New to honing. If you could start over which stones would you buy?

[H Brad Boonshaft]

“The testing methodology relied on results, not measured grit. They compared the scratch size and density, and then compared to the results done by abrasive powders.
They took it from a question of actual particle size to what does that stone sharpen the same as.”

The problem with “grit rating Arks” and other hard stones, how they finish is dependent on how the stone faces are finished/polished. It is not just grit size but also the binder.

That is why machinist can take two, $20 Norton combination India stones and Diamond surface grind them flat and smooth and they will produce a mirror finish on steel, (Precision Ground Flat Stones). The grit of a combo India stone is about 100-320 grit.

So, you cannot accurately compare Arks as no 2 are identically finished, nor have the exact same grit and binder.

How would they grit rate a Jnat?

And then there is technique… Can a new honer, that cannot fully set a bevel, rub his razor on a burnished Ark and get a smoking shaving edge?



As an aside, here is an interesting video on cleaning precision ground India stones with WD40 and a piece of cardboard. I will have to try it on Arks.

(Cleaning PFG Stones with WD40 and Cardboard)

 

[cugel]

My favorite synthetics seem to be the naniwa pro/chosera series and the Shapton Pros. There are so many out there and I have not tried them all...
I would probably stick with those if I did it all over again.
Then for mid-finishing I am awfully partial to natural stones.

 

[TexNat]

If I could send a message back in time to myself on stones to buy, it would be: Naniwa 3k, 5k, Snow White 8k, Dan’s Hard Ark, and a Dan’s translucent Ark to finish. Those stones will do everything that needs doing as a core line up and do a nice job of it too. The Naniwa 12k is a solid finishing choice, but I prefer the edge off of the Dan’s translucent Ark including over Dan’s black Arks and my Suehiro 20k.

A Dan’s hard Ark can set bevels very nicely and set the stage to finish on the translucent Ark, which are the two stones I mainly use now, but synthetics are easier to use starting off.

I’ve not used the Shapton glass stones, so do not consider those in my answer, but they sure look nice.

Excellent post H Brad.

 

[Empire straights]

If I could send a message back in time to myself on stones to buy, it would be: Naniwa 3k, 5k, Snow White 8k, Dan’s Hard Ark, and a Dan’s translucent Ark to finish. Those stones will do everything that needs doing as a core line up and do a nice job of it too. The Naniwa 12k is a solid finishing choice, but I prefer the edge off of the Dan’s translucent Ark including over Dan’s black Arks and my Suehiro 20k.

A Dan’s hard Ark can set bevels very nicely and set the stage to finish on the translucent Ark, which are the two stones I mainly use now, but synthetics are easier to use starting off.

I’ve not used the Shapton glass stones, so do not consider those in my answer, but they sure look nice.

Excellent post H Brad.

Throw a fine file, a washita and/or coticule w/ coarse slurry stone in there and you can do anything you need to do on just about any blade ever.

 

[kcb5150]

From a honing pov idk if I would have done it differently. I started on things that were tricky to maximize but hard to get into trouble with so it gave me the latitude to really get a feel for what I was doing without ruining anything. That said, I started with a relatively gentle 1k, coticules and french naturals and the cotis tend to multiply like sheep so from an economic pov as well as a space savings pov I probably would have been better off in those ways buying a full set of shapton glass stones and probably ruining a few expendable blades learning that way but what fun is that..

 

[Empire straights]

From a honing pov idk if I would have done it differently. I started on things that were tricky to maximize but hard to get into trouble with so it gave me the latitude to really get a feel for what I was doing without ruining anything. That said, I started with a relatively gentle 1k, coticules and french naturals and the cotis tend to multiply like sheep so from an economic pov as well as a space savings pov I probably would have been better off in those ways buying a full set of shapton glass stones and probably ruining a few expendable blades learning that way but what fun is that..

I always recommend coticules because they are forgiving and they are tricky so you have to tinker them learn the stone. It made me much better at honing, I didn't destroy razors, and most importantly, I didn't slit my throat while learning to shave with a straight. I think I have a coticule or 2 from you and lord know how many other stones I got from you, but vintage coticules that can reliably deliver a keen shaving edge are the best beginner stones out there in my book, followed closely by the highly underrated Tam O'shanter. Tams are one of the most underrated stones out there, and they aren't that costly. They are usually narrow though(also teaches better honing skills and finishes wonky blades better.

 

[kcb5150]

I still have my first coticule. I spent months just using that. Then I bought three more and I stuck with that for a long time and then somehow I ended up with like 120 coticules under the bed, on shelves, in my desk on the desk, in drawers, window sills... I still to this day come across rocks I have no recollection of having bought or lapped but I clearly did.

 

[kcb5150]

I don't really think it necessarily matters what you choose as a honing progression to learn on so long as it is logical, good quality and you stick with that for a good long while no matter what to cancel out as many variables as possible.

 

[Empire straights]

I go through a lot of trouble to hunt down very specific types of stones and I'm pretty sure I've got all the coticule still that can't from you. I have the same coticule problem except that they're everywhere but my car/toolbox but they're my favorite stone. It does seem as if they serve like rats though. My 3 year old has her own coticule for goodness sake. She doesn't own any blades unlit you count her brass letter opener(though she's getting closer to an apex) that she does x strokes with. Ridiculous. If I were to spoil them I'd image tools I'd the way though I get a lot of weird looks from parents at the school a lot. I don't car but I do. I like to blow them a kiss.

 

[frbock]

I used to do more wood projects, and one of my secret ingredients was Garnet sandpaper. It worked a little differently than other sandpapers. Bits of the grit would break off and become a much finer grit than the paper. The abrasives on the sheet became smaller and more rounded. It was really good at final sanding.
Based on the lab tests in the article, it would appear that Arkansas shares that property with garnet. It becomes a polishing agent as it breaks off.
I wouldn't bet any money on it, but I'd suspect that repeated passes at lighter pressure would increase the polishing. The Swarf solids would continue to break down to finer particles.

 

[FairlySlow]

I still have my first coticule. I spent months just using that. Then I bought three more and I stuck with that for a long time and then somehow I ended up with like 120 coticules under the bed, on shelves, in my desk on the desk, in drawers, window sills... I still to this day come across rocks I have no recollection of having bought or lapped but I clearly did.

Sell me my first haha just kidding sort of. I hope to have that many one day