What Hones Do I Need?

Hi SRP peeps,

I am just starting out in str8 shaving and was wondering what I need for hones. I have two vintage blades at the moment that require a lot of restoration and am expecting my first shave-ready razor some time next week.

What is the best progression of hone stones for a beginner? Would a blue/yellow belgian suffice? Do I want a whole series of different stones? If so what are the must-haves?

I have been shaving with a shavette since october and november and the experience. I want to get using "real" straights, and want to be able to maintain them.

For the razors you intend to hone you need a complete set of hones, meaning coarse on the 1000grit level, medium around 4000 grit level, and finishing 8000+.
In principle you can do it with a coticule only, but that'll take a long time. If you have the coticule and blue already you probably want to add a coarse hone to them.

A Norton 4000/8000 waterstone and a pasted strop are all you really need.

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Originally Posted by fccexpert

A Norton 4000/8000 waterstone and a pasted strop are all you really need.

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Could you set a bevel using your setup? What if your edge is badly damaged?

Al raz.

Hi-

I don't really know what all I need, but I got two Spyderco hones the 302f and the 306uf for about $125 delivered. I read about them and they generally got good reviews...and they're less expensive!

I sharpened my entire knife block with them last night and they seem pretty nice. I used a DMT for the first pass and then finished up with these two. After listening to some of the guys on here, I don't want to mess up my straight just yet so I'm working on my knives first!!

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Originally Posted by durdensbuddy

Hi SRP peeps,

I am just starting out in str8 shaving and was wondering what I need for hones. I have two vintage blades at the moment that require a lot of restoration and am expecting my first shave-ready razor some time next week.

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One: You might want to read this thread

http://straightrazorpalace.com/newbi...trops-etc.html

Two: You said "restoration" that is a different animal than just honing, as Gugi already stated unless you have a whole lotta time on yer hands you are going to need a steel cutter ie: a 1k or there abouts...

Norton has a starter set of the lapping stone, the 220/1k, and the 4k/8k

That can be had all day long at $120 or less, this might be the most complete set out there...
Is it the best??? that is a matter of opinion but there is plenty of help to be had when you ask about honing on a Norton set up, almost every old timer here has used one...

The answer to your threads question can be answered in one simple question....

How badly has the HAD kicked in so far? :p

LOL HAD isn't really my issue. I definitely am coming down with a bad case of RAD, though.

Maybe I misspoke mentioning the two razors I have, the edges need sharpening but their in not bad condition. The restoration portion comes from needing new scales, and cleaning up rust, pitting and patina on both blades.

I just want to know what's needed to maintain an already shave ready razor.

I see a lot of things here and on another forum where guys have a laundry list of stones that they are using, and others that say a pasted strop is the cat's meow.

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Originally Posted by durdensbuddy

I just want to know what's needed to maintain an already shave ready razor.

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A good barbers hone will keep a sharp blade sharp indefinately.

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

A good barbers hone will keep a sharp blade sharp indefinately.

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Is a Chinese 12k something that will work for this? It is something to use in place of a barbers hone?

-norton 1000/4000

with slurry
-coticule<
with water

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Originally Posted by tk421

Is a Chinese 12k something that will work for this? It is something to use in place of a barbers hone?

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I have not used the Chinese 12k so I cant really comment on it.

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Originally Posted by durdensbuddy

The restoration portion comes from needing new scales, and cleaning up rust, pitting and patina on both blades.

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Yes, that means the edges need to be started with a coarse hone unless you have a lot of time. I can guarantee you they're chipped and oxidized even if you can't see it without magnification. And by the time you're done with the sand paper even if they're currently perfect they won't be :)

For just maintenance I think almost any finishing hone will do. Barber hones are the cheapest but not the only option. In principle it's possible to go forever with pasted strop too, but I don't know many people who do that in practice as well. But you can go long time with it.

Thanks for the replies. You've all given me some valuable information.