Advice for first hone

[Tolduonce]

I've been seriously bitten by the straight shaving bug.
Here's what I have.

A brand new Dovo 5/8 Best. Thanks to Lynn Abrams for the honing and to Jim at Vintage Blades for the excellent service.

A vintage Boker Original Celebrated 6/8 maybe 7/8 that I'm hoping GemStar will refurbish for me.

A Vintage Blades 2" strop.

I'm looking for a waterstone (or am I?) to use to keep everything sharp. Do you think I'm getting in over my head with this idea? I'd be willing to pick up a practice razor if you think I should go that route.

 

[Chimensch]

I'm very fond of coticules because they produce a fine edge and are also very easy to maintain and use and are very versatile. I saw a nice coticule/bbw combo stone in the classifieds at SRP that I would have bought if I didn't already have a coticule/bbw combo, a coticule bout and a vintage coticule that I found at a flea market.

IMO the Chinese 12K is way more trouble to lap and use than it's worth.

There are also the synthetic hones: Norton's, Shapton's, Naniwas, etc. They are more high maintenance. They need to be lapped more often than a coticule and you will probably end of buying lapping plates as well.

On the other hand, if you are going to restore razors, you will probably end up getting a full series of synthethic hones, so a high-grit Naniwa or Shapton might not be a bad place to start.

But for someone that just wants to keep a properly-honed razor sharp, you just can't beat a coticule. It's a beautiful natural stone with a lot of soul.

 

[bogbrush]

If I was you, I would be looking for a waterstone which is between 6000k and 10,000k to get a smooth hone

 

[leighton]

You want a finishing stone, aka barber's hone. Something above 10k. Chinese 12k is a pretty popular option because its really cheap and it works. Naniwa superstone 12k and shapton 16k are also very popular.

Barber hones aren't made anymore, spyderco makes the closest equivalent. Ebay usually has barber hones that go for decent prices.

 

[Tolduonce]

Thanks guys. You prevented me from making a major mistake. I was thinking of going with something in the 4k range. Obviously, that would be too coarse. I'll take a look at e-bay and see what I can find in the barber or 10-12k range.

 

[stnlymumford]

I got this, took forever to get here (customs fault) but was already lapped flat and rounded out.

 

[RetroGrouch]

+1 on the Belgian coticule. If I could only keep one stone, that would be it.

Perhaps there are Japanese stones that would be even better, but they're MUCH more expensive and not as consistent or predictable. You really can't go far wrong with a yellow coticule.

 

[mretzloff]

Not to hijack, but where can one purchase a Beligian coticule for the best price?

 

[Disburden]

The Belgian hones, such as the Coticule and the Belgian blue are amazing little naturals that can do almost anything. used mostly for polishing razors after the honing process though, I HAVE used my coticule for bevel setting and sharpening all the way through, but it is not as consistent as the following:


The norton 4/8 k is a workhorse and is, imo, best for a new guy because using the Pyramid method on SRP, you can sharpen any razor(s) consistently over and over again.

The DMT-E 1200 or the norton 220/1000K stone is for setting bevels and will be needed if you're trying to sharpen anything off e-bay, etc.