what hone??

Hi,
Two of my straights were suplied shave ready and I use a Belgian coticule with slurry stone and a cowhide strop with red Dovo paste to keep them keen and shaving well.
However I do have a couple of quite blunt ebay bargains that I am cleaning up and I am pretty sure my Belgian yellow wont be upto the job. Can anyone recomend the best stone(s) to get them sharp befor finishing on my coticule? I was thinking maybe a combination stone as i dont have the cash to buy a set.
Also I am a tad unsure as to how the grit system works, what grits do what? Thanks in advance for any pointers gents!

The Norton 4K/8K combo seems to be the concensus hone for your needs. However, the Shapton series is also highly touted. You can get them from Howard at the Perfect Edge, or Don and Lynn at Straight Razor Designs. Both companies are a pleasure to do business with. :tu

Thanks thats whatI will go for then, as soon as my bank account recovers from this christmas' rad overload:)

The Norton 4K/8K combo would be a nice combo for your needs. If the razors are in really bad shape, then you may need something more in the 1K range to set the bevel. It could take a very long time to set the bevel on some ebay razors on the 4K side of the Norton.

The 4/8k should do me. If I get a blade that is in that bad a shape Ill be more likely to ship it of to one of the many honemeisters on here as I have neither the skill, time or patience to reset a truly blunt edge. I just want a stone that is gonna cut better than my finishing coticule

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nobby

The 4/8k should do me. If I get a blade that is in that bad a shape Ill be more likely to ship it of to one of the many honemeisters on here as I have neither the skill, time or patience to reset a truly blunt edge. I just want a stone that is gonna cut better than my finishing coticule

---

It will do you but you will need something to flatten it and your coticule. Park the RAD and get the 4/8 and a DMT D8E 12K continuous diamond plate. You can use it to lap your stones and to set bevels and clean up ragged edges on those ebay specials.

Cool, just found the 4/8k here in the UK, its out of stock at the mo but no bother as I cant get it yet anyway. Looked at the norton flatening stone too but I supose the DMT would be better cos it would have other uses to just flattening my other hones, better get hunting for one of those next. I just know what Im gonna hear from the wife "but you already have a sharpening stone" :D

I wonder if ordering from the US would be a bit cheaper for you guys in the UK. The reverse worked very well for me ;-).

Al raz.

The Norton flattening stone will wear too and then be useless until you flatten it. The D8E won't wear out and you can tell the Mrs. that it is good to get the kitchen knives sharp. :tu

Hmm cant find a D8E over here, found a eze lap superfine diamond 12k, would that do the trick? Maybe I am best off ordering from the US, thanks a bunch Gordon Brown!:w

Here is where I got mine in the USA. The D8E is the one I would recommend.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nobby

Cool, just found the 4/8k here in the UK, its out of stock at the mo but no bother as I cant get it yet anyway. Looked at the norton flatening stone too but I supose the DMT would be better cos it would have other uses to just flattening my other hones, better get hunting for one of those next. I just know what Im gonna hear from the wife "but you already have a sharpening stone" :D

---

I bought my Norton 4/8K last month from Norton Combination Water Stones (NCWS1) - Buy online from Rutlands.co.uk but they seem to be out of stock now. :w

You can get the D8E here: D.M.T. D8E Diamond Sharp Whetstone 8X3" Ex Fine - DMTD8E - Whetstone - D.M.T - DIY and Tools from DIYTools.co.uk - Your First Stop For All Things DIY ! They do the double-sided D.M.T. jobbies too.

I'm planning on picking up a norton 4/8. but for setting a bevel, can I get away with a normal sharpening stone that I've got for knives? Is that likely to be around 1k grit?

Oh, interesting- just reread the thread. Just to make sure I'm understanding properly: JimmyHAD- are you saying you can use the DMT to lap your other stones, including the Norton, and can also use it to set your bevel? That would be pretty useful. The DMT itself doesn't need to be lapped?

in the UK, try here:
Norton Combination Waterstones | John Lloyd Tool Shop

i just picked up the 220/1k combo stone for my knives and will be getting the 4k/8k next month for my razor

OK, so Im definatly gonna go for the DMT 12k but was thinking of going for the 1/4k norton to start off those really dull ebay jobs as my coticule already cuts at about 8k I recon, what do you guys think? Thanks for all the advice on this topic so far, think Im gonna develope a wee bit of HAD now though:D

My oppinion is that the DMT D11E or D8E is the only stone you need to set bevel on ANY razor.
I like the D11E better because of 11 1/2" length (you need a lower number of strokes for the same result)

shop4multitools.co.uk DMT Dia-Sharp 11.5in Diamond Whetstone - Gerber - Leatherman - Victorinox - Wenger - Multitools - Multi-Pliers - Multi Tools - Swiss Army Knives

Get a diamond stone in the 325 to 1000 range to do any bevel resetting. Also great for lapping the waterstones and keeping kitchen knives wicked. I guess 1200 would be OK, I’ve never had one in that range, probably be OK but time intensive. No problem to go from there directly to the Norton 4000 range as you work towards a final edge.