Hello, so right now I am finishing my razors on a spyder co ultra fine. It works and I can get a smooth shave, but I know there is a better way. I am thinking of adding a shapton m5 12000k to the mix, does anyone use one? The sell on amazon for $50 and its pretty tempting.
Shapton m5
- Thread starter chagovatoloco
- Start date
I've never used one but based on a quick search I think I'd skip it for razors. If you can go for 30 more bucks the Naniwa 12k gets a lot of praise around here. It's the only synthetic finisher that I own.
I know this is probably off topic/doesn't answer you question because it seems like you prefer synthetics, but I also used to fininsh my razors on a Spyderco uf and also found it lacking somehow.
I bought the Chinese 12k and like the finish much more. The bevel is just as mirrored (after i lapped the stone until it shined), but has a better feel to it when shaving.
Right now i finish on the Chinese stone after the Spyderco fine. I use gel baby oil on it and it seems to help for some reason (and is less messy than water - I never liked using water on it because I always hold the stone in my off hand).
I bought the Chinese 12k and like the finish much more. The bevel is just as mirrored (after i lapped the stone until it shined), but has a better feel to it when shaving.
Right now i finish on the Chinese stone after the Spyderco fine. I use gel baby oil on it and it seems to help for some reason (and is less messy than water - I never liked using water on it because I always hold the stone in my off hand).
- Thread starter
- #4
Thank you, thats more what I was asking. The spyder co works but I know it can be better. So it seems a 12000 k is a good finishing stone.
Steve56
Ask me about shaving naked!
Ot isn't such a bargain as you might think. The m5 means the abrasive is 5mm thick, an m7 would be 7mm thick. It's on a ceramic substrate and IIRC the abrasive is an older formulation of the Shapton Pro though I am not 100% certain. Anyway, it's an older designed stone with 5mm of abrasive for $50 while a 15mm thick new Shapton 15k at CKTG is less than 3x that much at $127.
A better buy IMO would be the grey market/Japanese version of the Shapton Pro, the 15mm thick Shapton kuromaku 12k at $62.50
Cheers, Steve
A better buy IMO would be the grey market/Japanese version of the Shapton Pro, the 15mm thick Shapton kuromaku 12k at $62.50
Cheers, Steve
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I bought the Chinese stone for ~$50 including shipping. At first I was like "what is this?" Then i lapped it all the way until it was like a mirror at a 15 degree angle and it was better. Then I used oil on it and I was stunned with the quality of the shave for a $50 stone. This is for the 2 3/4 inch wide stone. Also, I have never had to flatten it.
There are better stones out there for more money, but I think you might like the Chinese rock if you have a little patience with it.
You could even use it after the Spyderco uf if you want to speed things up (it is a slow stone).
I have not tried an Arkansas stone yet, and would love to try one, if you can find a surgical black for $50 it would probably be even better.
There are better stones out there for more money, but I think you might like the Chinese rock if you have a little patience with it.
You could even use it after the Spyderco uf if you want to speed things up (it is a slow stone).
I have not tried an Arkansas stone yet, and would love to try one, if you can find a surgical black for $50 it would probably be even better.
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I have the Shapton Pro 12K (japanese Kuromaku series) and the chinese 12k Guangxi hone. As a beginner it took some time for me to use the Shapton Pro up to it's potential. It is a hard stone, and as a beginner you need some time to get the right feel for the feedback. My first attempts on it gave me a very sharp and somewhat irritating and aggressive edge. Now, i use it with an additional Metalmaster 15K slurry stone (for cleaning too) which leads to a less sharp but smooth edge, if i then do eight to twelve strokes with water only, the edge gets sharper and still saves it's smoothness.
The chinese hone is a natural stone, so you can never be exactly sure, how it turns out to be. I flattened mine up to a 1200 diamond plate and then smothened it up to 8000 (with a TAIDEA beater stone i got for cheap 3,99 €
. The edge i get from my chinese hone is still the smoothest i can get of any stone, the sharpness is plenty for a close shave, but it is noticeably less sharp than the Shapton 12K edge.It is all up to you to judge, what is better for you depends on your individual preferences, everyone feels the edge differently and everyone has a slightly different handling of the razor. For most razors i prefer the Shapton, simply said because it is fast and reliable. For small razors on the other hand i want the smoother edge the chinese hone produces.
For a beginner on the other hand i generally suggest the Naniwa Superstone series, the Naniwa specialty as it's called today. I have the Naniwas up to 8000 and i found them to be easier to achieve very good results with. The learning curve is faster and it is quite difficult to make enough mistakes to get bad edge from it. I see the Naniwa resin bonded series as a superior stone to learn how to sharpen your razors.
I have a Shapton Pro 1K & a Shapton Glass 16K & I love them both. I am looking at getting a 6K Pro soon. The 16K hone needs verry little pressure & only 6 to 8 strokes. You can go from an 8K to the 16K pretty easy. Make sure you have a good flattening stone & keep your Shapton as flat as you can. A DMT 325grit diamond hone works well. I am using an older Norton at the moment & it is much cheaper but you have to keep it flat also .
Slawman
Slawman
- Thread starter
- #9
Glad to see some love for the shapton's, it seem that since the naniwa's have gained in popularity they have been forgotten.
I started honing three years ago, I came from a knife sharpening background and love spyderco so much that I bought their bench stones and honed with them. I chose them because they need no water or lapping. But after experimenting with some stropping compounds I know I can get a better edge.
Due to a logistics/time restrictions I have decided to go with the m5. I know I can get better for a little more and later I may. But for now I will work with the m5 12000 and finish with a chrominum oxide balsa wood strop. In theory this should give me professional finish. We'll see, it seem I'll either fall in love with this stone or turn in to another Naniwa fan.
I started honing three years ago, I came from a knife sharpening background and love spyderco so much that I bought their bench stones and honed with them. I chose them because they need no water or lapping. But after experimenting with some stropping compounds I know I can get a better edge.
Due to a logistics/time restrictions I have decided to go with the m5. I know I can get better for a little more and later I may. But for now I will work with the m5 12000 and finish with a chrominum oxide balsa wood strop. In theory this should give me professional finish. We'll see, it seem I'll either fall in love with this stone or turn in to another Naniwa fan.
- Thread starter
- #10
So here's my story, I got the m5 and soaked it for one minute than proceeded to lapping it. All ready I could see it was soft, so I let it dry out a little then put it to use. It did sharpen well and put on a nice shine, but it was really soft. I tried my knife on it and it actually nicked the surface, so I was done with it.
Next I went with a surgical black arkansas. I wanted something hard like my spyderco's and thought this would make a good final stone. I honed a dovo until my spyderco ultra fine put a good nice reflective finish, than I took it to my Dan's black arkie and watched as my mirror finish turned hazie. I have read that arkies must be broken in so I worked it for a week, it could shave off it but it was not an improvement over the spyderco ultra fine.
So I was stuck and it seemed I was back to whet stones. I must looked at the shapton glass, but at $150 it was more than I could part with. So I ordered a karumaku 12000, and man what a great stone. It was firm after lapping and polished a fine edge, it feels like a stone that will last forever and it also did a great job on my pocket knife. Needless to say, I found my finishing stone.
Next I went with a surgical black arkansas. I wanted something hard like my spyderco's and thought this would make a good final stone. I honed a dovo until my spyderco ultra fine put a good nice reflective finish, than I took it to my Dan's black arkie and watched as my mirror finish turned hazie. I have read that arkies must be broken in so I worked it for a week, it could shave off it but it was not an improvement over the spyderco ultra fine.
So I was stuck and it seemed I was back to whet stones. I must looked at the shapton glass, but at $150 it was more than I could part with. So I ordered a karumaku 12000, and man what a great stone. It was firm after lapping and polished a fine edge, it feels like a stone that will last forever and it also did a great job on my pocket knife. Needless to say, I found my finishing stone.
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