Getting a full setup for a hobbyist

[Mattypee]

Hi guys,

I've been browsing your "Gold dollar" threads a lot lately.

I would like to work with a bunch of chinese razors in the lead up to christmas time, for presents for my male friends and family.

Obviously I don't want to spend $100x10+, and wanted to gain the ability to hone my own stuff, as well as to be able to actually do something special with my hands for people this year instead of just paying for stuff.

So my questions are about lapping film, and the basic stones people usually have:

Could someone reasonably get a "gold dollar" or other generic china blade/blank through from after the dremel stage, and put an edge on it that's shaveworthy on a bunch of razors with just the lapping film and maybe a 1K stone?

In reading the Gold dollar and other resto threads most people just seem to use a bunch of stones and films and strops that they have lying around, but what would you recommend for a novice who can barely use a steel on a kitchen knife? My only kit at the moment is a dovo linen and leather strop without any paste.

I was hoping to use lapping film as the initial $ outlay is quite low, and the learning curve seems to be something reasonable. I also would not need to learn to lap stones.
But if theres some pitfall to trying to use film on a dozen razors, or if thats a qty that justifies/requires a decent stone, please let me know.

I thought my process might be:
1K stone
15 micron, 5 micron, 1 micron, 0.3 micron
Linen strop with a fine paste
Linen
Leather

Also, what exactly does a "Barbers hone" do? Are they just a tiny little finishing stone?

 

[Brooksie967]

Yes you could put an edge on them this way.

You will need to lap your 1k if you buy one. Not much to learn, draw a grid on it and lap it until the grid is completely gone.

As far as the longevity of the films, that's better to be answered by someone other than me as I don't use them.

Sounds like a fun project! Post pics

 

[Gamma]

Barber's hones are for touch ups - not really useful for final finishing an edge.
Most of the time, they aren't all that fine - but they're usually pretty fast - speed was the main concern for barbers.

 

[buca3152]

Ive honed 8 gold dollars and coming off the dmt 1200 5 got microchips and 3 didnt. So i spent some time on the norton 4k getting them out. I dont know how film would hold up to 100 circles 100 laps and 100 x strokes. But film as a finisher is great! Theres a lot of ways to hone. I use dmt for bevel, norton 4/8 and film. I guess pick a way and go for it. I dont regret my nortons. I have a norton 220/1k that i dont really use much and a naniwa 12k thats just sitting. I have also tried a king 1k, and chinese 12k that i didnt like. But thats just my experience. Many members have and use these with good results.

 

[Brooksie967]

Barber's hones are for touch ups - not really useful for final finishing an edge.
Most of the time, they aren't all that fine - but they're usually pretty fast - speed was the main concern for barbers.

They can absolutely be used as finishers and I have two that I keep.

A friend of mine uses a Panama hone and a frictionite 00 frequently. There is a reason they go for so much $$$ on ebay; trust me it has nothing to do with how they look, it is purely performance related.

 

[Mattypee]

Oh, microchips. I didnt even realise that would be a thing.

I may have to harden up and get a 4/8K + lapping stone then.

 

[Seraphim]

DMT1200

3um lapping film

1um lapping film.

Cromox on a hanging cotton belt.



Like Colt 45: Works every time.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Microchips on a razor that isn't damaged aren't a thing. Chipping is caused by crap getting on your hone, mistakes honing, etc. Not by using low grit hones. If you add anything to your 1k + films, I'd add a 320 so you can blast through grinding the bevel back into place after you're done with the dremel (And if you go with a 1k other than a DMT, you can use the 320 dmt to lap/smooth it as needed), but that's not even necessary. A DMT 1200 is plenty fast on hollow grinds and most 1k whetstones will be too.

I'd defer to seraphim on the film progression. He likes to use that stuff.



The term Barber's hone is used in two ways I've seen. The first is for vintage synthetic hones that were intended to be used to maintain an edge between shaves (can be used as finishing stones, but not particularly popular vs natural stones and modern synthetics). It can also refer to natural stones used for the same function with a similar cut (I tend to call these "Barbers Cut Coticule" or "Barbers Cut Thuri"), usually around 5x2.5" or 6x3".