the customer!
To learn more about what is best for your home check out our Travertine Honing Definition Page or contact us directly at any time!
Keep Your Floors Safe & Stay Informed!
Tom Baker
Owner – Baker’s Travertine Power Clean
Here’s a typical comment/question from a homeowner:
I’ve just recently purchased a honed travertine floor. The travertine tiles are installed very nicely but the surface of the stones is very rough, very patchy and not at all shiny. It’s kind of chalky almost. When I asked the contractor about this, I was told the floor needed to be honed and sealed.
What I don’t understand: if I just bought a new honed floor why would I need to have someone hone
Webster says that Hone
Webster says: “the process of sharpening something”, such as a tool or skills. In the stone finishing industry,honing has as many different meanings as there are stone finishers honing stone. The finisher may refer to it as a procedure, the tile retailer may refer to it as a look or shine of the stone. The term has become too diluted and over-used to provide and accurate description. We don’t like the term and believe our ” Custom Abrasive Process” is far more descriptive as a procedure fo…
or Honing
Webster says: “the process of sharpening something”, such as a tool or skills. In the stone finishing industry, honing has as many different meanings as there are stone finishers honing stone. The finisher may refer to it as a procedure, the tile retailer may refer to it as a look or shine of the stone. The term has become too diluted and over-used to provide and accurate description. We don’t like the term and believe our “Custom Abrasive Process” is far more descriptive as a procedure fo…
is “the process of sharpening something”, such as a tool or skills. In the stone finishing industry, honing has as many different meanings as there are stone finishers honing stone. The finisher may refer to it as a procedure, the tile retailer may refer to it as a look or shine of the stone. The term has become too diluted and over-used to provide and accurate description. We don’t like the term and believe our ” Custom Abrasive
A substance used to sand, scour, scrub, smooth or polish by removal of the original material. The amount of material removed is determined by the size of the abrasive particles used (ie: grit) Sandpaper, scouring powders and steel wool are examples of abrasives.
Process” is far more descriptive as a procedure for stone. Our different finishes offered have their own categories to aptly describe the resulting shine of the stone…. More
it to make it look right? When I asked about a sealer changing the appearance of the travertine they said a penetrating sealer was the correct way to seal the stone, because any change in the look of the stone is a sign of an improper coating
Any sort of topcoat sealer, including enhancers that are over-applied, causing a buildup on the surface.
sealer. What’s the truth?
Answer. So, if honing
Webster says that Hone
Webster says: “the process of sharpening something”, such as a tool or skills. In the stone finishing industry,honing has as many different meanings as there are stone finishers honing stone. The finisher may refer to it as a procedure, the tile retailer may refer to it as a look or shine of the stone. The term has become too diluted and over-used to provide and accurate description. We don’t like the term and believe our ” Custom Abrasive Process” is far more descriptive as a procedure fo…
or Honing
Webster says: “the process of sharpening something”, such as a tool or skills. In the stone finishing industry, honing has as many different meanings as there are stone finishers honing stone. The finisher may refer to it as a procedure, the tile retailer may refer to it as a look or shine of the stone. The term has become too diluted and over-used to provide and accurate description. We don’t like the term and believe our “Custom Abrasive Process” is far more descriptive as a procedure fo…
is “the process of sharpening something”, such as a tool or skills. In the stone finishing industry, honing has as many different meanings as there are stone finishers honing stone. The finisher may refer to it as a procedure, the tile retailer may refer to it as a look or shine of the stone. The term has become too diluted and over-used to provide and accurate description. We don’t like the term and believe our ” Custom Abrasive
A substance used to sand, scour, scrub, smooth or polish by removal of the original material. The amount of material removed is determined by the size of the abrasive particles used (ie: grit) Sandpaper, scouring powders and steel wool are examples of abrasives.
Process” is far more descriptive as a procedure for stone. Our different finishes offered have their own categories to aptly describe the resulting shine of the stone…. More
is a finishing process, why is unfinished stone sold as honed? At Bakers Travertine Power Clean , we prefer to stay away from the term honed to avoid confusion. We prefer to call new travertine unfinished. We’ve developed and defined finishing travertine tile by using custom finishes, polished to different levels of shine to suit customer preferences.
Often when I ask a customer if anything has ever been done to the floor the response is “yes we had it honed once or twice”. Unfortunately most natural stone finishers use the term “honing” to refer to their overly aggressive sanding techniques. We use a series of light abrasive courses to remove previous “honing” marks and bring the floor back to the customers desired finish.