Thread: Do I need a specific type of whetstone to hone my razor?

OK, long story long (sorry, I do that haha)
Some years ago, I bought from a seller here a razor that said "Shave ready". I tried it and well, it wasn't shave ready (or at least I think it wasn't. I compared it to my green Astra blades and also did the hair test and well... not shave ready in my opinion) So I decided to take things in my hands and bought a whetstone. Since I was on a budget, I got my hands on an inexpensive stone with a 10K or 12K grit (I can't remember) and, as you can imagine, all I managed to do was to tickle the razor to the point you could actually hear her giggling.

I tried and tried and tried without success so I decided to stick to my DE and abandon the SR scene. A couple of years later I was on a hardware store and found a norton 1500 sandpaper... I decided to try again and, against all odds, I got much better results. Still not shave ready (at all) but WAY more usable than before. I even managed to fix a dent the blade had... but still, not shave ready.

I recently found an article here teaching how I can hone and make shave ready a razor with a 1500 sandpaper and I found where my errors were so I decided to try again, but then a thought hit me: what if I search on ebay a whetstone. ¿Maybe they're cheaper this time? So I did and found this one:
3000/8000 Kitchen Knife Grit Sharpener Sharpening Water Stone Dual Whetstone | eBay

But... is not what I've seen advertised here on the forums. Also, it's made of Corundum and it says "kitchen knife" so it got me thinking: ¿Do I need a specific brand of 4K/8K stone or does any 4K/8K stone works the same?

The reason I want to sharpen it is because

1. I want to learn how to do it because noone in my country can do it
2. The expenses to send it to an expert would be too high for me (Honduras -> USA -> Honduras)
3. The blade is already collecting dust, it's better if I give it some use eve if it's as practice

So... should I go with the 1500 sand paper route or get the whetstone I linked?

It might work, and it might not. Some people have had success with off-brand knife hones and others did not. Some of the latter only figured out that the hone was at fault after they bought another hone. I know that I'm being vague but I cannot be otherwise because I have not tried that specific hone. I do know that some knife hones, even though they claim to have an appropriate size of grit, will not work for razors.

If you buy that hone you may get lucky and you may not.

The added problem is that you do not yet know how to hone, so adding questionable equipment is going to complicate things a lot more for you and we will be of little assistance helping you sort it out because we won't be familiar with that hone.

Because you are re-visiting this several years after trying the first time, I'd like to see you succeed this time.

Do you have any access to magnification, such as a loupe or microscope? Anything in the range of 20-60x will be helpful for you learning how to use whatever hone you buy.

Do you have a particular budget in mind? If you would be willing to spend the money, a Naniwa SuperStone or Specialty 12k would be your best single option. Other standards are the Norton 4k/8k combo hone, and yes, you can shave off of an 8k. If you want really cheap, then a decent barber hone off of eBay can be a perfectly good option as well. That is, as long as you buy one of the many better ones that are available. We can help you sort through all the barber hone options.

Another cheap option is lapping film, though I've not seen many beginners succeed with it.

If you stick around this thread we will help you sort this out!

Compa

Considering the difficulty of sending your razor out for honing, I understand why you would want to hone the razor yourself. There is a learning curve, but with time you can master it.

You can use silicon carbide wet or dry sandpaper to set the bevel on a razor as long as you have a flat surface as backing. Here in the states, automotive supply stores sell such sandpaper all the way up to 2500 grit. You need something like glass, polished marble, or polished granite as a suitable backing. You wet the sandpaper back and front and stick it on the flat backing. Keep the sandpaper wet as you hone.

While setting the bevel is a critical part of honing a razor, it is only part of the process. From there you need to move to finer grits. About the lowest grit level that people recommend for shaving is 8000 grit and many people hone finish well above that level.

While an inexpensive Chinese made hone like the one you mentioned may work, most of the experienced members on SRP discourage their use. They may be of inconsistent grit size, porosity, hardness, etc. All of these factors complicate the honing process. The Chinese hones are designed primarily for use on knives, not razors. However, if that is the best you can afford, then purchase one and make the best of it.

The stones generally recommended on SRP are the Norton 4000/8000 combo stone and the Naniwa and Shapton stones. If you go with the Norton combo, you can use 1000 grit sandpaper to set the bevel as noted above. The 4000 grit side of the Norton is a little too fine for setting the bevel unless the bevel is in good condition to start with. All the stones from the "big three" manufacturers are of good quality, but they are a lot more expensive than the Chinese synthetic hones. If you can afford to purchase quality hones, then do so; you will not be disappointed.

Another advantage of purchasing hones from these three companies is that lots of members on SRP use them and can give you excellent advice on how to use them effectively.

One moderately priced hone used by many of the members here is the King 1000/6000 combo hone. You use the 1000 side to set the bevel and the 6000 side to remove the scratch marks from the 1000 stone. You still need a higher grit finishing hone; you are unlikely to be satisfied with the edge off a 6K stone.

If you still have you 10K-12K hone, it may make a nice finishing hone. One reasonably priced finishing stone is the Chinese Guangxi river stone. This stone goes by several names such as Chinese 12K (C12K), Chinese Natural (CNAT), or People's Hone of Indeterminite Grit (PHIG). It is certainly not the best finishing hone available, but it is one of the least expensive finishing hones. All natural stones vary in quality, so some are better than others. If you get a good one, it will produce a nice edge. The CNATs tend to be rather slow, so you will need some patience. Many people get the CNAT as their first finisher and then try other finishers later on.

When getting a new hone, the chances are that it will not be flat. You can use your sandpaper and backing to lap (flatten) a new hone. Start with 220 grit or 320 and then go finer as the stone gets close to flat. You can use a pencil to mark the surface of the stone. Keep lapping until most, if not all, of the pencil marks are removed.

If you have decent Internet access, there are some great YouTube videos on lapping new stone and honing razors. If you cannot download videos, there is plenty of good information on the forum.

Once you get a razor sharp, you need a strop to maintain the edge. You can purchase a strop, or you can make your own from cloth or leather. Again, you can find lots of good information on the forum.

Thank you very much!
I think I will stay away from the stone for the reasons you explained.

Sadly, my budget is quite tight (that's why I considered the 1500grit sandpaper) a norton 4000/8000 stone is probably twice-trice of what I can spend.
I have not heard about the barber stones before and they look interesting... and less expensive
I would say my budget is 40$ top. It's really low I know ...

I want to salvage that straight because I really really want to shave with straight razors, not that I don't enjoy the DE shaves, it's just that I want to shave with SR too so I'm all ears.
Should I search ebay for a barber hone, should I search the SRP trade section?

Thank you for your support!

**EDIT**
Awesome info Ray
I do still have my 12K grit stone. It's flat (that I made sure of hehe) but it is too silky soft to build a new edge or do more than polish what bevel blade already has.
The king combi looks really tempting. it is in my budget!
I will consider it and see what other info appears here. I'm getting excited again

OK, what is your 12k hone?

Let's start with that and see if we can't get you a shaving edge off of that.

It's been longer than I thought (prolly 7 years since I bought it -__-) Couldn't find the stone in my eBay purchase history nor in my mails :/ but doing a quick "Natural 12K grit" threw results that helped me search for a similar stone.
It looks a lot like this one: Sharpening, natural whetstone 12k grit size, about 3x8 in. World's best. | eBay
The size is that of a standard sharpening stone (I bought a coarse one for other kind of jobs) and the stone does have a nice dark gray.
I can't really say it's that one but I am pretty sure it's a Chinese stone (and the Guangxi name rings a bell)

I made sure to flatten it properly (at least that's what I remember) I used the pencil technique and after a few minutes of rubbing it against a 800 grit wet sandpaper, all the lines were gone the stone kept the smoothness but this time it was flat.

I hope this info helps you help me :P I am confident that stone is trustworthy since I managed to get my hands on a decent magnifier and after some passes (back when I tried to fix the blade) I checked it with the magnifier and the bevel was really shiny and looked smooth... but the blade was not sharp enough.

IF your 12K is one of these:



That's a Guangxi/Chinese 12K stone. It usually comes with a rubbing stone made of the same material. The stone is pretty slow, very fine, and very hard, but also most of what you need. There are a few ways to go about honing with just that and maybe a handful of inexpensive rubbing stones to help polish the edge.

Edit - I see that's exactly what you've got. The route I typically use one-stone honing with this fellow is to set the bevel, your sand paper should work for that. Then I'll use a piece of coticule, doesn't have to be big, to make a slurry on top of the stone. I do a few dilutions, until I'm almost on pure water. Then I switch over to the rubbing stone that came with my Guangxi and make a medium slurry with that. I'll dilute that mix until I'm almost honing on pure water, then wash the stone and do a good number of passes on pure water.

It did come with a small stone.
I am pretty sure that's the one. The color is the same

It is a tough spot for you. I do not know of members is your area. It is a really tough go to learn to hone, strop, and shave all at the same time. It can be done but it will not be easy. I live a long way from the end of the road and learned to hone much earlier that is recommended. I did start with a shave ready razor and did get it honed once and bought a second shave ready razor, but that was it for a while. I did use the recommended brands, just to be certain that it was all about my skills and not about the hones, oh and I used quality razors in premium condition and did not kill any razors. I imagine shipping honing back and forth to you would carry a crazy price tag and take forever and a day. Tape the spine on your blades. Use good hones and good razors. Watch one video presenter. It can be done. It won't be easy though.

At a $40 max

Get the King 1/6

That will get you going , then your 12k if it is what we think will pull it together

Strop and shave

Although the Kings are slow they are solid performers ..
Use the sandpaper on a flat surface to true /lap the hone use the flat hone on your razor

Here is where these questions go sideways

If you ask "what is the least I can use" we can't answer as you have never honed a razor, I can answer for me but not you

Yes I could take a 1/6 and a Chinese "12k" and get a perfectly good shaving edge but I have honed a few razors


ps: The very thought of using Sandpaper to set the bevel on a SR sets my teeth on edge like fingernails on a chalkboard