Thread: Best Stone

Good morning all. From my further research I have learned that unless you get into some serious restoration and honing, the only stone a person needs is one that will touch up your razor when you feel it's getting a little dull. What do you guys think is the best hone for this? Is it something like a barber hone or a belgiam coticule or even a ceramic hone? Please let me know what you-all think. Thanks, manonengine.

d.) All of the above


Just about any stone rated at 8k or better will work as a touch up stone, "Really it will"
Pick the one that fits you budget and try it out... I would however vote Barber's hone first since that what they are specifically designed to do...

Of the barber hones I like the Swaty. You will have to find a used one whichever you want. There are many others that are good. The Swaty happens to be the one that I have the most experience with and was I think the most popular with pro barbers. Keep an eye on the classifieds on SRP and on ebay and one will turn up.

+1 But let's not forget CrOx pasted strop, only for the sake of completeness.

i would choose barber hones too. check the link below there is some of them double side barber hones will do the job.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...teristics.html

hope this helps.

As a fellow newbie who asked similar questions a few weeks ago I should mention that a barber's hone is often the cheapest option for a touch up stone.

Many of the Swaty clones are also just fine. Remember though that a lot of those barber hones would benefit from lapping. Obviously a hundred years ago shavers did not have access to diamond plates. The hone CAN be used even though it's not flat, it will just work better when it's flat.

I went the coticule route for my first hone-- I think the general concensus is that it does not provide the sharpest edge vs. other options (it *will* be sharp enough), but it does provide a really smooth, comfortable edge due to the shape of the garnets that get released when you hone. My opinion is there is a certain level of sharpness you *must* have, but beyond that, smoothness takes priority (of course, super sharp and super smooth should work just fine...)

So, what I like about the coticule:
-Natural stone (just a personal thing)
-Provides feedback whenn you hone (feels like "suction" when it's done)
-Can't overhone on it
-Smells good for some reason...

Downside is the coticule is a bit pricey, and there is variablity-- some are harder than others.

Happy honing
-Chief

Originally Posted by BHChieftain

I went the coticule route for my first hone-- I think the general concensus is that it does not provide the sharpest edge vs. other options (it *will* be sharp enough), but it does provide a really smooth, comfortable edge due to the shape of the garnets that get released when you hone. My opinion is there is a certain level of sharpness you *must* have, but beyond that, smoothness takes priority (of course, super sharp and super smooth should work just fine...)

So, what I like about the coticule:
-Natural stone (just a personal thing)
-Provides feedback whenn you hone (feels like "suction" when it's done)
-Can't overhone on it
-Smells good for some reason...

Downside is the coticule is a bit pricey, and there is variablity-- some are harder than others.

Happy honing
-Chief

I did the same, well, a BBW/Coticule combination stone. This was an easier decision for me as I'm in Europe so the price wasn't an issue in comparison to other options.