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Barbers hone to pasted strop?

Will I get good results going from a 6000 grit King to a Barbers hone to a pasted strop? I think I read that a Barbers hone can vary from 8000 to 10000, I have two, one is a Franz Swaty the other a Pike. Are they different grits?
 
Mine seem to be in good condition, hard and smooth, I did lap the Swaty and was surprised to find that it was a little high/low/high at the end. When you say fitness do you mean quality of material or one that is free of chips and flat?
 
I did not say fitness. I said fineness. That is, some are quite coarse and fast cutting even when smooth and in good overall shape.
Try the Swaty.
 
I got good results from a King 6k to a pasted strop, so I don't think that the barber hone will hurt anything.
Thanks, I am glad that I am on the right track. There is very little information on grit of these stones, only someone with a good deal of experience, not me, could tell you what the grit "feels like".
 
Barber hones are actually composed of relatively coarse grit but they are in a very hard binder and the surfaces are intended to be highly smoothed so as to act like a finer grit. After lapping a barber hone you should bring it up to a pretty high finish level if you want to get comfortable edges from it.
 
It feels pretty smooth to me. Would a pasted strop be a move up or a lateral move after a barbers hone?
 
My King 1000 6000 is on its way. I think the bevel is kindof messed up and so I need to reset it to really get a good edge. Yes I can shave with it but it is not at all smooth. Under a 10X it does not look even, more is some places than others. I am just getting started in all this.
 
Pike made several different barber hones, so it would be hard/impossible to compare to a Swaty without knowing which one. Then there's the condition factor. Barber hones in general don't age well and it seems that they can deteriorate and become less usable. I've run across a higher percentage of Pike B-hones that seem to be off from age or storage conditions. Not sure why. If you're lapped the Swaty and it was very difficult to lap, as in a real pita, then you may have one in good shape. You'll need to condition it to get it back to working shape. The reason there is no 'grit' speak around is because grit doesn't play into it. These are not finishing hones, or water stones; the abrasive is fixed into place and the binder does not wear away. They work much differently than a regular sharpening stone for razors. They were intended to bring an edge back to cutting-capable fast. Not so much for finessing a freshly honed blade. If you compare scratch patterns you'll see something looking more like a 6k pattern usually. You can cheat it a 'little bit witha light touch and some lather on the working surface. By a little, I do mean a little. Personally, I don't see the b-hone doing anything for you in your honing progression. If it ws me, I'd go from the King 6k to pastes. I'd leave the b-hone around for testing it when the edge starts to fall off. Swatys are a bit better than the norm for b-hones, I've had a literal pile of them over the years. If it's in good shape, it'll work, they're fun, they're cool - overall they're pretty decent barber hones.
 
I did a test, I wet the Pike and the Swaty and rubbed them together. The Pike is green, the Swaty is brown, the swarth was green. I have a unknown brand barbers hone which is green and I rubbed it against the Swaty and got brown. The unknown hone feels a little less smooth. What does this tell me? I think the Pike is softer than the Swaty but the unknown is just a little less fine. I will put them aside for now and use the paste and see how it goes.
 
There are a good many barber hones that will better a 6k hone when used in a progression.
Like I said, try it after the 6k. Bring your edge to 6k then test shave, do a few laps on the barber hone and test again.
As Gamma has said, many are degraded from age, heat, soap and u.v light but so long as its in good form give them a go.
 
There are a good many barber hones that will better a 6k hone when used in a progression.
Like I said, try it after the 6k. Bring your edge to 6k then test shave, do a few laps on the barber hone and test again.
As Gamma has said, many are degraded from age, heat, soap and u.v light but so long as its in good form give them a go.
As they say, proof is in the puddy, if it shaves then it is good for you. Honeing is quite nuananced, I am still learning. I guess a barber had to shave a variety of people off a barbers hone so it must give a OK shave. I find that I shave better with a smaller razor, half inch, than a bigger one. I am not sure why that is, maybe the bigger ones are less flexible or maybe it is just lack of experience. I find that I can hone the Wade and Butcher better than the German ones or the US ones. Not that it is a question of quality, just my ability to hone.
 
I keep a Franz swaty in my bathroom for touch ups. One of my razors has only been used on the swaty and a strop for years and it shaves wonderfully.
That and a strop is honestly all you need...forever.
 
I keep a Franz swaty in my bathroom for touch ups. One of my razors has only been used on the swaty and a strop for years and it shaves wonderfully.
That and a strop is honestly all you need...forever.
Yes, I think I will follow this routine and only use more aggressive hones if I am getting poor results. I settled on one razor to use instead of switching and I think that is helping we get a better feel for things.
 
Yes, I think I will follow this routine and only use more aggressive hones if I am getting poor results. I settled on one razor to use instead of switching and I think that is helping we get a better feel for things.
Yes I'd stick with one razor so you get used to the blade and the angle.
 
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