Thread: Matching hones to razors. Certain brands work better with certain hones?

Originally Posted by jcsixx

Can you be more specific?

I was just wondering if softer steel shows up more on waterstones, as opposed to hard steel or stainless. Are the steel particles different?

Kind of like not using aluminum or brass on a grinder.

Originally Posted by jerrybyers

I was just wondering if softer steel shows up more on waterstones, as opposed to hard steel or stainless. Are the steel particles different?

Kind of like not using aluminum or brass on a grinder.

You can harden a steel within a range of HRC, so the same steel at HRC 58 will hone easier and you would find it softer, than if it is at HRC 61.

I've got a chosera 1k for setting bevels if that is necessary, a norton 4k and and 8k single grit, and a variety of coticules, eschers and a nakayama asagi. When it comes to he finishers I mostly use one or another of my eschers. As far as matching steel to a type of hone, I haven't found any that needed more than what I currently have and use. YMMV.

While I would agree that some razors may respond better to certain hones, I would also add that the differences are not by any means major, and no particular hones are necessary for any given type of razor. And by the same token, no razor should be impossible to hone well on any given set of hones.

The differences may be in how far you can push the edge on, say, the 4k level (such as Razor X may be a little better off hone y than hone z at the 4k level), or small differences in the finish.

But since many of us on here are into chasing the ultimate edge and not just getting great shaves, the differences in steels/hones comes up with a frequency that makes it look like a bigger deal than it actually is.

Some differences may be due to the hardness or the specific alloy (various stainless, carbon, or regional/age alloys), and probably other variables as well.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

While I would agree that some razors may respond better to certain hones, I would also add that the differences are not by any means major, and no particular hones are necessary for any given type of razor. And by the same token, no razor should be impossible to hone well on any given set of hones.

But since many of us on here are into chasing the ultimate edge and not just getting great shaves, the differences in steels/hones comes up with a frequency that makes it look like a bigger deal than it actually is.

That bears repeating, chasing edges is an obsession and has nothing to do with getting a good shave in the morning... To many of us the process is as much if not more fun than the results...

Okay...Let's think of this outside of most hones will do their job and give a good edge. As perfectionists...which just seem to match up better. For conversations sake.

Originally Posted by jcsixx

Okay...Let's think of this outside of most hones will do their job and give a good edge. As perfectionists...which just seem to match up better. For conversations sake.

Holly and Glen pretty much summed it up, there is no such thing as best, all stones that are considered razor quality by the community will work.
For example my 1-12k line up is a mixed bag of choseras, super stones, Norton 4/8k and a shapton GS, I use them however I feel like and always get good results.
For me finishers are another category in its own. I use mainly Jnats and I have not had a razor yet that does not finish well on them, it just comes down to how you use the stone for the particular razor. I have gotten great edges off eschers, CF, and coticules too. So for me pretty much it boils down to what you prefer to using and what kind of edge you like , because IMO that is the difference between Jnat, Escher, Coticule etc. when you deal with finishers.

Moved to the advanced honing section...

This is always going to be a "moving target" issue,,,

First there is the differences in the techniques to contend with, so even if you were honing sitting next to me at the table with the same stones we are going to get slightly different results...

Then you have the Natural Stone phenomenon, where regardless if people want to admit it or not no 2 natural stones are the same, ie: Stefan's example of getting great edges on his J-nat doesn't mean anything to the rest of us, as we can't hone on his J-nat... Same as me talking about my J-nat edges doesn't mean much because I ain't selling it

Now I could make a general list of where I head with most razors to get the best results according to my customers, and to me, but it just means that is where I go, and it might not work for you even with the same razors and stones...

All that being explained yes razors and stones/hones can be matched to give each individual behind the razors edge the best results... But I doubt many of us will agree on what those combo's are

If you look at just the example that you started with which is actually most any NY steel, I head to the Shaptons, you have to understand that the techniques I use on the Shaptons are different than most... If you just take a NY razor and hone it on the Shapton system it doesn't mean you are going to achieves those results, until you work through those tiny nuances to get it there...