Thread: Sleep time between passes!

Originally Posted by Carlospppena

Shapton...!!! The other day i received a geneva pyramid from gixgun, honed with shapton all the way to 30k. OMG! It is so smooth. Then again, Glenn is a pro! So, i wanted them right away, but he advised me no to go that way yet. For that i am very grateful because my learning curve is not already up there... So, i think that it will be -after the zulu- the coti, then the shapton, and then the jnat. Ufff. Sounds like a 5 year plan. Jeje. What da ya think?

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Glen does nice work and gives solid advice. I think your 5 year plan is bit locked in. Start with the Zulu as you already have it on the way. I don't know what else you have in hones, but bang for buck, Naniwa and Shapton or Shapton Glass hones are solid performers that lots of us use. The 30K Shapton is an expensive beast... I don't own one and I don't think I will ever buy one. I am tempted by the Suehiro Gokumyo 20K hone, but it's only because I'm curios, as my razors are plenty smooth and sharp with what I already have. I'm also not convinced that I'm willing to pay the price just to answer the question. There are lots of nice razors, strops and brushes out there, that I'd like to get my hands on as well.

See how the Zulu works out for you, and if you are left wanting, that's the time to look for something else. A coti is nice, Jnats are also very nice, but there is quite a variation in these hones, and it may take some time to figure them, and sometimes... they don't work out. You will want to deal with a trusted dealer when it comes to Jnats.... someone who knows their stones and the requirements for razors. I'd prefer to see you branch out with some good synthetic hones first, they are very reliable and if you have difficulties with one, it's easy to get help on this board.

What ever you decide, remember Gssixguns tagline:


"No amount of money spent on a Stone can ever replace the value of the time it takes learning to use it properly"
Very Respectfully - Glen


Regards

Christian

Dear Christian;

I have the norton 1, 4 and 8K. And a naniwa 10K. I know, i should have bought a 12K, but that is what i have. I also have .5 crox spray and .25 paste. Results aint bad at all.

As i wait for the zulu, i think that i will follow your advice and stick to synthetics as in the shapton 16K.

I really appreciate your advice.

Thanx tons,

Pepe Peña


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I picked up early-onset HAD myself, and Glen also advised me to stay away from Shaptons (the stratospheric price points helped too). So, I went with Naniwa Super Stones and am VERY happy with them (1-3-5-8-10-12). Later on, here in the B/S/T area, I found a nice blue-green Escher someone was selling. For now, my HAD is pretty dormant, but like the previous poster, I believe I may shoot for a Suehiro Gokumyo 20k at some point. After all, I enjoy this sport, and I think I eventually need to see what all the G20k fuss is about.

((Note -- Started out with the Norton 4/8 and both .5 and .25 diamond sprays but quickly put them into storage. For post hone treatment, I use a Cerium Oxide coated strop.))

OK, that clears things up a bit and you are in good shape. Don't fret about the 10K vs 12K hone, there is a slight difference, but it's not enough of a difference to warrant buying the 12K, unless you wear out, break or sell the 10K.

As for the Shapton 16K, I put it about equal to the Naniwa 12K as I have had both. Remember to never compare numbers when switching manufacturers. They ALL use numbers that do not exactly equal another manufacturers number and often they don't correlate to different hone families made by the same manufacturer. Those numbers are good for figuring out which hones to get in the SAME series of hones, but little else. A classic example would be the Shapton 30K vs the Suehiro Gokumyo 20K. I think the general consensus is that they are about the same in the final result on a razor. I do have a friend who has both and he prefers the the 20K as his final finisher. Thankfully, I don't have either of those two, so I continue to putter around with my other naturals, blissfully ignorant of what those hones might do for me!

On the topic of Gssixgun, last winter he restored 3 razors for me. He honed each razor with a different finishing hone and let me know which was what... I think it was the Zulu, Charnely Forrest and a Thuringen. To me... they were all great, but the Zulu won, so I bought one. Of course, like everything else, it's what YOU like and not what I like. There is a reason why there are sooo many brands of DE blades and why it seems like every man prefers a different brand. If we didn't all like different things, we'd all be arguing over the same woman, right? [wink]

So wait for the Zulu and give it some time.... I honestly don't think you'll need the Shapton.

Regards

Christian