Best First Hone

[Samouraï]

I am looking to purchase a polishing hone for my straight razor. It has already been honed professionally, but I know it will have to be worked on again in the future.

I figure that I want a stone that will last as long as possible. And the better quality stone for more dough will prove worth it in the long run. Should I pass on wetstones? I know they wear out quickly. I was thinking of buying a 12k or something and then moving down to an 8k and maybe a 4k.

Also, will I need to convert my strop into a pasted strop and purchase another strop for everyday use?
Thanks.

Edit: I looked at the review for the Northon 4k/8k, and I think I might begin with this (based on ease for new honers). Though, I would still like input concerning the best quality/long-lasting hones available, as I am making a dream list right now that I intend to work through after mastering (hah, getting the hang of) straight razor shaving.

 

[TstebinsB]

I think you mean that you want a finishing hone. The only time you need a polishing hone is when you want to remove scratches left by stones of lower grits. Some good stones do both finishing and polishing but that's not your situation. You want something to touch up and refresh the edge. You can make a balsa strop or buy one and apply chromium oxide. That's all you need for now. As another option, you can get a quality barber hone from a member on the forums. There are more expensive and exciting options but those two will serve you well. Nortons, Shaptons, Naniwas, etc. are unncessary at this point.

You can also use lapping film, which is something I've done successfully to sharpen and polish. Diamond lapping film last quite a long time if you're using it for touch ups only.

 

[Samouraï]

Gotcha. But what if I were to buy a new razor that was not honed, like a new TI that was factory "shave ready". Would I use a diamond paste to bring it to a real, comfortable shave ready state, or a barber's hone?

Also, would I only need the 4/8k to make a dull ebay blade or vintage blade shave-able?

Thanks for the quick response. At this point, I need to be a cheap as possible, so I'll gladly wait until I actually need it.

 

[citizensoldierny]

Samorai,
You pretty much asked a bunch of questions I'm dying to know. As for getting a new razor, vintageblades.com, and straightrazordesign. com, do a hone before they sell them.

 

[LessLemming]

A 4k/8k would not be enough to recover even slightly damaged edges.
If I buy old Straights I want to completely renew the bevel.
Therefore I use wet sandpaper 800 grit.
This stuff eats metal very quickly. You can even go lowe to about 400 but this will grind away your razor. Undamaged edgese need only 3-4 strokes on 800 grit paper.
That´s amazingly quick.
That´s the cheapest option for restoration, I guess.
I don´t know if you can jumpf from 800grit sandpaper to norton 4k immediately.

For normal use and even finishing freshly bought razors
I would use a belgium blue, if I had to choose one hone.
The yellow would be better, but is way expensive.
The belgium cost 30-40€ in a descent size in Europe.
A norton 4k/8k could do that job just as well.
Finish with chromium oxide afterwards and you are done.

You don´t actually have to buy a new strop for pasting.
Take a piece of wood and glue several layers of newspaper to it.
Apply chromium oxide to it and youre done. You can use the same method and apply a graphit pencil for an ultrafine paste,
and leave one side with newspaper only, without pastes.
This way you can have a 3 sided strop without spending money.

If you´re looking for a touch-up hone,
(that maybe is too fine to refine freshly bought and not shave ready razors)
you could go for a cheap chinese 12k or swaty.

All of these stones will NOT wear out quickly. The majority of hones will last lifetimes,
even if used very frequently. There should be no problem on passing them on to friends.
The only thing that eats hones is lapping them unnescessarily often.
But still you would have to be a professional to finish a hone in a lifetime

If you want a great setup,
go look for the new 800/5k and 3k/8k Naniwa Superstone kombination stones.
They are of highest quality and are absolutely sufficiant for every eventuality.
Used with a cheap paste-strop they will proviede a perfect edge.
You could, however, go the extra mile of course (wich I prefer) and go for 12 or even 16k.
But this ould under no circumstance be of nescessicity.
Otherwise you could still grab some 3M film for occasionall rough work,
and finish fresh razors as well as keeping yours sharp on the 3k/8k only,
with pasting afterwards.

The cheapest method of all I guess would be
Sandpaper 800 (for restoration), 3M about 1.000 and maybe 3.000 (for intermediate sharpening after 800)
Norton 4k/8k, Belgium blue or whatever you can grab cheap
and a selfmade paddle strop.

 

[English]

I think you should start with newspaper, because it will cost you nothing.
You just strop your razor on newspaper that is laid on a flat surface.

It has the same effect as a paddle strop or leather hanging strop coated with Chromium Oxide.

As to hones, I can give you a few rules of thumb.

200/400 grit hones will remove chips in edges reasonably quickly.

800 onto 1200 grit hones will cut a precise V type edge onto your razor.

8000 grit will sharpen your razor

12000 grit and above will polish and refine the edge to give a close comfortable shave. The finer the polishing stone, usually, the more comfortable the final shave is. Many pastes will replicate the job of the finishing hone and they are usually much less expensive to purchase.

It is normal when using hones to progress through an edge refining process. As a rule of thumb, you progress by doubling the grit size, each time you change hone.

So, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000, 16000, 32000 would be a perfect progression.

If you intend to maintain your own razors fully, the minimum requirement will be

A bevel setting hone.....1000 grit
A mid way sharpening hone.......4000 to 6000 grit
A sharpening hone........8000 to 12000 grit
A finishing method, which may be a hone but will be 20,000 grit or above.

There are many hones available. Three Japanese Companies do sythetic hone sets that are popular with straight razor users. Naniwa, Norton and Shapton. You will need to do a little research to decide which hones will suit you. If you can find a local supplier and visit, you will learn a lot very quickly. just buying blind (even with recommendation) can be frustrating.

Good luck.

 

[LessLemming]

I have to disagree with you, english. The progression scale totaly depends on your sharpening systems.
You can get PERFECTLY shaving edges from 800grit Sandpaper, 2000grit Shapton and the blue belgium, wich would be 6-8k at max and Chromium Oxide.
It is not true that higher grit stones will automatically provide better edges!
They can be used to provide different(!) edges for professionals.

There is no need for more than 5 Stones at all!
And there is especially no need for a stone past the 8.000 at a cost of 80Bucks + for a beginner.
8.000 is very very well suited for the finish. Even a Belgium Blue will be enough to finish,
because chromium oxide, even though it is such a high grit, will actually cut really quick,
no matter if you finished on 6.000, 8.000 or 60.000.
There might be slight differences in the result that only experienced razor users will be able to remark but all of them will be sharp and provide good shaves if done properly.

 

[chess1]

I have to disagree with you, english. The progression scale totaly depends on your sharpening systems.
You can get PERFECTLY shaving edges from 800grit Sandpaper, 2000grit Shapton and the blue belgium, wich would be 6-8k at max and Chromium Oxide.
It is not true that higher grit stones will automatically provide better edges!
They can be used to provide different(!) edges for professionals.

There is no need for more than 5 Stones at all!
And there is especially no need for a stone past the 8.000 at a cost of 80Bucks + for a beginner.
8.000 is very very well suited for the finish. Even a Belgium Blue will be enough to finish,
because chromium oxide, even though it is such a high grit, will actually cut really quick,
no matter if you finished on 6.000, 8.000 or 60.000.
There might be slight differences in the result that only experienced razor users will be able to remark but all of them will be sharp and provide good shaves if done properly.

I hope you know and understand what are you talking about ???
I will stop in here .

 

[huntmol]

If you're just starting out, all you need is a Chinese 12k. It's $30, gives a great edge, and as long as your razors are initially sharpened by honemeisters, you can refresh your edges on the Chinese 12k indefinitely.

 

[LessLemming]

I hope you know and understand what are you talking about ???
I will stop in here .

Sorry, I didn´t get that ?

 

[Psychdude]

If you're just starting out, all you need is a Chinese 12k. It's $30, gives a great edge, and as long as your razors are initially sharpened by honemeisters, you can refresh your edges on the Chinese 12k indefinitely.

Where can I get one?

 

[gugi]

woodcraft sells them. you need to lap them which is quite a painful process with them and i'd suggest you see if you can buy it already lapped from somebody who isn't using theirs (i sold mine few weeks ago).

 

[leighton]

First of all, do not even think about sharpening a dull ebay blade. Not only do they take forever to hone, but they require a ton of knowledge and skill to fix them up efficiently. And you would need a lot more hones than the 4k/8k. At least to do it effectively.

Not sure if your question was answered about the strops, but yes, if thats the route you want to go. You'd need an unpasted strop to do your regular stropping on. But balsa wood is cheaper.

 

[Psychdude]

woodcraft sells them. you need to lap them which is quite a painful process with them and i'd suggest you see if you can buy it already lapped from somebody who isn't using theirs (i sold mine few weeks ago).

Is this it?

 

[gugi]

Is this it?

yes that's the one.