Thread: Help! Noob cant decide upon a finishing hone

Greetings Gents,

I am quite new to straight razor shaving and I'm having trouble deciding upon a finishing hone. There are so many options out there. Unfortunately, I have come to the realization that a yellow coticule is a bit too pricey for me right now, but I cant decide on another. There are so many opinions! Chinese 12k? Spyderco Ultra Fine? Barber hone? Pasted paddle strop? I am about to wear my computer and my wife's patience out looking and researching. Any more suggestions? Thank you in advance. Cheers

Place a WTB in the BST section - am sure one of the guys will have something that will suit your needs.

Your best bet is an abrasive pasted paddle strop. 1.0 and 0.5 micron pastes at a minimum. The hone can come later. Then I would choose a chinese 12K for value and performance.

Personally, I'd recommend a coticule from Howard once you start needing touch-ups. They give a fantastic edge (I personally have no need for pastes afterwards--and I have a barbed-wire beard) and are very forgiving of imperfect technique. They are also (Howard mentioned this a while back) just about impossible to overhone on. A 6x2 will suit you just fine; no need for the bigger (pricier) ones.

Originally Posted by PA23-250

Personally, I'd recommend a coticule from Howard once you start needing touch-ups. They give a fantastic edge (I personally have no need for pastes afterwards--and I have a barbed-wire beard) and are very forgiving of imperfect technique. They are also (Howard mentioned this a while back) just about impossible to overhone on. A 6x2 will suit you just fine; no need for the bigger (pricier) ones.

What he said.

I have a coticule and I love it. Couldn't imagine a better first hone.

Make sure you ask Howard to flatten it for you (it's an extra $5 I think).

I like Randy's suggestion regarding the pastes, but also the new Shapton Glass 16K is a really good alternative. Very consistent stone with fine results.

Lynn

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Your best bet is an abrasive pasted paddle strop. 1.0 and 0.5 micron pastes at a minimum. The hone can come later. Then I would choose a chinese 12K for value and performance.

Another newbie here. Can someone point me at a website where either or preferably both of the above are for sale? Thanks.

Originally Posted by WoodyHayes

Another newbie here. Can someone point me at a website where either or preferably both of the above are for sale? Thanks.

Here you go:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/buy-s...tes-combo.html

Originally Posted by WoodyHayes

Another newbie here. Can someone point me at a website where either or preferably both of the above are for sale? Thanks.

Classic shaving has a paddle, paste and the Chinese 12K on this page, I don't know how their prices are though.

Another option is to get the pasted paddle from Tony Miller, they be available later this week.

Hope this helps

Originally Posted by bjorn

Classic shaving has a paddle, paste and the Chinese 12K on this page, I don't know how their prices are though.

Another option is to get the pasted paddle from Tony Miller, they be available later this week.

Hope this helps

Thanks. Here comes the stupid newbie question that probably has been asked and answered hundreds of times, but I haven't found a thread yet.

If I am wanting to learn honing, what am I losing out on if I purchase the Chinese 12K instead of the Norton 4K/8K? I can venture a guess and say that the 12K is to be used only for "almost shave ready" razors only, but that would be a guess. So if I were to purchase a straight at an antique shop, would the Chinese 12K not be a good option to hone if it needed a lot of work? Any help on this basic question is greatly appreciated.