Thread: Cant get sharp with naniwa 12000

First i like to thank everyone on this forum for great advice, ive learned alot!

To my question. I have a dovo ibenholt with soligen blade and naniwa superstone 12000. Ive never been able to get it razor sharp and wondering which stones i need to fill in the gap. Would it be enough just getting an 8000 stone? or do i need more stones to fill the gap? Thanks very much!

That all depends on what the edge condition is. Send it to a pro for a shave ready razor so you know what to aim for then maintain with the 12k.

Set a bevel (essential) with a 1k . Sharpen with a 4k. Finish with an 8k. Icing on the cake 12k and up. The edge has to be shave ready off the 8k to get the best out of a 10k and up. IME.

I only have the Naniwa 12K too. I have found it to be more than enough.

That is because I only touch up on it. I buy razors shave ready or send them for professional honing. The 12K is great for touching up a blade that is already set. It might be cheaper for you to get your razor honed, then stick with what you have. Essentially what Ed has said.

If you want to go to a full honing set up yourself then what Jimmy has said should be a good set up. That said if your edge isn't in too bad shape you might not need to go right down to the 1K.

Also, welcome to the forum!

If you know what you are doing, the 12k is aggressive enough to cut bevels. Lower grit hones would be faster, but this leads to a question of your needs.

Do you intend to hone or restore many old razors? If so, then it would be a good idea to have a series of hones. Alternatively, if you want to maintain a relatively small set of razors for personal use, then it might make more sense to stick with just the hone you've got. You can do it all with just the 12k after we show you how.

Do you have any means of magnification for looking at the edge?

Just to touch on the language, the previous posts have said all that really needs to be said. When talking about having the bevel set, it means to form the bevel on each side of the blade so they meet and form a perfect bevel from heel to toe. It is the base of a sharp edge, without it all the polishing of the bevel will not ever get the blade sharper. The most simple way of ensuring it is perfect and complete is with a loupe. There are some good pictures of the process in the thread titled second try at honing. I cannot link it with this device. A really great shaving edge is all about the initial bevel set. There is also a great thread about the 1K shave test, which is another great indicator that your blade is ready to progress through the grit to a finish hone like the 12k

Rez, I think this is the link you were referring to:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ggestions.html

I believe you are correct. Thanks bongo!

It is a skill set you do not have

Sorry that is simply a reality,,,

You have 2 options

#1 Buy the proper set of hones and learn the process

#2 Send the razor out to one of us that does this every day to "Set" the razor to shave ready and simply Maintain the edge using the N12k



It is your decision