Thread: Confirmation on hones

While reading up on honing razors, I got the impression, maybe incorrectly, that the only stone needed to keep a new razor in shave ready condition is a Norton 4000/8000. I wanted to confirm that.

If that is the case, what is the benefit of having a 12000 or other such grit stone for the finishing.

A 4000/8000 will get the job done you are correct.

You can walk from New York to L.A. All you need are your legs. Why take a bus, drive a car, or fly?

i use a norton 1K to set the bevel but it can be done on the 4k side of a norton 4/8 and all my razors are more then comfortable shavers at some point i'd like to get a 12K or 16K but there not required for a smooth shave, stick with the Norton 4/8 and pick something finer at a later time. but that's just my opinion.

I normally will recommend that if all you want to do is refresh, then just use either chromium oxide on the back of your webbing strop or .5 diamond on a felt strop. 4-7 light strokes followed by you regular stropping regiment when your razor starts to pull a little. This should keep it going for quite a while. When it quits working, then a finishing stone like the Naniwa 12K is a good choice again 4-7 light X strokes followed bye the paste or spray and then a regular stopping and that should keep you going even longer. A Norton 4K/8K combo is a great choice for getting into honing and actually, it is all I used the first couple years I started honing straight razors.

Have fun.

I am just looking to start with refreshing the edge, I will look into the pastes. I feel more comfortable working with stones, would a 12000 be a better initial buy for refreshing the edge?

I have a Norton 4k/8k. From what I have learned you can do everything you need to do with it and some chromium oxide strop paste. You can even set a bevel on the 4k side. You can use this hone every time you hone for the rest of your life and have a great shave ready blade. Some people like to have a finishing stone just for that little bit extra but it is not a necessity, more of just a want. It will extend the period of time between honings a little bit too. If your financial situation allows you to get a finishing stone and not hurt, then go for it if you want, but you don't have to have it.

So I've gotten that the norton 4/8 combo is more than enough. Unfortunately for me I can't find it here in the UK. What I have found though is a Naniwa 3/10K combo. Now, my question is, could these be seen as roughly equivalent? Has anyone here(particularly hoping for Lynn to chime in as I'm sure he's used just about everything out there) tried to use just the 3k and the 10k and gotten decent results? Would these be enough for a full honing. I am looking to keep my sharpened razor sharp but I'm still curious as to the abilities of this combo, would it be enough to get a dull(not damaged) razor back to spec.

The main reason I'm asking this is that, at least to me, it seems that if you want a ful progression (1/3/5/8/10/12) or something along those lines you'd end up paying quite a premium. Now, I understand why people do this and I might at some point do the same, but what kind of gets at my cheapskate side is the fact that a coticule or BBW is about the price of the 3/10 Naniwa and from what I gather they can handle a razor from start to finish?

So am I close to reality or am I just out there?

The 3/10 is something that I haven't seen until you posted about it in another thread,, I have a 3k and a 10K in the Naniwa SS line,,,

Honestly I think it is a long jump but Yes it could be done, heck we have done 1k -------> just about any finisher you can name, so yes it can be done but you are going to have to learn to use that system to it's maximum so you are going to have to figure it out

Take a look at the One Stone Honing thread from Lynn and I to see how we did the 1k bevel sets and then jumped to one finishing stone

Originally Posted by 32t

A 4000/8000 will get the job done you are correct.

You can walk from New York to L.A. All you need are your legs. Why take a bus, drive a car, or fly?

Now,,,Now,,,,

Originally Posted by gdelo538

I am just looking to start with refreshing the edge, I will look into the pastes. I feel more comfortable working with stones, would a 12000 be a better initial buy for refreshing the edge?

IMO only,,,, yes, but I know absolutely nothing of pastes, I only use stones. If you can afford it, get the 12K.
Getting a smooth shave off an 8K is not something that happens overnight,,,,actually honing any razor, with any stone, to a shave ready status, is not learned overnight.

,,,,,but the journey is a fun one.