Thread: Suggestions

I thought you had finally decided on a Naniwa Superstone !?

Wow, I'll definitely try this for my first honing.
Could you post the same thing but for stropping? Indicators are also useful like at what point to stop? Some people do hanging hair test some people do other stuff but a little better "measurable" stuff could be useful.
I already got my blade back from honing and did my first shave, because of my sloppy stropping techniques shave was not as good as I expected. My strop is 4 sided, so there are 4 different "feels" for each side from really fine to coarse feeling. I really, really need a "stropping guide like the one you posted above.

P.S. So, you recommend Toishi Ohishi stones for straight razors? This website sells a 3000/8000 for 58 Euros:
"J-TO3080 Kombinationsstein Ohishi, Korn 3000/8000" a pretty good deal I think

Originally Posted by mike1011

I thought you had finally decided on a Naniwa Superstone !?

Yes, I settled for them but I still did not purchase anything yet. So if I can get an equally decent stone with cheaper price why not do that?

Why not keep your money while your learning to shave and strop and just send the razor out to be honed when the time comes, a little CRoX on a paddle and honing is months down the road, so you have quite a few pro honing so for the cost of one good stone , then after you can shave with good technique and maintain , then take up the art of honing, you know learn one thing at a time, well, and then move on,. Taking on too many things at once might not be the most efficient use of your time. JMO. Tc

Originally Posted by heyjude

Yes, I settled for them but I still did not purchase anything yet. So if I can get an equally decent stone with cheaper price why not do that?

Nothing else apart from a naniwa super stone feels like a naniwa superstone, weather or not you can get "an equally decent stone with a cheaper price" is very subjective but my personal opinion is that you can not. You can certainty get cheaper stones that are marked with the same grit size and many are decent stones in their own right BUT they don't feel like the superstones and IMO are not in the same class.

If its cheep you are after then there are loads of options. If however you want a premium stone that will last you years and perform fantastically at a very affordable price then IMO the Naniwa stones are the best of the bunch.

Choice is yours but for the sake of around €20 I think its a no brainer

You can use the Toishi Ohishi 3k/8k on straights to do the sharpening and initial polish. I prefer the Norton 4k/8k for that because the Norton will last longer than a Toishi Oshishi, but I hone a lot of stuff. A toishi ohishi can easily last 20 years if you are just honing a few straight razors a couple of times a year.

You will also want a 10K or higher grit to finish polishing after the 8k. I, and apparently mike1011 and a lot of other people, prefer the Naniwa 12k. There are other 10K and higher stones out there that are cheaper, but wear down quicker - and there are definitely ones out there that cost a lot more and may only be slightly better.

OR - if you are really good at stropping, you can go from the 8k stone to a pasted strop. One micron diamond paste on leather is around 13k grit, so it can replace a 10k or higher stone. In the short run it is cheaper than a stone, but you will need to routinely buy more leather and diamond and it is real easy to mess up an edge with a 13k pasted strop.

As for when to stop stropping and how to know when to stop - well you stop when it feels and sounds right. Usually 10 travels on a pasted strop will do it. Some people do 5 travels, some people do 12 travels. It all depends on how little pressure you use. Start with 10 travels and after you have refreshed your razor a few times, you will start to feel and hear when it is stropped properly.

Lynn Abrams has some great videos on YouTube for honing, finishing, and stropping. You should watch them repeatedly and take notes.

The hanging hair test isn't much good to a new honor. I've got a 1k honed kitchen knife that will cut a hanging hair, but I'm not going to shave with it.
The only true test after honing is to shave with it. If it pulls and tugs then it is not sharp enough, strop it more. If it digs into the skin at the slightest touch, then it is too sharp.

As for your 4 sided paddle strop that has different coarseness feelings. I suspect that one of them is green chromium oxide 0.3 micron grit, one of them is red jewelers rouge 0.1 micron grit size, one is probably plain tool leather. The fourth side could be another plain leather or it may be black carbon 1 micron grit. Usually they are labeled somewhere. A little better description or picture of the paddle would help.

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

Why not keep your money while your learning to shave and strop and just send the razor out to be honed when the time comes, a little CRoX on a paddle and honing is months down the road, so you have quite a few pro honing so for the cost of one good stone , then after you can shave with good technique and maintain , then take up the art of honing, you know learn one thing at a time, well, and then move on,. Taking on too many things at once might not be the most efficient use of your time. JMO. Tc

Even if I get a honing stone right now, I would still not gonna use for for several months till I have to because as you said I am learning to strop more efficiently

Originally Posted by mike1011

Nothing else apart from a naniwa super stone feels like a naniwa superstone, weather or not you can get "an equally decent stone with a cheaper price" is very subjective but my personal opinion is that you can not. You can certainty get cheaper stones that are marked with the same grit size and many are decent stones in their own right BUT they don't feel like the superstones and IMO are not in the same class.

If its cheep you are after then there are loads of options. If however you want a premium stone that will last you years and perform fantastically at a very affordable price then IMO the Naniwa stones are the best of the bunch.

Choice is yours but for the sake of around €20 I think its a no brainer

I'm still trying to evaluate the differences, I will only be honing one razor on it, and criswilson mentioned that it is going to last 20 years by honing a bunch of razor (in my case just one ). But I agree on that for the sake of 15-20 Euros I'd rather get naniwa, so I might as well wait and get Naniwa

Originally Posted by criswilson10

You can use the Toishi Ohishi 3k/8k on straights to do the sharpening and initial polish. I prefer the Norton 4k/8k for that because the Norton will last longer than a Toishi Oshishi, but I hone a lot of stuff. A toishi ohishi can easily last 20 years if you are just honing a few straight razors a couple of times a year.

You will also want a 10K or higher grit to finish polishing after the 8k. I, and apparently mike1011 and a lot of other people, prefer the Naniwa 12k. There are other 10K and higher stones out there that are cheaper, but wear down quicker - and there are definitely ones out there that cost a lot more and may only be slightly better.

OR - if you are really good at stropping, you can go from the 8k stone to a pasted strop. One micron diamond paste on leather is around 13k grit, so it can replace a 10k or higher stone. In the short run it is cheaper than a stone, but you will need to routinely buy more leather and diamond and it is real easy to mess up an edge with a 13k pasted strop.

As for when to stop stropping and how to know when to stop - well you stop when it feels and sounds right. Usually 10 travels on a pasted strop will do it. Some people do 5 travels, some people do 12 travels. It all depends on how little pressure you use. Start with 10 travels and after you have refreshed your razor a few times, you will start to feel and hear when it is stropped properly.

Lynn Abrams has some great videos on YouTube for honing, finishing, and stropping. You should watch them repeatedly and take notes.

The hanging hair test isn't much good to a new honor. I've got a 1k honed kitchen knife that will cut a hanging hair, but I'm not going to shave with it.
The only true test after honing is to shave with it. If it pulls and tugs then it is not sharp enough, strop it more. If it digs into the skin at the slightest touch, then it is too sharp.

As for your 4 sided paddle strop that has different coarseness feelings. I suspect that one of them is green chromium oxide 0.3 micron grit, one of them is red jewelers rouge 0.1 micron grit size, one is probably plain tool leather. The fourth side could be another plain leather or it may be black carbon 1 micron grit. Usually they are labeled somewhere. A little better description or picture of the paddle would help.

I would really like to settle on a single combination stone, if I get 3000/10000 do I really need 8000 and 12000?

Also, what I wanted to know about stropping is like what side to start with? When to switch to another side and which one? And how to finish stropping? I have a general idea that I would be starting on one that feels coarse then finish with a finer one but a little more info would be really helpful
I have uploaded the pictures and numbered them.

Also can you tell me how much pressure to apply? To my knowledge while stropping I should apply minimal pressure just the weight of the razor itself. Is this correct
Num 1

Num 2

Num 3

Num 4


As always, thanks to all of you in assisting me

you can always send your razor out to be honed
I started with Dovo, it was fine
enjoy your new shave routine