Thread: Experienced opinions on polishing hone needed please!

I'm more experience than some, less experienced that others.

I'd get the naniwa. They are consistent and widely used, so you'll get better results and find more people who can help with best usage.

Just like VeeDub said, Go with the Naniwa.

Sorry I don't know anything about the naniwa's I'm using Shapton's 1K-16K. Good luck.

I've got the Naniwa 12k and the Chinese and I prefer the Naniwa by far.

Pretty sure #2 and #3 are the same, btw. As far as I know, all of those Chinese polishing stones are "quarried in the Guangxi province". Frankly, I doubt any of them are a health risk, unless you were to pulverize one into powder and inhale it (or drop it on your foot). That warning simply may be required in CA for any sanding/finishing item containing, for example, silica. Having it naturally bound into an incredibly hard stone is probably pretty safe, though.*



*I am not a biomineralogist

I have both the Nani 12k and the Shapton 16k. I like both of them and they each seam to get you to the same destination. One thing to remember with the nani's and the Chinese finisher is you will need to have some way of lapping them. My 12k nani needs to be lapped about every 2 to 3 blades, but others get more from what I have heard. I haven't needed to lap the shapton yet, and I understand the Chinese finisher is quite hard.
For now though I would just worry about keeping your blade as sharp as possible using your strop and a hard pasted strop with Cro2. That will keep you going for 3 or 4 months, and as you say, give you more time to gain some experience.

Good Luck,

Ray

I agree #2 & #3 are the same & pose little risk unless dropped on toes They are a very slow stone in my experience tho which may or may not suit you.
Personally I like J-nats but of the choices you have listed ask yourself "what would Lynn use" ?

Originally Posted by avatar1999

2 )C12k - the only thing that bothers me about this one is the warning about how it "contains carcinogens."

but I did find an alternative to that one, which claims to be a "natural" C12k here

3) Alt C12k

Honestly, I was kinda leaning towards #3, but I am uncertain.

They are exactly the same stone, except one vendor is in US and is required by California law to post that notice, the other is in UK. As far as how much is the risk - it's less than the exposure to cancerogens you get by crossing the street. But you know, the law is the law, brought to you by the popular demand and all that...

Both are very different stones. I think you should do some searches and read on both, each has advantages and disadvantages.

Welcome to SRP! You might want to take a look at some of the information on hones here.

Category:Straight Razor Maintenance - Honing & Stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I think for me the C-12 works fine for what I want it to do ( finish polishing) However if I had an unlimited budget and a severe case of HAD then I may be looking at some other ones. But for me the C-12 was perfect for me.