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Please help me choose!

This seems like the most general consensus. I have to say that a 20 bucks (currently discounted) 3k splash and go hone is kind of hard not to buy...
The problem is these no name stones are pretty loose and fast with their grit ratings, consistency as well as staying in one piece... Second hand is really the way to go with waterstones if you want to know the truth.
 
If money is an issue, a King 1/6k combo stone is $25. King is one of the oldest, largest stone maker and the most popular selling stone in the world.

You will not be shaving off these stones so if there are faster, more splash and go or “feel” smoother so you may need to use more water or take a few more laps and end up at exactly the same place as a pricy stone(s).

All you are doing is getting to the finisher. Spend your money on a finisher or pre-finisher, Naniwia, Suehiro or Shapton in the 8-12k range.
 
16k and 30k Shapton Glass Stones work fine. They need to be used correctly.
For example, the jump to 30k is done from 8k. Those stones are not meant for excessively repetitious numerical progressions.
If someone wants to do 100 laps on every stone above 5k, the high grit Shaptons are not for them.

I've discussed this with Shapton directly. While they don't list them as recommended for razors, they also say "of course you can use it when honing razors, it depends on your skills and technique."
There are no gritty clumps of abrasives in any of their Glass Stones. I used them often enough and put too my edges under the scope to count. The striations are always uniform, consistent, etc.

I've had full sets of the Glass and Pro stones - zero issues. All good.
The Glass Stone 7 series are also good, better I think for the finer grits when honing razors.
I have bought the 16k Rockstar twice but both times the stone arrived smashed. Was an A'zon issue, not Shapton's.
I'll buy it again, just need to get over receiving two smashed stones first.

If someone has a 1k Chosera, it's possible the other Chosera (now Professional Stones) would be likeable.
I use the 1k Pro, 3k Pro, 4k IE-0400 and Jyunpaku. Great progression.

Have also owned and used the Suherio Gokumyo and Kouseki stones, They work, but never found the feel or cost to be worth the price of admission.

If someone wants to gyrate over costs, cool. I stay out of those discussions because it always turns into a Mobius strip convo.

OP said edges were intermittent. If that is due to poor bevel setting, there are no stones that will fix that.

Bottom line, if edges are intermittently good, then I'd suspect that there is more user error here than anything else.
Nothing wrong with buying more stones but I would not expect it to solve the lack of shave ready edges.

Learn to set the bevel on the 1k so it can shave.
See what using the Coticule after that does.
Then spend $$. Or not.
Throwing money at a problem doesn't ensure a solution.
 
16k and 30k Shapton Glass Stones work fine.
This mirrors my experience as well.

I have used my 16k Glass stone quite a bit, down to its last 2mm. Honed hundreds of times on it, likely more than a thousand times. Honed razors, leather work tools, wood work tools and few Japanese kitchen knives as well. It worked fine. The 30k is also a good stone if used correctly.

I got the 16k Rockstar as well, honed more than a dozen razors on it. They all shaved nicely (for a synth finish) and had no apex issues under the microscope.

Those 3 stones work fine if they are used correctly.

While they don't list them as recommended for razors, they also say "of course you can use it when honing razors, it depends on your skills and technique."
There are no gritty clumps of abrasives in any of their Glass Stones. I used them often enough and put too my edges under the scope to count. The striations are always uniform, consistent, etc.
While I never had the 120, 220, 320 and the HC from the Glass series, all the other ones were good quality stones. Never had issues related to grit or binder quality. As Shapton says, if one has issues with them, then it’s down to their skill level.

My only problem with the Glass stones is the glass backing which can chip if it slips from the hand and the thickness of the abrasive layer. If one sharpens all day long, then it will go through the 5mm of abrasive rather quickly, especially for the 1000 grit stone.

Anyway, see you all next time when someone complains again about the Shapton 16k.
 

Legion

OTF jewel hunter
Staff member
I've had full sets of the Glass and Pro stones - zero issues. All good.
The Glass Stone 7 series are also good, better I think for the finer grits when honing razors.
I have bought the 16k Rockstar twice but both times the stone arrived smashed. Was an A'zon issue, not Shapton's.
I'll buy it again, just need to get over receiving two smashed stones first.
Interesting. I always suspected the Rockstar would be kind of fragile.

It would always be cheaper for a company to make a stone twice as thick, rather than to bind a thinner stone to a piece of glass. If Shapton decided to do that with the SG stones then there had to be a good reason.
 
Sounds like there is a consensus, of sorts, on the rockstar 10k. Perhaps start with that, learn it. Get good shaves with it, and then when the opportunity, budget, etc arrises, pick up and play with various naturals to see if you can improve on it.

If you have a fail, back to the 10k and try another. That 10k stone could be a nice factory reset, so you can consistently test other things after it.
This is exactly how I use and view my synthetic progression. It’s basically the default fall back position for me. When all else fails a few laps on the Shaptons gets me up and running again.
 
Interesting. I always suspected the Rockstar would be kind of fragile.

It would always be cheaper for a company to make a stone twice as thick, rather than to bind a thinner stone to a piece of glass. If Shapton decided to do that with the SG stones then there had to be a good reason.
I think you’re right. I haven’t broken a Rockstar but they do feel brittle and prone to shatter. I’m sure the glass is there to increase the toughness of the stone. I’m thinking about bonding my Rockstars to an acrylic substrate.
 
Interesting. I always suspected the Rockstar would be kind of fragile.
They're not fragile. Well, no more so than any other stone. The issue is that they were both shipped in a plain plastic shipping bag with zero protection - no bubble, no nothing, and then shipped from Japan. Lazership handled the last leg of the delivery and in both cases the packages were thrown from the middle of the flight of steps up to my door. About 12 feet onto concrete.
 
Forgot to add, I have no experience with the Shaptons, but I've been happy with the Naniwas I have. I'm guessing I'd be happy with either brand, though. The Naniwas I've bought have all had a bubble wrap around the stones in the boxes. I'm not going to test to tossing them, though. These were for the Chosera and Speciality Stone varieties.
 
If someone wants to gyrate over costs, cool. I stay out of those discussions because it always turns into a Mobius strip convo.

OP said edges were intermittent. If that is due to poor bevel setting, there are no stones that will fix that.
Ok, after spending some more time on the Möbius strip of indecision I finally decided I should listen to the advice I asked and I bought a naniwa 3/10 superstone from someone here who was no longer using it.

Thanks for helping me limit my HAD to naturals!
 
Ps. The intermittent edges are between smooth and not so smooth, I'll venture into the current "coticule for idiots thread" I did read some good tips there. I think I set some stones aside as not finishing very well but maybe these are just to slow and need more time on water only. The new synthetic will helpe judge the other stoned I hope
 
I constantly use my Shapton HR 1k, 3k and 8k. If I was starting over, I would look at the Shapton RockStar 1k, 3k and 8k.
it's probably good advice, but I do notice that in this regards I'm a bit sensitive to branding, I know this is silly but the fact that the shapton Rockstar stones all look basically the same except for one number in the corner makes them feel very a Dime a Dozen if you catch my drift.

I think that is what appealed to me in the Naniwa Snow white, besides the enthusiasm about this stone on this forum, the fact that it is not in a series and that it had earned itself a nickname somehow makes this a very appealing stone.

for now I managed to avoid the appeal and tested my new Naniwa 3/10 superstone yesterday. it feels very soft and I have to get used to the feedback it gives, it's not what I'm used to with the Chosera 1k and naturals, but it's interesting :)
 
I had a Chosera 1k. Good stone. I just seem to have a preference for the feedback from the material used to make the Shapton HR stones. The RockStar stones are said to be made from the same material.

I also have a Naniwa Gouken 12k that I use for finishing. This stone is a different beast with different feedback.

I would focus on the edges a stone produces and how it feels to hone on and not focus on the branding aspect.

I too am curious about the Snow White as well as the yellow 8k Super Stone. The problem being needing to buy them to try them.
 
I also live in the Netherlands and if you like @Bramm you can contact me I can help you with either honing or i also have a 2 Naniwa super stones which might fit you a combination 3/10 and a 5k which i can sell for a good price because i upgraded to a Pro and Gouken serie.

If you are intrested in either send me a DM
So I honed a few blades and the 3/10 stone is very versatile to my suprise! After refreshing the surface both sides are very quick and the feedback shows a remarkable change start to finish and I have to admit I had a very comfortable shave of the 10k, the smoothness is difficult to distinguish from a successful session on a coticule but it is a bit sharper.

... Kind makes me wonder what the hell I have been doing on those Belgian stones...
 
Yup, Super Stones work, the swarf build up is their only downfall but can easily be remedied with a slurry stone or a Magic Eraser.

I started cleaning my SG10k with a larger Coticule slurry stone and rinsing it off, but one day honed my finish laps on the Coticule slurry and thinned to a misty slurry, it made a less harsh shaving edge.

The slurry also prevents the stone loading up as much. Modern 10k’s and the old Super Stone 12k have a very broad range, can bevel set and finish.

The 8k Snow White was my go-to pre-finisher for years, it was replaced by the SG 10k, which polishes a bit better, but at twice the cost. If you are not shaving off this edge it really does not matter. I finish on a Jnat or Ark from the 10k.

The 3k also is an interesting stone, with a broad range that can bevel set easily and leave a shallow stria pattern that is easily removed by a jump to an 6,8 or 10k.

I have been bevel setting on a 2 and/or 3k lately.
 
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