Yes, that will suffice, but if you have a badly dulled or nicked edge, it can take some time......For restoring badly abused razors, but a DMT 1200 grit diamond stone, (about 40 bucks for a 6x2") or lay some wet/dry sandpaper on a known flat surface, like a countertop. Wet the counter first to keep a suction under the sandpaper. You can find fine (1000 grit or so) in the auto parts store.
Hones, Stones and Strops...
- Thread starter rtaylor61
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #22
Thanks Laz...I was pretty sure I needed something "stronger"! However, most of the razors are actually in decent shape, except for the Dorko I bought.
Randy
Randy
Joe Lerch said:
Hi Joe,
What number is that carborundum? I've got quite a few carborundums and yes they are faster cutting. The #101, I have, is an excellent Swaty type hone. I have some medium grits, but nothing as coarse as you have mentioned.
Concerning o'l time barbers. To be sure, they didn't purchase dull razors from ebay that required restoration. The hones they had were used to maintain good quality razors and they worked wonderfully to this end. Furthermore, that they cut slowly is a real boon for beginners, who are likely to overhone. Barbers took good care of their equipment, so wanting to find barber hones that are intended to restore blades in the sorry state we find them on ebay is not going to be easy. In the good old days, when new str8s were abundantly available, there was little need for anything coarser than medium grit.
Randy, the Amalgamite is a medium grit hone. It is not a fine finishing hone. Admittedly, if you are very skilled, using different media, you could get a decent edge and finish on a blade using a single grit hone like an Amalgamite. (i.e. stepping down with lather and using varying degress of decreasing pressure).
For anyone new to using barber hones, it is easy to confuse cutting speed with grit size. Some coarser grit hones that cut slower may "feel" like they are finer grit in comparison to other hones with grits that are finer, but cut faster. Oh the mysteries of these classics!
I do have fun. Errr... I expect, if you knew how many different classic hones I had, you might think me a little touched! lol...
Hal
Laz in Tampa said:
Excellent advice Laz. The DMT 1200 is the ticket for badly abused razors. Using sandpaper will get the job done too.
Hal
Hi there John,JohnP said:
Welcome to the classic hone fan club. Good to hear you enjoy using that Itsapeech (liked it so much I've got two of them...lol...).
Hal
Hi Randy,rtaylor61 said:
I keep a Norton 220x/1000x stone in my wet stone pond. The 1000 grit makes short work of creating new bevels - very few laps needed. Plus I have the 220 in case a badly damaged gem comes across my desk. I would recommend protecting the spine with duct or electrical tape. Happy honing!
Rik
halwilson said:
I'll check the number on the Carborundum. Do you know what they mean?
I used to go to an ace old time barber who kept one in his pocket and took an occasional swipe or two over to the side. He was a shaving expert and had a booming business. He told me that he sent razors out once a month. Obviouslly, they couldn't always be the same ones. I thought it interesting that he used a cutler. But then he was a professional barber and sharpening blades didn't put bread on the table. So, he really would have had no need for a coarse stone or mayb even a medium stone.
I'm not comparing myself to you, but I'm starting to get a collection. I don't think I'll ever use all of them. I'm just looking to pick some favorites. I keep the Victoria with the plexiglass on one side at my sink, to use like the barber did. Once in a while it works wonders mid-shave, and the plexiglass cuts down on stropping.
Joe, about that Victory hone-- you strop on the plexiglas side? Interesting. It's probably not true plexiglas due to the age of the hone, but it is still an interesting concept. I got some spare plexi sheets hanging around. I'll let ya know how it works out.
Laz in Tampa said:
You're right, it's not plexi. It's harder. Plexiglass would scratch. This doesn't. And it's hard to believe it's doing anything, but it does smooth the edge. I had to check it under a microscope to convince myself. THe hone says that one stroke equals ten on leather. I don't know how to check that. I still like the feel of stropping on leather. The plastic feels slippery and doesn't have that nice drag of the leather. But I do find I'm doing a lot less stropping.
- Thread starter
- #30
I got a Carborundum #108 today. It appears to be a medium and fine hone. Need to clean it up, but it appears to be in excellent shape!
Randy
Randy
Joe, maybe it's real glass?
Laz in Tampa said:
It doesn't feel like glass and it's too light for a piece that thick. I sure would like to know what it is. I can tell you that when I first got the hone I tried using the plastic with the edge leading and I was shaving off small amounts of powder.
Hmmm. The only thing I can think of would be epoxy, or a clear celluloid?
halwilson said:
It's a 118s, and it's no medium. It really removes material. I was working a wedge on it and I couldn't believe how fast it was cutting.
Laz in Tampa said:
Just a quick note... The Spyderco "Medium" is the 800 grit and I have found that the 1200 diamond is far faster at removing nicks.
Just my two cents,
A six year old thread that has some great beginner info. Take a peek.
Its great.I only have a winner double sided Hone and now I'm thinking of getting a very fine Grit Swaty or a Itsapeech hone for myself .
Unfortunately these are very rare haven't seen one on BST for some time. Its very sad.
Unfortunately these are very rare haven't seen one on BST for some time. Its very sad.
very informative... still interested to know if they figured out what the "plastic" was on that one hone...
