Thread: Hone Sweet Hone...

If your razor is shaving but just a little dull, you can restore the shaving performance with a pasted strop. I freshen up my edge every 2-3 weeks with a pasted strop, and refresh the edge with a 12K stone every 2-3 months.

To make a paddle strop, glue a piece of thin leather or balsa wood to a flat strong board or ceramic tile and put a little .5 micron polishing compound on it (not a lot). Most people use the green Cromium Oxide compound, I used FlexCut gold since I had it already.

Just strop as normal for 7-10 round trips and try shaving a sideburn. If it's not super sharp yet, do another 7-10 roundtrips. Doing a bunch more than is needed will result in an overhoned edge with a ragged burr that results in razor burn and fast dulling - that's why you are testing the edge so often.

ps: I've used a "hard" arkansas (not black or translucent) with oil and a extra light touch and it worked OK as a substitute for a 8-10K stone. Use extra oil to cut down on the abrasiveness and make it perform like a finer grit stone.

Thanks guys ! I`m talking to an Ebay seller about this item...
Naniwa Super Waterstone for sharpening knives and tools - eBay (item 280521741028 end time Jul-15-10 10:35:02 PDT)

But before I buy I`ll PM the member that was suggested, thanks for that I`ll make sure I have a good look around too before I buy. I does sound like I`ll be needing the hones, a lapping block and a pasted strop at some point though...

On the pasted strop, I've switched to .5 micron diamond. It obviously cuts very well & doesn't get so dang nasty like the paste crox. Lynn had mentioned this, so I figured I would try it. I learned rather quickly that if Lynn says it, it's a fact...

Originally Posted by Feebo

Odd I thought I had put "razor hone" into Ebay? huh... Anyway, thanks guys, that helps a lot. One more question, it seems you need to lap the hone after each use. I`m going to need a lapping stone AND a hone at the same time am I?

You can lap on a flat surface with sandpaper, and I don not lap my hones before every use/ or after. I usually only lap when I think that the stone is getting pretty worked over. Also, depending on the condition of the barber hone it may actually need lapping too (likely off of theBay).

Once lapped though, it should be good for a while

I`m speaking to a SRP member about a Hone at the moment, I`m also considering these in V fine X fine and Medium...
Naniwa Super Waterstone for sharpening knives and tools - eBay (item 280521741028 end time Jul-15-10 10:35:02 PDT)
I really want to make sure I get a suitable hone or set of hones here, I`m all too aware what the wrong tools result in......

Originally Posted by Feebo

I`m speaking to a SRP member about a Hone at the moment, I`m also considering these in V fine X fine and Medium...
Naniwa Super Waterstone for sharpening knives and tools - eBay (item 280521741028 end time Jul-15-10 10:35:02 PDT)
I really want to make sure I get a suitable hone or set of hones here, I`m all too aware what the wrong tools result in......

I looked at those hones and they are the same price as the ones offered by SRD so I would consider that to be a much safer option.

Who is SRD? The Ebay seller has offered to ship them free, if I can get a similar deal then I`ll happily get them elsewhere. I would be a lot happier getting them from a SRP member really....

I'd definately buy from SRD if the price was comparable.

If you choose to go with Japanese stones, remember that the grit rating is much different than American grits. I have a mix that I use, but am aware that a 1k Japanese is about the same as a 2K American grit. The 3/8K Naniwa combo stone that SRD offers would be a great stone to start with if you were limited to a budget.

Oh well I`d have gone straight to SRD if I`d known about it! lol How do I find that then? *Goes off to search the forum*

Cor thanks !