Thread: Finishing Stone vs Pasted Strop

15K hones, 30K hones diamond pasted strops, inability to sharpen a razor on a hone to get a good shave. I wonder how millions of men got good shaves with one measly hone for so long.

I hope no one takes this personally but if anyone can't get a great shave off a Norton 8K I don't care if you have a brillo pad for a beard something is really wrong there dudes.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I hope no one takes this personally but if anyone can't get a great shave off a Norton 8K I don't care if you have a brillo pad for a beard something is really wrong there dudes.

n00bs excepted?

I'm just spoiled lol

Originally Posted by xman

n00bs excepted?

I don't see why less experienced users should be excepted, particularly as the Forum generally promotes the pyramid approach as a way to help people, especially newer guys, get a shave-ready razor off the Norton 4/8 in as painless a manner as possible.

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I don't see why less experienced users should be excepted, particularly as the Forum generally promotes the pyramid approach as a way to help people, especially newer guys, get a shave-ready razor off the Norton 4/8 in as painless a manner as possible.

The reason I say so is that when I started honing, my technique was definitely bettered by a finisher.
It's still improved, but I get farther with the Norton now than I did 20 months ago.

X

O.K. I guess I'll be getting one of Tony's bench hones. I will use .5 paste, right? Then after I understand what a really sharp edge is, I will buy a coticule, or something. Am I still farming the same field?

You're on the right track. Definitely have it pasted with 0.5 micron chromium oxide. As for getting the coticule.. If you feel the need for experimenting, but I don't see it giving a better edge than the Cr2O3.

Make sure you get the 0.5 chrome oxide, not the diamond.
Some of us have stopped using the diamond because the chrome oxide gives the edge a smoother feel on the skin.
Don't worry, it will be more than sharp enough.

By the way, there's nothing wrong with experimenting. I like to do it from time to time and did gather a few hones for the pure fun of it.

The 0.5 side will be finer than the coticule though which is closer to 1.0. Once fully equiped you would use the Norton first (when needed) then the coticle (more often) and finally the 0.5 paste (much more often). One only needs to do the minimum needed to KEEP the razor sharp and not the entire sequence, Norton, finishing hone, pastes, each time.


Tony