Thread: first hone

Post a wanted add in the BST forum for a good cheap barber hone or small coticule, I bet you'll get fixed right up.

Or some balsa wood pasted with diamond grit (maybe 2 micron on one side, 1 or 0.5 micron on the other) would get you where you want to go.

I've bought diamond paste from this guy on ebay, very good seller, he's fairly well known around here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZope...QQfsooZ2QQrdZ0



p.s. I would love to try Fugu, are you a connoisseur of the dish... maybe?

Ugggg... Sorry guys, now I am even more confused. Too many choices!

Okay... so 1000 to 4000 grit range stuff is for setting bevels and fixing nicks and stuff.
8000 grit is for getting a good bevel finer.

Then there is 12ki+ for polishing etc.

Then strop on leather to align the edge. Does that make sense?

Where does a barbers hone fall into the mix, and then on top of that is pastes? I think my brain must be full since I'm simply not absorbing any of this.


M

The Norton is 8000 grit
The yellow coticule is approx 8000-10,000 grit
A Swaty barber hone is 8000-10,000 grit
Spyderco Ultra fine is approx 8000-10,000 grit
The Chinese 12,000 is actually approx 10.000 grit
An abrasive pasted paddle strop that has 1. micron abrasive, can also be used to refresh an edge.

You can use any of the following to refresh the edge, Norton, Yellow coticule, Swaty barber hone, Spyderco UF, 1.0 micron abrasive pasted paddle strop. Your choice.
This list is not all inclusive, others will add more I am sure.

Hope this helps,

Originally Posted by randydance062449

The Chinese 12,000 is actually approx 10.000 grit

I disagree, my Chinese 12k is finer than all of my Coticules.

Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge

I disagree, my Chinese 12k is finer than all of my Coticules.

I am referring to the size of the abrasive grain. A few years ago when the Chinese 12K became available one of the members of the SRP posted a link to a Chinese website that showed the Chinese standard of grit measurements. When broken down by micron size the Chinese 12k was comparable to the US CAMI/ANSI standard, the Japanese standard ( sorry, forgot the name) and the European FEPA standard at approx 10K.

I agree with you regarding the Chinese 12k seeming to be a finer stone than the coticule. But what I am interested in is the both the texture and sharpness of the edge. I try to find what agrees with my face the most, not just sharpness.

Ah, I see, the numbers actually different because of different grading systems.

I was just basing it off of the degree of polish that they put on an edge (which is in their favor in my experience).

Thanks for the info, I must have missed that thread.

As a refresher I'm a huge fan of the smaller (8x2x1) Chinese waterstone. Hand held, it is easier (read as better results) for me to use than the barber hone. For the price, you can't go wrong. www.woodcraft.com I think its listed as a natural polishing stone. I've found that once a straight has a shaving edge on it, you'll not long for the 4/8 Norton until the edge has been damaged by poor stropping, sink dinging, or some other malady we all are familiar with.

Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge

Ah, I see, the numbers actually different because of different grading systems.

I was just basing it off of the degree of polish that they put on an edge (which is in their favor in my experience).

Thanks for the info, I must have missed that thread.

Pretty easy to do. If I recall correctly, the thread was on the Yahoo SRP forum before this website started.

It may or may not need to be flattened if youbuy a used stone. If you by from ebay you will need to check it for flatness. If you buy from somebody on this forum ask them if it is or isnt and base your decision on that information. Hope this helps. Its not hard to hone and you are right, there are many ways to achieve the desired results and too much information can be confusing. But I believe this to be the easiest and most cost effective.

Okay, thanks fellas. That's starting to make more sense to me now.

I think I will look into a Swaty barber hone.

Next question: is it used wet or dry? And what's the difference? Does it need a slurry as some stones do?


I'll figure this out eventually, I swear.