Need some help choosing my next stone

[Seelector]

I feel like you will end up with synths and naturals at the end of the day.

Yes that's definitely where I'll end up. I just need to spread the spending out over a reasonable time.

I just suggest synths first as there is no guesswork.

This is my thinking as well. I don't want to spend a bunch of time wondering and figuring out "is it the stone or is it me?"

Anyways, I think I've made my decision: Shapton Glass 3k HR and 8k HR. The 3k is listed as "excellent" for razors on that Jende chart, and both the 8k HR and HC are "good". The vendor doesn't carry the 8k HC, so HR it is.

 

[Bjlefebvre]

I get what you’re saying and I’m tempted to get a natural stone. But I’m not that experienced with honing and I don’t have a lot of time to devote to learning a coticule.

Not to be that guy to recommend something that the OP has said he doesn't want, but just thought I'd chime in. I wasn't a honing guy either. After doing a ton of research, I got a coticule and found that it really does help with learning how to hone. The "dilucot" method - basically just starting with a thick slurry on the stone then slowly diluting it with water - is pretty much fool proof. It really is versatile. Maybe not quite a one-stone solution but not rocket science, either.

 

[Bjlefebvre]

Oh, and congrats on the SuperBowl win. That's sweet.

 

[Elliot]

Kitayama 8k is a great stone.
Also anything at Japanese Knife Imports outta LA. Best knife shop on the planet and his house-branded Gesshin stuff is top notch across the board.

 

[Tomo]

Good choice OP. I did the same as you and slowly built up the following synthetic progression. It’s the perfect set up. These Japanese Synths get you from A to B in the quickest possible time. The Suehiro 20k finish is superb.

Shapton Glass 500 HR > 1k HR > 3k HR > 10k HR > Suehiro Gokumyo 20k

Atoma 400/1200 combo for lapping

 

[Tomo]

The 8k and 10k would be quite interchangeable in these progression. The 8k would actually offer more uniform jumps at the top end.

 

[Seelector]

The 8k and 10k would be quite interchangeable in these progression. The 8k would actually offer more uniform jumps at the top end.

I thought about the 10k because it’s explicitly recommended for razors by Shapton, but it seemed too close to my 12k.

The stones are ordered and due to arrive Tuesday. I wish I had ordered them a few days earlier so I could have the weekend to play with them

 

[Frank Shaves]

Shapton HR 3k and 8k, and Naniwa 12k is a great synthetic lineup.

 

[graysonhenryrussell]

To those of you with the Fuji 8k: How does it compare to the Naniwa SS8k? I ask because I have an SS8k and I've reached a point where I'm beginning to resent it enough to stop trying to make it work for me and just buy a new stone. I finally seem to have cured the constant warping by chucking it into my permasoak bucket in disgust, but it still loads up more than I would like, and I hate the rubbery yet easily gouged feeling while honing, and it seems to cause microchipping on some razors. As a side note, I've been getting better, cleaner results off of my permasoaked King 6k of all things, which seems to be a universally despised stone.

Have any of you had warping problems with the Fuji? How does the swarf loading compare? What's the feedback like (my "ideal honing sensation" is a very hard, dense nakayama, for reference)? It won't be used as a true finisher, but as a prefinisher for edge preparation prior to a JNat or translucent ark. Should I simply buy the seemingly universally acclaimed Snow White and hope I don't get one that crazes?

I have all those stones and if I could only keep one,it would be the snow white. In fact, I’m thinking about getting a backup.

 

[graysonhenryrussell]

Thanks to some beginners luck, I managed to turn $15 into $235 betting on the Superbowl in my first and last foray into sports gambling. Free money!! But money can’t hone a razor so I’m going to trade it for a new stone.

I’ve got a Naniwa SS 12k and an Atoma 400, so I’m looking for something in the 8k range. I thought about a coticule, but I don’t have time to mess around with natural stones right now, so synth it is.

What have you guys had good results from? I know Naniwa has an 8k Super Stone, and also a Fuji and Snow White 8k. I don’t know what the difference is between them, and I have to confess I don’t even know exactly what those last 2 stones are… Are they stones for the Japanese market? I don’t remember seeing them anywhere in online stores.

Shapton glass also seems like a good option. I’m sure there are other options out there that I don’t know about. Anything I should avoid at all costs?

I have Naniwa 8k super stone, Shapton glass 8k, Norton 8k & Snow White 8k. Take a chance on the SNOW WHITE!

 

[Mr Kooby Shemayrew]

To those of you with the Fuji 8k: How does it compare to the Naniwa SS8k? I ask because I have an SS8k and I've reached a point where I'm beginning to resent it enough to stop trying to make it work for me and just buy a new stone. I finally seem to have cured the constant warping by chucking it into my permasoak bucket in disgust, but it still loads up more than I would like, and I hate the rubbery yet easily gouged feeling while honing, and it seems to cause microchipping on some razors. As a side note, I've been getting better, cleaner results off of my permasoaked King 6k of all things, which seems to be a universally despised stone.

Have any of you had warping problems with the Fuji? How does the swarf loading compare? What's the feedback like (my "ideal honing sensation" is a very hard, dense nakayama, for reference)? It won't be used as a true finisher, but as a prefinisher for edge preparation prior to a JNat or translucent ark. Should I simply buy the seemingly universally acclaimed Snow White and hope I don't get one that crazes?

I have the Fuji 8K - I bought it after watching KVJ’s video on 8K comparisons. (It is also locally available and I’m an impulsive buyer when it comes to hones.)

This is a great stone and I’m really glad I got it. My only gripes with it are minor. It isn’t what I would call a true splash and go. It needs some time to soak up water to perform its best. Load up is middle of the road, not particularly good or bad. After use and putting it away, the surface will expand ever so slightly which requires a light lapping before each use to get it back to flat. It really does finish like a 10k+ stone. With stropping, you can shave off this stone, no question. It is pretty fast for an 8K and works well with nice cutlery too.

With that said,

The Falcon 4K is almost criminally underrated. I went from the 4K to an Ozuku with DMT slurry last week cause I was in a hurry. It came out great and it had me wondering if my 8K is going to get lonely going forward.