Slate

[scotia]

I've never shaved with a straight edge before and have asked my girlfriend for one this Christmas. Fear not, I have conducted extensive research on the subject over the past month or two and have given her several options to choose from, rather than give her carte blanche on what she thinks 'looks nice!' Like everything, I want to do this properly and also do not wish to be put off SE shaving so early on by starting out with a cheap blade, especially when I can foresee SE rapidly becoming an interest of mine. I realise that this is a long-term investment and that you get what you pay for.

There are numerous reasons for my deciding to go 'traditional' (not least because I loathe the waste produced with modern, plastic-handled shaving) but I shan't bore you further with such points and will get to the question I cannot seem to find an answer to:

I am aware that I would not go wrong with a Norton 4k/8k honing stone or the like but I wondering about honing with slate? The supplier I'm thinking of purchasing a 'Dragon's Tongue' slate stone, which is sourced from Wales, states that this particular stone in question will achieve honing similar to within 8k-10k. Now, I know 8k-10k is pretty fine as far as stones go but I was wondering if anybody has any suggestions or experiences related to honing with slate?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Proinsias]

If you want a one stone replacement for a few synthetics a coticule might be worth a look.

I've not got the Dragon's Tongue or the Norton so maybe someone else can chime in but I suspect the Dragon's Tongue might be a little slow going as an only hone and perhaps a little towards the rough side as a final finisher.

 

[jpcwon]

Do you know whether your first razor will be "shave-ready"? This means that you don't have to do anything when receiving the razor (not even stropping)...just shave with it. If not, then I would highly recommend send your razor out to get honed the first time.

Take it from someone who bought my first razor and hone at the same time. I was all excited to start honing, but I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. Inevitably, I ended up making my new Dovo worse than it already was, and had to send it out anyway!

I'm not saying you shouln't attempt honing....hey, you gotta start somewhere! I would say to start with the Norton 4/8...that was my first stone, and it seems to be a good "starter stone". IMO it's important to learn how to get a shave-ready edge off of the 4/8, then you can move onto finishing stones.

If I were you though, I would get a beater razor to learn to hone with, then you can send your good razor out to get honed professionally. Trust me you'll be happy you did! There are plenty of very generous members on here who would offer to hone your new razor..

 

[Gamma]

DT hones are a mixed lot. The one I had was a good middle stone, not up to par for finishing.

 

[Proinsias]

If you do get your first razor professionally honed, which you should, one of the Chinese waterstones from the Polish seller on ebay is a pretty cost effective way of keeping it shaving sharp. As has been mentioned learning to shave and strop will probably be enough to keep you busy for a while. A cheap and easy way to get into razor edge maintenance is a little chromium oxide powder on balsa wood, leather or fabric.

If you're in for the long haul, want to do things properly & become self sufficient, I would advise picking up a few cheap ebay razors to practice honing whilst you learn to shave and strop with a shave ready razor. Something around 1k for bevel setting, one or more stones to refine the bevel and something to keep them all flat is the 'basic kit' imo. This can be accomplished fairly cheaply with a King 1K, a small coticule & slurry stone, and some wet/dry sandpaper on a flat surface for lapping - or with a bit more cash you could get a synthetic progression, 1/4/8 or 1/3/8/10 for example, add a finishing stone of your choice and a DMT D8C to keep things flat.

 

[tomjr]

i would choose a vintage coticule and a chinese 12k after honing for quite some time i have found these to be easy to work with and produce outstanding results if your bevel is properly set. i see no need for anything else but a bevel setter. they will last you a lifetime for a small investment. tom

 

[daflorc]

Get a norton 1/4 and an 8k naniwa. I've honed about 100 razors with this setup. Its quick and easy. You want a fast, reliable cutter for a finishing hone when you're a beginner. A coticule is tricky to learn, even when you know what you're doing. A chinese 12k is the slowest finishing hone known to man. As far as a slate hone - the one that I owned I used as a finisher, as it was nearly identical to a thuringian. There are however slate hones that are more in the 6-8k range, so do your homework. These rocks are only tools to sharpen your razors for a nice shave. Do you want an expensive rock? A natural rock? One from Japan, or with a fancy name? Or do you want a rock that is easy and fast to hone your razors on?