Thread: The Art of slurry...

What about the Barber Hones, the Swatys, Carborundums and such? Same thing, thicker slurry diluted as honing progresses?

barber hones are used for touching up a razor that may be starting to pull on your beard, not for honing in full from bevel to sharpening to finishing.

Originally Posted by name

What about the Barber Hones, the Swatys, Carborundums and such? Same thing, thicker slurry diluted as honing progresses?

Barber Hones, the Swatys, Carborundums to not build a slurry unless they
are breaking down or someone is using them wrong. They wear slowly, almost not at all.

It is the rare Barber hone that finishes as well as a Norton 4/8K combo can.
None in my collection of ten or so finish as well as my 12K Naniwa Super Stone.

But they feel right in the hand and look cool in the shave den and
they often do a fine job touching up a razor when used just a little
with a light touch and lather.

I might add that a white toothpaste with fluoride seems to clean, tighten up
and polish the surface of redish ceramic barber hones in a good way. Toothpaste
today is not a strong abrasive and is well classified so if you think
your barber hone wants slurry try a little. Toothpaste seems to have
a rating system based on an RDA value (very interesting test).

Toothpaste Abrasion Ratings « Dental Designs of Salt Lake

Electric toothbrush users should know their toothpaste's abrasivity index!

This is interesting, they mention grain shape and patents.
Selecting a Toothpaste for Electric Brushing - What Should You Know About Electric Toothbrushes - Epinions.com

The guys with an experimental mind should look up stokes law.

Have a minty fresh shave.

Thanks Tom I was hoping your were going to answer that one

Does anyone progress from slurry to slurry without plain water in between?
as in 1k slurry, then onto 4k slurry, then on to 8k slurry?

i was wondering as i have a broken 4k slip stone that i used to use as a hone (it's about the size of a barbers hone). i've been using it as a slurry stone on other hones (i have no 4k hone at the moment)..

i'm waiting to get my chinese guangxi back, and wondered if i could successfully use my softer 1k, 4k, and 8k slip stones to raise slurries on my larger hard flat c12k and then finish with a c12k slurry, then water.

does this make sense to anyone or sound like less then desirable plan?

the slipstones were cheap, and work well (when not broken, grrrrr...) but a larger surface would be nice sometimes.

more or less honing with slurry, but without the hone, in a way, i guess.

Originally Posted by ezpz

Does anyone progress from slurry to slurry without plain water in between?
as in 1k slurry, then onto 4k slurry, then on to 8k slurry?

i was wondering as i have a broken 4k slip stone that i used to use as a hone (it's about the size of a barbers hone). i've been using it as a slurry stone on other hones (i have no 4k hone at the moment)..

i'm waiting to get my chinese guangxi back, and wondered if i could successfully use my softer 1k, 4k, and 8k slip stones to raise slurries on my larger hard flat c12k and then finish with a c12k slurry, then water.

does this make sense to anyone or sound like less then desirable plan?

the slipstones were cheap, and work well (when not broken, grrrrr...) but a larger surface would be nice sometimes.

more or less honing with slurry, but without the hone, in a way, i guess.

ezpz,
I hope I'm not speaking out of turn. If I understand you correctly, the purpose of rinsing your stone and finishing with water only is to enhance the keenness of the edge. You do not want to cross contaminate between slurries on stone surfaces.
When I use my high end finishing stones during the final honing progression, I clean and capture the slurry off the razor on a special strop I have made. When this of amalgam of coticle, J-nats, Escher and metal particle slurry dries on the strop it creates a very fine buffing compound. I’ve been experimenting and I hope this helps.

Mike

Originally Posted by ezpz

Does anyone progress from slurry to slurry without plain water in between?
as in 1k slurry, then onto 4k slurry, then on to 8k slurry?
...snip...
.

I have done this. Just be sure to wipe the razor clean when
switching to a finer hone. I embrace the natural slurry....
I do not use a slurry stone on my Norton or Naniwa hones.

a 1k with slurry does the 1k thing quicker than without.
a 4k with slurry does the 4k thing quicker than without.
an 8k with slurry does the 8k thing quicker than without.

IMO, The last finisher should be without for the sharpest edge
but with my Na12KSS with or without slurry I get a "fine for my face"
edge so I do not worry about diluting it to clear water.
Slurry all the way can work and the last bit of sharp can
be had by diluting the slurry of the last hone to clear water...

Try it -- your shave test will tell you the true answer.

yes, i wasnt suggesting mixing slurries, (although, for the truly brave working with naturals there may be some sense in trying, for example i have no BBW slurry stone, but another stone that i sometimes use to raise a slurry on the softer BBW)

and once i have my stones back i will give it a go. seems like a hard cheap finisher like a quality c12k, and a set of smaller slurry stones may be the cheapest way to go. *shrug*

Mixing slurries is fun. I have actually used a BBW slurry stone before on my Norton combo with good results to see if it would work faster, there definitely was a difference...

FWIW also honing a SS blade or a Chrome covered bevel blade like a Clauss can be a pain in the arse and raisiing a slurry on the Norton with a DMT320 Grit does the trick great. That's once the bevel is set that is, which slurry helps with too!

YouTube - Razor Sharpening