Thread: How many hones do you use?

These days I fiish everything on my nakayama. For a touchup I use my narutaki first to correct the rounding of the very edge, due to stropping.

So if the bevels are ok, that means 2 stones.
If the bevels are not ok, I use my norton 1000/4000 first.
In that case I am up to 3 stones.

An alternative route would be to use the norton 4000/8000 if the bevels are ok'ish, and then finish on the coticule. This way I use only 2 stones, but the edge is not as nice as with the nakayama finish which is superb.

Or I could use only the 4000 /8000, or only the coticule.
That would be one stone. I have done this several times, and you can definitely get a shaveready edge with either stone.
But it'll take more time, a bit more care and the results will be ok.

Last night I used only the small Belgian combo I found in an antique store. It was in a deeply discounted box of barber junk . Used only to refresh a previously sharp razor.
I now understand how this rock got its reputation! My sample stands as my best shave bargain to date at less than $2.5.

I use all of them at one time or another. Most frequently I use the Shaptons from 2000 through 30k.