Bare minimal set up - Spydercos?

[Deuser]

Hi all,

Sorry there have been quite a few post like this one but I have not been quite able to find the info that I wa looking for. My edge has started to dull so hence I am posting in the hones section. I really want to be self sufficient with my honing and want to give it a go. I know some people don't recomend honing your first and only razor, but I want to give it a go sooner or later so why not now?

My main question is that I don't have a lot to spend on hones. Also I am looking for a hone or two that will last me indefinately. I do not want to become a honemeister and am only interested in keeping the razor that I bought shave ready (i'm certain it was!) sharp, and maybe any razors I inquire in the future. I do enjoy straight razor shaving but its not a major hobby. Basically I want the cheapest, simplest way of keeping my razor sharp. I have no access to tools so would like a hone that doesn't require lapping. I have read a lot and feel that the Spyderco hones are therefore most suited to me - cheap, easy etc.

If I buy the Spyderco UF and use it as a finisher, will this be enough, or will I eventually have to set the bevel - in which case I can buy this hone later right? If this is the case would people recomend the DMT plates or the Spyderco F and Medium. I am looking for the bare minimum honing set up to provide me with great edges for years to come.

Sorry about the length of the post. Thanks in advance for all the advice. You guys have been invaluable during my journey so far!!

 

[wdwrx]

As a noob to this fine sport as well, my advice is to go for the Spyderco. There are lots of great stones out there, but for pure functionality, Spyderco can't be beat! (Except maybe by a Coticule) It can be incredibly verastile..

I still rely on my Spyderco UF for edges I can actually shave with as I'm just learning to use a coti now. I've achieved at least one edge that compares to a DE/SE blade. Crazy sharp!

 

[azmark]

Spyderco's are my first stones I used. I've used every size to create bevels to finishing it off with the UF. They are very inexpensive and I've had great success with them. Word of advice is not to attempt to lap them, it is pointless and don't drop them....they hate that.

 

[mparker762]

If you keep the razor sharp with the UF and stick to the one razor, then you probably won't ever need to set a bevel, unless you nick it. You can worry about a bevel-setter when (or if) that ever happens.

 

[RazorPete]

Hi all,

Sorry there have been quite a few post like this one but I have not been quite able to find the info that I wa looking for. My edge has started to dull so hence I am posting in the hones section. I really want to be self sufficient with my honing and want to give it a go. I know some people don't recomend honing your first and only razor, but I want to give it a go sooner or later so why not now?

My main question is that I don't have a lot to spend on hones. Also I am looking for a hone or two that will last me indefinately. I do not want to become a honemeister and am only interested in keeping the razor that I bought shave ready (i'm certain it was!) sharp, and maybe any razors I inquire in the future. I do enjoy straight razor shaving but its not a major hobby. Basically I want the cheapest, simplest way of keeping my razor sharp. I have no access to tools so would like a hone that doesn't require lapping. I have read a lot and feel that the Spyderco hones are therefore most suited to me - cheap, easy etc.

If I buy the Spyderco UF and use it as a finisher, will this be enough, or will I eventually have to set the bevel - in which case I can buy this hone later right? If this is the case would people recomend the DMT plates or the Spyderco F and Medium. I am looking for the bare minimum honing set up to provide me with great edges for years to come.

Sorry about the length of the post. Thanks in advance for all the advice. You guys have been invaluable during my journey so far!!

For 30 or 40 dollars, a good barber hone like a swaty, ought to be able to maintain the sharpness on a shave ready razor indefinitely, providing your razor was properly honed in the first place.

 

[Utopian]

Agreed. A barber hone is going to be cheaper and more effective than the Sypderco UF.

 

[mparker762]

Except that vintage barber hones are a bit of a cr*pshoot nowadays. I've got several vintage barber hones where the binder has begun decomposing, which makes the hones very coarse and no longer suitable for razors. One of these is a Swaty, another is a Craftsman, and I've got several others with this problem.

The Spyderco UF, OTOH, is a current-manufacture barber hone, that just happens to be marketed for knives. But it was designed for razors, if the spyderco forum can be believed. There is a post there by the spyderco president on the development of the UF, he had been using a lapped F for honing his straight razor and decided it was useful enough to put into production - the UF is just an F that has been lapped on a surface mill.

 

[SliceOfLife]

neato.

I have no experience with spyderco's. But I've not encountered any rotting barber hones yet, so I expect it's a fairly rare problem. Still, the UF is probably a finer edge than most barber hones (barber hones are typically 7-10k or so)

I'd say get a coticule. They're easy to touch up with, versatile and beautiful.

 

[Deuser]

Thanks a lot for all the information. Not too keep on gettting a barbers hone as I would not now where to start. Still think the Spyderco UF would be a easy way of getting into honing even on a minimal set up. SliceofLife mentioned a coticule and while I'm tempted I've heard they are quite hard to use especially for beginners. Has anyone got a coti just for finishing at first, then learnt how to set bevels, all done fairly easily? Also how do coti edges compare to those off the Spyderco UF?

 

[Slash McCoy]

What grit is the ultra-fine? The fine? I see they have the ultra-fine available in a 3" width.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Fine is like 1200 in US rating (~8000 in Norton I think). The UF is apparently just a Fine that they lapped, and I hear can produce edges anywhere from 8k to 16k depending on who you ask.

 

[azmark]

What grit is the ultra-fine? The fine? I see they have the ultra-fine available in a 3" width.

I was told by Spyderco that it is in the 13k range, don't doubt it is around that area.

 

[TstebinsB]

The UF is versatile in that you can use lapping compound on it. Take 0.5 aluminum oxide or whatever else you like and apply it to the UF. It works perfectly.

The problem is that all the Spyderco stones are painfully slow.

 

[azmark]

The UF is versatile in that you can use lapping compound on it. Take 0.5 aluminum oxide or whatever else you like and apply it to the UF. It works perfectly.

The problem is that all the Spyderco stones are painfully slow.

If you think you've done enough laps you're about halfway there.

They are also pretty heavy and feel for comfortable out of the plastic case.

 

[johnmrson]

Why not look at the Chinese 12k hones on eBay? They are pretty cheap and do a very good job.

 

[Huxley]

Personally i would have a coti, then a shapton 16k gs as a finishing stone, then if you fancy it finer then some balsa with cromox or finer caesium oxide.

It's pretty much how i finish off, the coti does indeed take time to learn but now i love it, it's very versatile though not every razor responds to it, much like any other stone i suppose.

The shapton glasstone however is superb, fast and great feedback 10-20 laps is usually enough to finish a razor off.

The spyderco uf is a marmite hone, some love them whilst others don't get on with the edges it leaves behind, you can however get it for £56, the shapton cost me £60 plus usps shipping which was an extortionate £25, you can probably do it for half that if someone on this site would be willing to.

 

[natchez]

Thanks a lot for all the information. Not too keep on gettting a barbers hone as I would not now where to start. Still think the Spyderco UF would be a easy way of getting into honing even on a minimal set up. SliceofLife mentioned a coticule and while I'm tempted I've heard they are quite hard to use especially for beginners. Has anyone got a coti just for finishing at first, then learnt how to set bevels, all done fairly easily? Also how do coti edges compare to those off the Spyderco UF?

I have been using a coticule and had no trouble picking up how to use it. A bit of slurry and you are off. It gives me a lot of feedback and can be used to keep an edge sharp. Although, it would be a bit of money for just an edge re-freshener. A Chinese stone once lapped will do a very good job of keeping a blade up and it is a slow cutter so you cannot get into much trouble with it.