Thread: Rolls Razor stone as a straight razor stone?

I gave the forums a search but didn't find what I was looking for:

I have an opportunity to buy a Rolls Razor on the cheap. It comes with a case, the inside has a strop and the back has a sharpening stone.

I realize the strop wouldn't be helpful for stropping a straight razor because the straight wouldn't fit inside the lid of the case, is anybody familiar with the design of the stone? Would I be able to use that as a stone for my straight instead of shelling out the cash for a norton 4000/8000?

Thanks in advance

No, the Rolls hone will not do the same job as a Norton 4K/8K.

You could take the hone out of the lid and attempt to use it for touch ups as you would a barber hone, but I would not recommend it because the hone is very thin and fragile.

If you are looking for a hone for touch ups, you would be better served with a barber hone made for straights IMHO.

sudo apt-get buy norton 4/8

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

sudo apt-get buy norton 4/8

Haha, so that is how it is done!

Thanks for the info, Dave. I thought it was probably a 'right tool for the right job' kind of thing, but thought it wouldn't hurt to check.

That's a specialized stone for a specialized razor. I wouldn't use it for a straight. There are so many choices out there that are so much better.

Originally Posted by DaveC

No, the Rolls hone will not do the same job as a Norton 4K/8K.

You could take the hone out of the lid and attempt to use it for touch ups as you would a barber hone, but I would not recommend it because the hone is very thin and fragile.

If you are looking for a hone for touch ups, you would be better served with a barber hone made for straights IMHO.

+1 on the thin and fragile.

However gluing it to a base of marble or a chunk of free
kitchen counter "drop" cut to match the size could do
the trick. The Rolls hone is not as fine as the 8K side of a norton
last I gave mine a hard look. I once picked up some replacement
Rolls hones but they arrived broken. I did use the broken
bit as a hand hone to test it and I no longer want a Rolls hone....

If you are cautious and use a soluble glue you can remove the
hone stone glue it and if it does not work soak the glue off and
put it back into the Rolls case.

My advice is to bid low in the last hour for a barber hone
on eBay. You might find one including shipping for $20...
Many barber hones were made by the same factory and
the only thing that changes is the stamp/ name on it.

With a barber hone, use lather and a small number of light hone strokes
to get or maintain the edge. Less is more ....

Do not pay too much for a barber hone. The Norton 4K/8K
combo is better than the worst barber hone by a lot
and the best barber hone is only a little better than
a Norton combo (IMO). The Norton combo is a very
useful hone to have... You will want one or one like it.

I should also note that now there are some Japanese
water stones that are excellent. If my 12Ksuperstone
is any measure of the rest of the set I would advise
looking at them very hard.