Thread: Ceramic stones

I have had a friend of mine tell me that ceramic stones are even better for sharpeing as they do not clog like the porous ones do. Would a ceramic stone be used for a straight razor? I bought a nice Dovo razor and it came with a Col conk stone. I don't think that is enough . Any suggestions?

Some people do use ceramic stones, typically Spyderco Fines and Ultrafines (which I have one of). Grit is measured in the thousands. The Col. Conk stone may leave you wanting.

The most popular hone here is probably the Norton 4000/8000 grit combination waterstone, followed by various other natural and synthetic hones, all of very very fine grit.

What price range are you looking to spend? Some of them can get quite expensive, but one can get good results for much less $$$ IMHO also.


John P.

I would be willing to spend up to $80-$100. I want to keep my razor in good shape and have it last me a long time. My friend that told me about the ceramics told me about Spyderco. I just saw a Spyderco series 302 ultra fine grit for about $56.00 which looked appealing to me but I thought I would ask around first. Thanks for the reply by the way.

IMHO even non-porous hones need to be cleaned well. Superficial pores can get clogged up as well which will also reduce cutting power of the hone.

I use the spyderco ultrafine benchstone.

:: Spyderco Product Details ::

It's a very nice stone. You do have to clean it, but unlike waterstones you just need to scrub it with comet and call it done. They last forever. They theoretically do not need to be lapped, however this might entail sending the hone back to the manufacturer a few times until you get one flat enough to do straights with. On the downside, they are not as responsive as the waterstones. This is difficult to describe for a newbie, but waterstones give you some feedback on your honing. Spyderco's fine and UF do not. Their medium does give more feedback. All in all I like them very much, but they do take some getting used to. The UF has an equivalent grit size of 12000-13000. If you have the patience to learn to use them you can put one hell of an edge on your straight with it.


Hope this helps,


Patrick

Just a different opinion for your consideration.

Waterstones are really not that difficult to maintain and clogging is not really an issue. They are softer and easier to use than Spydercos especially on very hard i.e. brittle steels.

There is no magic bullet with hones but a yellow coticule would come close... however like most of us your house will gradually resemble a quarry as HAD takes hold

Thanks for the insight everyone. I appreciate all the feedback