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3" Wide Hones

Naniwa is making S1 & S2 stones. The S1’s are 10mm thick and less expensive than the 20mm S2’s, but I’m not sure the savings is worth it.

Naniwa

Don’t forget to get a lapping stone.

A set of Arkansas stones might be cheaper?
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
3” in a synth is going to be tough. Naniwa, Shapton Pro, Shapton Glass, all are 2-3/4”.

Japanese natural bench stones were routinely cut 3” wide but you won’t find one in your price range. And as @bluesman7 said, you don’t need more than 2-3/4”.
 
You don’t need more than 1.5”!?

Honestly if you’re trying to have perfect stability and avoid an X stroke IME you’ll end up with a sub par edge more often than not.

If you want 3” width because you’re using the stone for other tools/purposes outside razor honing I’d say that justifies it better but still not available in your price range as outlined above.

Best 3” wide finisher per dollar for razors specifically I’d say is the Norton Hard translucent Ark 8x3x.5” for $100/free shipping from a few different vendors.
 
In the lower grits to 6000 the debado stones are massive. Suehiro's stones in general are really generous that way. Maybe fish for deals.
 
Bester/Beston stones are pretty wide, but I'd have to measure to see if they are 3". I need them for wide plane blades, but in the limited amount of razor honing I've done, I suspect a narrower stone would be much easier and faster to use. The vast majority of the "vintage" razors I have are not perfectly straight, and I don't think any of them have been honed on a wide stone in the past, they all have some smile or frown to them.
 
Ohishi hones are 3" wide. I have tried the 1 and 8 and they are really nice. If you bought a progression of those cherrypicking full single grit stones and combo grits to make up the progression you would have 1-10k 1, 3, 6, 8 , 10 for like $320.
 
I find that 2 3/4" wide stones work well. I do have a Zulu Grey that is a full 3" wide, but most synthetics are 2 3/4" which is the length of a standard straight razor. I do have a couple of Jerry Stark blades that are a full 3" long, but using a 2 3/4" stone is not a problem.

If you are trying to hone a smiling blade or one that is warped issue, then you may be better off with a narrow hone. I have even used the side of a hone in that situation. If the edge is straight, a wider stone allows you to keep the entire blade on the stone at all times. With a narrow hone, you have to be very careful that the middle of the blade does not receive more hone contact time than the heal and toe. If you are not careful, you can end up with a frowning blade.
 
While I understand having a desire for a 3" wide stone, the main thing to understand is the 'why' behind the desire.
I have many 3" wide hones, but I never use the full width, most strokes are heel forward and the angled blade is no where near the opposite edge. Even if the toe was hanging off a bit, I used x strokes 99.999% of the time so the toe winds up on the stone quickly enough anyway. So, for me, the 3" width is a luxury that costs more and is harder to lap but it doesn't make my honing better.

But that is me, and my saga.
The OP's request wasn't qualified and I think his reasoning might be relevant to the discussion.

Aside from that, i think many Sigma Power stones are 3" wide. I'm personally not in love with them, but the width is there and they are more than good enough. Some love them actually. I think they have a 13k, but I can't speak to pricing. I have tried other 3" wide stones, Besters I think, and Nortons, and I am not a fan of them.
 
These Suehiro stones are darn near 3”.

8.25” x 2.88”. - Suehiro Debado SNE Stone

Sure they only go up to 6K, but every Suehiro I’ve ever used performs above it’s pay grade. I love my Suehiro’s.

But you might appreciate the Suehiro Rika more. They are 3” (scroll down), and go up to 8K.

3” - https://www.chefknivestogo.com/cerax.html

I’ve used some different Suehiro stones and have loved every one. I’ve mostly used their DUAL stones which I find exceptional. If you want to use a 3”, go at it. Suehiro is a great name in stones.

Have fun!
 
These Suehiro stones are darn near 3”.

8.25” x 2.88”. - Suehiro Debado SNE Stone

Sure they only go up to 6K, but every Suehiro I’ve ever used performs above it’s pay grade. I love my Suehiro’s.

But you might appreciate the Suehiro Rika more. They are 3” (scroll down), and go up to 8K.

3” - Suehiro Stones

I’ve used some different Suehiro stones and have loved every one. I’ve mostly used their DUAL stones which I find exceptional. If you want to use a 3”, go at it. Suehiro is a great name in stones.

Have fun!

Rika 5k alundum is a killer stone across the whole spectrum of things I sharpen, soaking it is the only potential downside. I haven’t tried the Suehiro 8k that looks identical, but I’d guess it’s a pretty solid stone as well. My favorite attribute of the Rika that lesser stones just don’t have IME is the wide range of behavior with varying pressure. It’s not a big consideration with razors, but with tools and kitchen knives where pressure applied could be anything from 2oz-20lbs+ the Rika seems to cover a spectrum of performance wider than anything else I’ve tried.

If you just want a razor stone though, the splash and go Naniwas would be more appealing.
 
The Superior Shave has a few arks that are wide. But expensive.

I bought a 8x3. I only use 2.5 inches of it. the half inch on the left never gets touched by the razor.
 
Lol I have the 6x2 one and I use maybe half the hone. On the flat side I make more use of the full width, but with the convex it’s easier to focus on the blade when it’s at the edge.
The Superior Shave has a few arks that are wide. But expensive.

I bought a 8x3. I only use 2.5 inches of it. the half inch on the left never gets touched by the razor.
 
Lol I have the 6x2 one and I use maybe half the hone. On the flat side I make more use of the full width, but with the convex it’s easier to focus on the blade when it’s at the edge.

The whole point of a convex hone is that only a very narrow portion of the blade contacts the hone at a given time. That prevents the issue of the middle of the blade receiving more hone contact than the heel and toe. I have a ceramic knife hone that is about 1" wide by 1/4" thick. The edge of the hone is rounded. I prefer honing knives on the rounded edge of the hone rather than on the flat surface as it allows me better control of the pressure from one end of the blade to the other. A round knife steel works on a similar principle. This is especially important on a curved knife blade
 
Like Ray (again) i have a Zulu that is 3 inches wide. Its more than needed. I don't think my blades ever reach the entire width of the stone, ever!
 
Just my $0.02, but I've been honing for about a year now and am at the point that I regularly get good edges (in my own opinion). And I've found that I mostly do X strokes and rolling Xs. So I'm rarely using the full width of my 3" stones. There are times (bevel setting push-pull) when the blade is straight across the stone, and 3" is nice then. But it's certainly not a requirement.

That said, I'm not looking to trade my 3" (or 2¾”) synthetics for 1" skinny hones.
 
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