Thread: Boker full hollow stone recommendation

Good evening Folks, I recently purchased a Boker (first time straight razor user) and wondering what stone recommendations were out there. I've watched several videos (Lynn, etc.) and it seems pretty straight forward, but some members have warned me of attempting this act myself. This action of honing must look far easier than it actually is, becuase the motion seems essentially parallel sweeps from the heel to the tip, I guess I'm wondering if the pressure application is the difficult issue? Anyway, I want to learn to hone, so I hope I don't regret the attempt...

Well, I guess it depends on how nice your boker is. If you want to keep it in pristine shape, you may want to have someone else hone it for you. I'd be willing to hone it for you if you like. PM me if you are interested.

Then, go buy yourself something from a local antique store or ebay that is a decent name razor but not something that you want to hang on to. That is a good candidate for learning to hone on.

As for stones, the basic stuff is either the Norton 4/8k stone or the Naniwa 3/8k stones. Seems that people are now leaning towards the Naniwa's for beginner friendly stones. There are a mind boggling amount of different types of hones, so unless you have a fat wallet, you probably want to hang out in the honing forum for a little bit to get up to speed.

Moniker: Check the Wiki, there's a LOT of information about honing there, and also a lot in the Honing forum. As far as what stones to get, everyone has their own personal preference, but if you just want to touch up your razor, look for a barber hone on ebay. They can be had for decent prices.

Now, if you're talking about honing Ebay razors, that's another story.

It's general concensus that for starters, pick up the norton starter set as LOTS of ppl have experience and can help you out with them, not to mention, you don't have to sink a lot of money in it initially.

Amazon.com: Norton Waterstone Starter Kit: 220/1000 grit stone, 4000/8000 grit stone, SiC flattening stone: Home Improvement

The only think that I would recommend, is pick up a DMT D8C for lapping your hones. The nortol lapping stone will dish out as well, and will need flatening. Better just to go with the DMT hone for lapping.

what is the condition of the edge? if the razor is new from the factory you may be able to get it honed with a norton 4k/8k hone only. If not get the set with the 1k hone as well, iirc around $120-$130. In fact if you will be learning to hone get the norton set anyways, you have not really learned until you can hone out chips, mangled blades, warped razors and all kinds of difficult ones.

and get yourself another shave-ready razor so that you know what you're shooting for.

If you are going to get into the restoration hobby aspect i would agree that antique razors are very rewarding to bring back to life. However, getting started with a Norton 4000\8000 combo is a great stone for the money and a quality tool period.
On the razor end, a known contemporary standard like the basic Dovos are also made of good steel and do not have any grind or geometry issues a new honer would have to deal with. By issues I mean the multitude of things that could be wrong with an antique razor from challenging grinds that give even the more experienced honers a challenge to bad steel for a variety of reasons. New honers need to learn the basics on a blade that is not going to add variables like those mentioned so they can get feedback on what they are learning.
You will also need something to lap the norton with, a DMT(anything from XXcoarse to coarse would work) down the road will also be a good investment and you could tell your wife it was a present for her to sharpen kitchen knives on too

Mike

You guys are too quick!

I have to agree. Let someone who knows what they are doing hone your nice razors when needed and pick up some razors from eBay. That's what I'm doing now.

Hopefully, in a short period of time, I'll know what I'm doing and will be able to hone my good razors. I honestly believe there's more of an art to honing, and the videos make it look a lot easier than it is.

Good evening folks, thanks for the information, I purchased the (brand new) Boker from knifecenter.com (140th edition) w/a colonel conk honing stone/oil ($15), I knew immediately that honing with this stone may prove to be a huge mistake, but I thought with the proper technique, I could pull it off. I haven't attempted to hone the razor, but I thought I could practice on a kitchen knife or something. So after reviewing the comments, the norton 4/8k is the stone I will look forward to investing in soon. Thanks, I still don't understand why so many people think honing so difficult, maybe it's my newbie optimism...?! By the way fellas where and how much should I expect to spend for a new Norton 4/8k waterstone, Any rec's on specials?

technically, honing isn't difficult. The idea is simple. The difficulty comes when you try to get an edge that you are happy with.

Anyone can paint. Few can generate a masterpiece.