Thread: HELP choosing honing system

The DMT D8C 325 continuous plate is well thought of and can be found here for about the best price I know of. The Shapton GDLP is the more expensive option. It is perfectly flat where the DMT may not be as flat but you can buy a half dozen DMTs for the price of one GDLP. The DMT is plenty close enough for a lot less $$. I have both BTW..... say that to say that what I am saying isn't speculation. Just IMHO.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

That means that I will have a set of Norton's, Shapton's, Naniwa's and a Blue /Yellow combo stone.... oh and lets not forget the DMT 325 for lapping some Barber's hones and other naturals I have.....

See some of us just have way to many hones....


I would go either Shapton or Naniwa, my 2 cents have been spent have fun choosing hehehe

Glen,

Let me know if you need a few more...............

Lynn

Hi Jimmy
Thanks for the info ! I was really thinking about the Shapton glass hones , but I was never really successful with glass hones so I chose the others that I listed . Are they good choices , I will get the coarse grit stones later .
Thanks Scott

Scott, What are you honing? Razor wise that is? Are you doing resto work, or just simply touching up new blades? Touching up vintage blades. How large is your collection of razors?

Originally Posted by motohed

Hi Jimmy
Thanks for the info ! I was really thinking about the Shapton glass hones , but I was never really successful with glass hones so I chose the others that I listed . Are they good choices , I will get the coarse grit stones later .
Thanks Scott

I think they are good choices. You have a spread of grits there. It seems to me that you want to really get into honing. Get to know the stones you have. Use them and learn their characteristics. It is easy to get into the HAD and look for the perfect hone when you can do what you have to with what you have. Than you acquire so many that you don't really know any of them.

If you are going to be working with razors that are new or in fine condition what you have is plenty. If you are going to get ebay or antique shop specials you might want to get a coarser stone for easier bevel setting. I like my DMT E 1200 grit or my Shapton pro 1000. Something in that range makes life easier if you are dealing with chipped up dull edges.

Let's see, You need a DMT D8C and D8XX. The D8XX is the workhorse for stone lapping. You also need an array of wet/dry sandpaper to give your hones that finished look 220,320,400,600,800 and 1000. I've heard of 1500 and 2000 grit, but haven't seen any. I've refinished several old Barber hones, and until I hit them with the sandpaper, they looked like crap. The sandpaper really finishes the job, just like resto work on a blade. It get out all the small scratches....

Of course you'll need a flat surface such as a piece of tile, marble, or glass. Or if money is truly no object, you can buy a true flat surface from one of the mechanic places online. They can be pricey. With that stuff right there, you should be able to take care of any hone, even the super hard Barber hones. All you need now from the looks of your list is a bevel setter, Like Jimmy said, a 1000 grit. Norton makes a 220/1000 combo stone which is great, and if your not doing resto work, it'll probably last you a lifetime. They're good stones, just because they're not as expensive as the Shaptons, doesn't make them inferior. I have a large collection and just started using the Norton's. I'm very pleased with the results I've been getting. Rich

P.S. As Lynn said, Naniwa is a good choice for straight razors. I just bought my first Naniwa 12k off them and like the results. It's a lot quicker than the other 12k's. Very easy to lap too. I too plan on buying the entire set. Looks like it'll run you around 300 or so dollars at SRD for the rest of the Naniwa stones....

Originally Posted by motohed

1 Naniwa super stone 5000 grit
1 sharpton pro 8000 grit
1 Naniwa super stone 10000 grit
1 Kitayama 12000 grit

This is 4 stones with relatively small jumps in grits. I believe you can go relatively easy from the 5000 to 12000 naniwa superstones, but as a start having 8k in between is not bad.
The advantage is that you can try different makes, but personally for actual honing I think staying within the same line is better because you get similar feedback and more consistent results.

I use DMT-C and it works well. The GDLP is supposedly better but a lot more expensive too. Some people like DMT-XX. For me GDLP is unjustified - I don't have shaptons neither do I need the flattest possible lapping surface.

Hopefully you already have hones at the 1k level.

Being a recent convert to Coticules I could not do without it. The visual feedback (slurry color), the tactile, and auditory feedback on these stones are outstanding, plus you get like 2 stones in one.

There is not a mention of pastes which are on the higher end of the honing process but bang for the buck and the outcome you can not beat a 0.5,0.25, Chromium finish. IMHO

Oh....just forgot there is no "lifetime" setup! Wait till HAD sets in!

I don't have a bad case of HAD, probably, so I started with the 4 sided strop and a DMTEE and that got me going. I now have.

1. DMT course....for lapping
2. 1K Shapton for a bevel
3. Coticule to fill the 4K, 10K jump
4. DMT8EE
5. 16K Shapton
6. 0.25,0.5 and Chromium paddle

I have razors that are extremely sharp, smooth and last for a couple of weeks before a touchup is needed and that is an accomplishment considering my horrible blade punishing beard.

Take Care,
Richard

+1 riooso. You never really done. There's always a stone out there, and your right about the pastes, I use them myself. I think Jimmy pointed out that if your just getting into it, learn what stones you have first, but he said, "Money wasn't the issue" That's why I mentioned the DGLP, (Diamond Glass Lapping Plate) and a Machinist's flat surface. I mean, If you have money to burn, why not have the best. I agree with Gugi and think that the DGLP isn't needed. A DMT can take care of it for you, but if i had an extra 300 bucks to burn, and a wanted to spend some money, what the heck!,Right.....
Maybe the new guys is Bill Gates !

Hi zib
No I'am not Bill Gates , just a hard working American guy like everyone else . I have always had a fascination with making things sharp . I have a few razors that I want to make shaving sharp . I have used the Norton stones and several different hard Arkansas stones in the past ( all well worn ),I also have a very nice commercial triangle hone set up that I use for knives and axes . I want to get into blade restoration and possible start building some of my own razors . I have already made several knives and throwing axes . I have a pretty nice forge set up ,and have figure out the tempering aspect etc. Yada yada yada .
Enough about me , I also have the Shapton pro 1000 stone coming and the DMT D8C-325 . So what else do I need , I have several strops that I use on knives and axes . I use to play in the lumber jack sports etc . I still do excavation and selective logging we also own a campground and a farm so we stay pretty busy . Oh by the way should I be looking for slurry stones for th Shapton ETC
Thanks Scott