Thread: Just got a new SWATY...soooo now what?

A very generous member named CHRISL gave me a free Swaty pike stone. I was curious if anyone has a SWATY like this one. I dont really know much about Barber Hones and i especially dont know how to use one. I was expecting this stone to have more of a gritty feel to it, but its very very smooth to the touch.

Some people in the thread before told me to use the stone as a last means to touch up a blade if my pasted strop doesnt quite get it there. Is this the case? Im just not sure when to use it or how to use it...i saw some videos on youtube of people actually putting lather on the stone. For those of you barber hone users, could you give me some perspective as to when you feel the need to use them? How many passes, and what type of angles? Thank you very much...hers some pics

i have several of similar hones, i use them as a lite touch up, i use water on mine and only use about 4 to 5 passes on the hone. if you look in the wiki you will see examples of how to use a hone. they are really a fine grit, but you will be happy with the results they give. you can even find these on ebay and sometimes there are instructions on the box as how to use them if you would like to look there, it is basically the same as in the wiki here...good luck

Because water tends to bead up on Swatys, you will get better results with watery lather or soapy water. This keeps the water on the hone and makes it more effective.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Because water tends to bead up on Swatys, you will get better results with watery lather or soapy water. This keeps the water on the hone and makes it more effective.

Exactly what i was wanting to know. Thank you Utopian, ill try to read up on proper honing techniques

FWIW, I bet (I may be wrong) that the Pike Swaty was made by Swaty and imported with the Pike name added. Just a suspicion as I've never had one to compare to the Austrian marked hone.

Here is a set of instructions that Swaty sent out with their hones. The barber I knew many years ago would refresh an edge on his Swaty dry. I've been fooling with a few different barber hones here lately and I have been using them dry with few strokes and good results.

When I first started honing on a Norton starter set I would use my Swaty with water following the 4/8 and I got good results with that as well. Using it as if it was a 12k. Not that it is but that is what some said on the forum at that time.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

FWIW, I bet (I may be wrong) that the Pike Swaty was made by Swaty and imported with the Pike name added. Just a suspicion as I've never had one to compare to the Austrian marked hone.

Here is a set of instructions that Swaty sent out with their hones. The barber I knew many years ago would refresh an edge on his Swaty dry. I've been fooling with a few different barber hones here lately and I have been using them dry with few strokes and good results.

When I first started honing on a Norton starter set I would use my Swaty with water following the 4/8 and I got good results with that as well. Using it as if it was a 12k. Not that it is but that is what some said on the forum at that time.

Thanks so much for that PDF!!! That really simplified it for me. Im looking forward to testing this out. Thanks again everyone, very very helpful

Not sure whether I like dry or lather best on my Swaty(s) but what works for me is a take some dried lather bubbles of of the soap with my finger, and rub it all over the hone, then wet my fingers and rub them over the hone, so its more like very slightly soapy water than lather. Actual lather seems to be a pain, and water just beads up. And I think there's no real difference in grit (like natural stones) but I feel it cuts faster wet (doesn't swarf up)

Something that occurred to me as to the water beading up, is that since a Swaty is made of the same ceramic type of stuff as a Spyderco it would probably respond well to being scrubbed with a cleanser such as Comet and a bristle brush. That is what Spyderco recommends for their hones when they load up. I'm going to try that with mine.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Something that occurred to me as to the water beading up, is that since a Swaty is made of the same ceramic type of stuff as a Spyderco it would probably respond well to being scrubbed with a cleanser such as Comet and a bristle brush. That is what Spyderco recommends for their hones when they load up. I'm going to try that with mine.

Question for you, Slant-man:
I've got the Spyderco Fine and Ultra Fine. Since the consensus seems to be that the Swaty is about the same as the UF, why would I want to have a Swaty? When the chrome oxide strop doesn't get it quite as sharp as I want, then 10 passes or so on the UF followed by a few on the chrome oxide seems to work really well for me.

I do have an antique hone (original cost $1.00 on the box) which looks like a Swaty, but is marked "Swatstein" on the end. Haven't really tried it yet, although I've spent some time flattening it with an 800 grit stone.

Originally Posted by fritz

Question for you, Slant-man:
I've got the Spyderco Fine and Ultra Fine. Since the consensus seems to be that the Swaty is about the same as the UF, why would I want to have a Swaty? When the chrome oxide strop doesn't get it quite as sharp as I want, then 10 passes or so on the UF followed by a few on the chrome oxide seems to work really well for me.

I do have an antique hone (original cost $1.00 on the box) which looks like a Swaty, but is marked "Swatstein" on the end. Haven't really tried it yet, although I've spent some time flattening it with an 800 grit stone.

Hi Fritz, how's it been going ? All I can say is what Sir Edmund Hillary answered when asked why he climbed Mt. Everest,"Because it was there." To me it isn't that I am not satisfied with the edges off of hones or pastes that I already have. It is just that honing is a hobby for me and I like to try various options. For a long time I had no interest in barber hones and now for some reason I am enjoying trying them out. Maybe it is part a a logical progression that straight shavers go through if they become infatuated with honing.