Best Sharpening Stone

I'm considering switching to a straight razor but before I jump in with both feet I need to make an informed decision on one or two things. The first is to decide on a sharpening stone to purchase. Hence, my question to you folks. Is the Norton 4000/8000 water stone the best stone to use for sharpening a straight razor? Is there something on the market even better? What do you pro's use? Where is the best place to buy it? Thanks, and I look forward to your helpful replies.

Since I'm new to this group perhaps I should give a little background info so you'll know something about me. I began wet shaving about three months ago using a Futur safety razor and a super badger brush. I'm getting good shaves and I'm enjoying it. Now, however, I'm thinking about stepping up to a straight razor in hopes of getting an even better shave. For ten years Prior to three months ago I had a full beard and didn't shave at all. And, for thirty years prior to that I used an electric shaver. Needless to say I never looked forward to shaving with my electric for two reasons. I never seemed to have time for a leisurly shave and I had not then discovered wet shaving. Now that I'm retired I find I have an abundance of time to devote to shaving and I actually look forward to my next shave. So here I am, venturing forth into unchartered waters. With your help I hope to make the right decisions on the purchase of equipment so that this new venture will be a most lasting and satisfying one. Thanks again.

Duke

Duke,
Welcome to the group. I'm thinking that most people here would recommend the norton 4/8k wetstone. It's pretty costly, but it's a sure thing and inexpensive compared to Belgian Coticules. If there is a Woodcraft store in your area it can be purchased there which will save on shipping, but you'll have to pay local sales tax. There are many internet locations to purchase this stone, including woodcraft.com. My recommendation is the 3" wide stone. If price is no object, then I'd recommend a yellow coticule stone as well or a paddle strop with diamond paste for sharpening beyond the 8000 grit stone.
BTW-I really don't consider myself a sharpening pro, but I can get most razor's shave-ready.
Congrats on retirement and welcome to the group!
-Fred

Hi Duke,

Welcome to the group, and I hope you'll find your best shave here :)

To the hone. The standard hone here is the Norton 4000/8000 combination stone. It is widely accepted just because of the consistency of the results grit standards, and it is still manufactured, unlike various barber hones that are discontinued in production, and are not marked in grit. I have heard good things about Shapton Pro series. They are way more expencive than the Norton stone. For centuries natural stones were used on razors, like Belgian Coticule, and are considered good sharpening stones.

Nenad

I started out by buying a few shave-ready razors from members here. Once they started dulling (more by my lousy stropping than from actual use, I'm afraid), the setup that got me going again was a 3" Norton 4k/8k stone and pasted strops with 1 and .5 micron pastes.

Some people (including me) have found that their norton's needed lapping to get them smooth enough to hone well, I marked mine with a pencil and lapped it with fine sandpaper on glass until all the pencil marks were sanded off. Experienced honers can get a razor sharpened just fine with the 8k side of the norton, but inexperienced honers like me find that using the pasted strops after the norton gets the razor shaving well with a lot less effort and worry.

I second the pasted strop option. I never got the Norton simply because I already had a 6K japanese waterstone. After asking a similar question to yours on this site I opted for the pasted strop from Tony in order to touch up the blade after my hone. The pasted strop was expensive compared to a fine barber hone, but cheap compared to a coticule. The other advantage to the pasted strop is that it works quickly, is easy to learn (unlike the barber hones), and has a variety of grits making it ideal for many different levels of sharpening needs and thus postponing the time consuming hone.

Like others I'd say the Norton is your workhorse and abrasive pastes can really add to that. If you're just looking to touch up a razor then you could go for a heck of a long time with just the pastes if you have enough of them. The question is how much do you want to work at anothter skill (honing) beyond te shaving and stropping you already will be working on? If the answer to that is 'not much' then I'd say a 4-sided paddle strop is in order for you. If 'bring it on' is the answer then you'll likely want that Norton and maybe a nice Belgian coticule too.

X

Whichever route you go consider this.
The initial investment you make in hones and strops is a very long term investment. You will probably not wear the hone out in your lifetime (Unless you get into restoring old razors or go pro). You won't have to go to the store to get blades. You won't have to buy a new razor or pay $15 for 10 cartridges. If you travel you can always have a fresh blade with a few laps on a paddle strop and or hone.
I bought an inexpensive strop (Tony Miller "seconds" which would do well as "firsts") I butchered my first one learning to strop. I am not alone in doing that:D It also rolls up into a neat little ball and the leather strings tie it up into a neat roll you can hold in your hand and put in your shave kit. Tie the strings around towel bar or door knob and you have a hanging strop. I now have one his heirloom strops w /linen now that I am confident in my stropping.

I have about $200 invested in hones. But I could have done well with $34.00 with Tilly's Barber hones starter kit. I added a Swaty and a Belgian Coticule.

Norton's are more popular here, and they have a faster learning curve and if I have understood the posts correctly will achieve an edge faster than Barber Hones. I have time to learn.
Good Luck on your purchase. These guys here have wealth of knowledge and have forgotten more than I know and are always ready to help.

Welcome to the forum, Duke. I'm a bit of a hone-junky (nothing like Nenad, Randy and the rest of the truly good ones, but still) so I've tried a few and here are my impressions.
1) If you want to hone, get the Norton 4/8k 2". Yes, TWO inches. It will give you more consistent wear on the blade. I'll probably get a 2" and sell my 3".
2) Japanese stones are ok for touchup honing but they are HORRIBLE for restoration work, as they cut very slowly.
3) Get your first blade from one of the members here so you have a sharpness standard for your own honing. They will indicate if it's shave-ready. Don't shave much with it until you figure out the proper way to hone your oldies and just use it for comparison. Bill Ellis has some great pieces in various price-ranges at http://www.billysblades.com/Straights.htm 4) Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy new razors unless they're DOVO, Thiers-Issard or custom pieces from Bill or the Maestro. Ask here before you buy.

Here's why you will save yourself some frustration/scarring (personal experience lol):
1) Norton is the easiest hone to work with and gives consistent great results.
2) Using a slow cutter to restore a blade is a sure-fire way to get arthritis. However, they will be easier on your blades once it just needs touching up.
3) Self-explanatory.. You need to know what a proper shaving edge is before you try to create one on your own. Ties into #4...
4) I'm trying to help you avoid buying Pakistani ebay razors, made of junk steel that will NEVER take a proper shaving edge. I have a few scars to prove it.
Good luck and enjoy!

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Originally Posted by Duke

Is the Norton 4000/8000 water stone the best stone to use for sharpening a straight razor?

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It's not an easy question to answer if we don't know what you intend to do.

For example, if you just want to learn how to shave and maintain a few razors in shave ready condition, the Norton may be overkill. It's a great stone, definitely the preferred one if you're going to restore and hone lots of razors. You need to use it at a sink and soak it before use. That's a bit inconvenient if you just want to touch up a razor once in a while. What would work best then is a pasted strop or fine barber hone (e.g. a Swaty). If you stropped before every shave (necessary) and refreshed the razor when it started to pull a little, you could maintain it indefinitely with just the strop and hone. Just as your best bet is to have the razor honed initially by someone experienced, you could similarly send it out for service once or twice a year when touching up was not enough. Many men did this in the old days, and so dod many barbers.

Since you don't know whether you will stick with str8s, you also want to minimize your present investment until you're sure. That's another reason for getting just a strop and fine hone. Or a pasted strop with 1-3 micron paste on one side and plain leather on the other would work. You can get a new one from Tony Miller at a very reasonable price. THe paddle strop will also be easier for learning stropping.

Boy, you guys are great! This was my first post here and the responses were overwhelming. You gave me so much info that I have to take a few minutes to digest all of it.

For starters let me clarify my inclinations. No doubt I will want to acquire a quality blade. Before today I narrowed the choices to DOVO or Thiers-Issard. Then I learned about Bill Ellis. Unfortunately, he sold 98% of his stock so there's not much available there. Next, the name Maestro was mentioned. I would gladly look him up if I knew who he is and how to find him. I started by asking about hones because I read somewhere that even a new DOVO or T-I does not arrive shave ready. So I assumed I would have to hone the new blade or send it to someone to hone it for me. So my next question is just how much work is needed to get a new quality high carbon steel blade ready for first use?

Let me clarify one important point about my intentions. I'm not interested in restoring blades as a hobby. I will, however, devote enough time to keeping my razor as sharp as possible for the closest possible shave. To do so I've learned that I need to strop before each shave. Therefore, I will have to buy a quality strop. Two members mentioned that Tony sells strops. Please tell me how to view his selection. So, as for honing, I am only interested in that twice a year touch up job I read is necessary. My concept then as of this minute is to use a cloth/leather strop before each shave and honing the razor about twice a year with a Norton. Does this sound about right? Other replies suggested pasted strops. Is that really necessary? Once again, your replies have given me a lot of food for thought. I'll digest it all and then come back for more. Thanks very much.

Duke

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Originally Posted by Duke

My concept then as of this minute is to use a cloth/leather strop before each shave and honing the razor about twice a year with a Norton. Does this sound about right? Other replies suggested pasted strops. Is that really necessary? Once again, your replies have given me a lot of food for thought. I'll digest it all and then come back for more. Thanks very much.

Duke

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Well, Duke, I wish it was that simple... It is like asking what car is the best.

I can suggest going trough the posts on this site, and learning some more about straight razors and the meanings to keep them sharp. That way, you will be more educated about making your own desicion. We are all here about finding the great shave, and let me tell you, it takes time. Even senior and more experienced members are finding new hones and techniques for their use daily... If you want more consistent results, you might wanna stick with DE's. I understand there are some really nice blades, and ways of getting great shave with them.

have fun,
Nenad

Just to clarify the drill:

You will want to strop your blade on plain leather before every shave.

You will want to refresh your edge every couple of weeks or so with either a finishing hone or a pasted strop. Keep in mind that if you use a paddle strop then the pasted strop may be just one of the other sides of your everyday strop. You can use your main hone for refreshing duties, but the Norton is a bit of a bother to use for something that simple.

You will want to re-set the bevel using a stone every few months or so (maybe even six or more, depending on how tough your beard is, how many passes you do, how often you shave, how good your prep is, how good the steel is, your tolerance for pulling, etc). Most guys follow up the hone with a trip to a finishing hone or a pasted paddle to polish the edge and take some of the harshness out.

So you'll need
(a) hanging strop + finishing hone or pasted paddle + norton or
(b) paddle strop with one plain side and the others pasted + norton or
(c) hanging strop + pasted paddle + norton

Or some variation on this -- I've got a hanging strop, a small paddle with both an unpasted and a pasted (.5 micron) side, a big paddle with two pasted sides (1 and 3 microns), and a 4k/8k norton. I prefer using the hanging strop under normal circumstances, but if I have to go out of town I can take just the small paddle to do both the daily stropping and refresh the blade if it needs it.

If you're willing to send your razors out for re-honing, then you can get by without the norton.

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Originally Posted by mparker762

So you'll need
(a) hanging strop + finishing hone or pasted paddle + norton or
(b) paddle strop with one plain side and the others pasted + norton or
(c) hanging strop + pasted paddle + norton

Or some variation on this -- I've got a hanging strop, a small paddle with both an unpasted and a pasted (.5 micron) side, a big paddle with two pasted sides (1 and 3 microns), and a 4k/8k norton. I prefer using the hanging strop under normal circumstances, but if I have to go out of town I can take just the small paddle to do both the daily stropping and refresh the blade if it needs it.

If you're willing to send your razors out for re-honing, then you can get by without the norton.

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I don't know where you got the idea that you need to re-create an edge with any frequency. This is something that's done rarely, usually when there is damage to the edge. I have razors that I've been refreshing regulalry for over a year, and they show no sign of needing anything else.

I would say, get a two-sided paddle strop with the idea of maintaining your razors only. With 4-6 good quality razors, you'll need very infrequent honing, other than refreshing. Give it a try and see how often you need to touch up.

The next step would be to get a paddle, tablrtop or fine hanging strop and a starter set (three different grits) of hones. They're available from TIlly (redtrader99.com) at a very good price. With just a few razors to maintain, you may not have a need for the Norton. I have one and, unless I'm going to work on a bunch of razors I just don't want to bother with it.

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Originally Posted by superfly

If you want more consistent results, you might wanna stick with DE's. I understand there are some really nice blades, and ways of getting great shave with them.

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Or a compromise would be a str8 razor with renewable blades. That gives you the str8 shaving experience with the convenience of a DE. You can get them from Feather, Dovo (Shavette- uses a variety of blades), Fromm (Fromm shaper blades of Hess (uses injector blades.

Another possibility would be an injector razor. Nationwide Campus will be selling adjustable and fixed head injector razors by the end of the month. They are modeled after the last ones that Schick made.

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Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

Or a compromise would be a str8 razor with renewable blades. That gives you the str8 shaving experience with the convenience of a DE. You can get them from Feather, Dovo (Shavette- uses a variety of blades), Fromm (Fromm shaper blades of Hess (uses injector blades.

Another possibility would be an injector razor. Nationwide Campus will be selling adjustable and fixed head injector razors by the end of the month. They are modeled after the last ones that Schick made.

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Just be careful about starting out with the feather with the interchangeable blades... that thing is sharper than hell and not a super great idea for starting out with a str8. Speaking from personal experience (yeah, I bought one to start with)... I traded mine to Joe and made us both happy.

-- Gary F.

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Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

I don't know where you got the idea that you need to re-create an edge with any frequency. This is something that's done rarely, usually when there is damage to the edge.

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This idea is espoused fairly frequently on this forum, most recently here.

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Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

I have razors that I've been refreshing regulalry for over a year, and they show no sign of needing anything else.

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In all honesty, Joe, you're the only person I've ever heard pushing this theory. It may well work like a charm, or it may only work if you're refreshing with a barber's hone and not if you're refreshing with a pasted leather paddle. I don't know. But it's disengenuous of you to suggest to a newbie that he'll never need to hone his razor just because you don't, or that stone honing is "rare" or otherwise unusual, because lots of guys *do* need to use the stone occasionally.

I think what Joe was referring to was 'resetting the bevel', not taking the razor to a hone for a touch-up. The only time I've ever created/reset a bevel is either the first time out restoring a vintage blade or when the edge has somehow been damaged. Particularly with a razor that has not been used in some time, the edge oxidizes, is pitted and the fine edge becomes brittle. New steel has to be exposed for the blade to take and hold an edge. This is 'creating' a bevel.

Once a razor has been honed to shaving sharp. Regular use (assuming no damage to the blade by dropping it, hitting the faucet, etc...) will eventually dull the blade, but will do little to the geometry of the bevel. At this point you will need to revisit a hone, but only a very fine hone, and only for a touch-up. A swaty, coticule, escher will all work quite well and only a few strokes will be sufficient.

Just a matter of semantics,
Ed

duke,

if i might make a suggestion as im a begginner myself. take a look at the pictures posted here, look at the website of the people making high quality razors, read some of the posts that people state their favorite types of razors. ok, now that you've done this you will see there are similarities in what people say are the best makers and types of steel - sheffield / solingen...etc etc. now that you got the type of steel you want to see on the blade plus the makers that are respected, off you go to your local antique store or flea market. you will enjoy doing this as you will see a bunch of razors, talk to people who will tell you stories about razors and collections, some may not have them with them but they have them back home. remember they can only carry so much junk to a flea market. so ask and most will say they have some and will bring them next week ..etc etc.

so pick up a razor this way. check the razor out, get the maker/type of steel which is good and make sure the blade is in good condition. you don't want cracks or chips. buy the razor cheaply. most of these people you can talk down 25% off what they are asking..so you end up play 10$ maybe 20$ on the high end.

now you have your own razor that you picked. it may have a bit of rust on it, it prolly needs cleaning and it will definitely need honed. thats easy enough. there are plenty of people on this forum that will gladly clean and hone your razor for you in the price range of say 20$. so you take your 10$ purchase and send it off to these pro's to have it cleaned and honed to shaving perfection and you get back a 30$ beauty that you picked out and that you would prolly pay 100$ for off a website as a finished product. you will fall in love with your first razor that you pick out and have redone.

thats my take on it. you pick your own, you buy inexpensively at a flea market, you send it to one of these pro's so you get back a completed shave ready razor so you know what one is exactly and get to shave with it.

that is how i got my first razor. its a thing of beauty. that is my 2cents :)

~J

Duke,

I am also a newbie just starting out and wanting to keep the initial investment to a minimum. If I were starting out all over again, this is what I would do.

1)Buy a shave ready razor from a member here or buy a brand new razor and have it sent to Lynn to get it perfectly honed for 20 bucks. (this gets you the sharpness standard)
2) Go to Tony's website and buy either his hanging strop plus the 4 sided pasted strop OR buy the 4 sided combo paddle strop which has 3 pasted sides plus one unpasted side for daily stropping. If you have questions about his products, email Tony (contact info on his website) and he is very pompt and helpful with his replies.

Alternate to 2) would be the hanging strop plus some barber hones, which would definately be cheaper, but they do take a little more effort to learn than the pasted strop. My personal opinion is that if you want to learn how to use the barber hones, then you might as well go all in and get the Norton because that means you like the sharpening process itself (in my opinion, its part of the fun of the straight).

This would be ~50 for a new DOVO, 20 for proper honing, ~50 for the hanging strop and ~60 for the 4 sided pasted stop. A total of 180 bucks max. Since this would mean starting out with a truly sharp razor, you can learn the stropping/shaving technique. You will likely dull the razor on your daily strop at first because you are new, but since you have the pasted strop, you can touch up the edge (buying seconds from Tony may help you save money, also).

After a month or two, you should have the stropping and shaving techniques down pretty well, and then you can decide if you enjoy the sharpening process (its very satisfying getting something wicked sharp with your own two hands) and buy the ~70 dollar Norton, or you may hate sharpening, so you can mail your razor off for honing and save yourself the Norton purchase, or you can decide you hate the whole process and sell your whole kit to me for a discounted price...

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Originally Posted by texan

Duke,
or you can decide you hate the whole process and sell your whole kit to me for a discounted price...

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Tex,
You are evil man.:D :D :D :D

First off, I want to thank all of you for taking the time to help me. Your thoughts and suggestions have all contributed to my knowledge base. I have been on other forums and none of them have been as useful as this one. You are all to be congratulated, and I do so now. Congratulations.

Moving on, it seems fairly clear that there is a distinct order of things in getting started shaving with a straight razor: razor - strop(s) - hone in that order. I have the razor under control at least for now, so my next step is acquiring a strop(s). At this point I'm still a little confused. I thought a simple two sided strop - one side cloth the other leather - such as the DOVO strop at ClassicShaving.com was all that's necessary to keep an edge until honing with a stone. Now there's talk about strops at Tony's. Is one simple strop enough or is a combination hanging/board strop plus some kind of pasted board strop the way to go? Regarding types of strops I personally lean toward a hanging strop vs. an unimpregnated board assuming they are equally effective. The DOVO BTW is said to not require any preparation prior to first use. So gentlemen, your thought please. Thank you

Duke

Agreed in full.

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Originally Posted by ForestryProf

I think what Joe was referring to was 'resetting the bevel', not taking the razor to a hone for a touch-up. The only time I've ever created/reset a bevel is either the first time out restoring a vintage blade or when the edge has somehow been damaged. Particularly with a razor that has not been used in some time, the edge oxidizes, is pitted and the fine edge becomes brittle. New steel has to be exposed for the blade to take and hold an edge. This is 'creating' a bevel.

Once a razor has been honed to shaving sharp. Regular use (assuming no damage to the blade by dropping it, hitting the faucet, etc...) will eventually dull the blade, but will do little to the geometry of the bevel. At this point you will need to revisit a hone, but only a very fine hone, and only for a touch-up. A swaty, coticule, escher will all work quite well and only a few strokes will be sufficient.

Just a matter of semantics,
Ed

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Almost without exception a new razor will not be shave ready.
If you closely read the classicshaving website they clearly state this. You can also read this in an articlle by Arthur Boone on the knifecenter.com site. If you buy your razor from Classicshaving.com then take advantage of their sharpening service. They will send the razor to Lynn Abrams, the Founder of this group, and then you will know what sharp really is.

I thank you for clearly stating your needs. The guys here have given you a lot of good info. My take on your needs is as follows.
1. A hanging strop with linen for daily stropping just before shaviing. 20-30 roundtrip laps on the linen followed by 30-50 on the plain leather strop just before shaving.
2. When your razor starts to pull then you have several options.
a. An abrasive pasted paddle strop. The abrasives to use are 3.0, 1.0, 0.5 and 0.25 micron. This is the easiest to learn simply because the stroke is the same as what is used on the plain leather strop.
b. A fine/finishing Barbers hone. This is the least cost option but more difficult to learn to use effectively.
c. A Norton 4/8K hone. For you this would be overkill initially but it is the easiest hone to use, clean and keep flat.

You will not need to reset the bevel or recreate the edge unless you buy a new razor and don't have someone hone it for you, or you damage the edge or you decide to buy a vintage razor from Ebay or an antique store.

Welcome to the group!:)

Hope this helps,

BTW, www.billysblades.com is Bill Ellis website URL

www.thewellshavedgentleman.com is Tony Millers URL

Randt,

Thank you. Very succently put. Here's the one part of this I'm still trying to figure out:

In your post does purchasing option 2a negate the need to buy and use 2b and 2c? Does Does purchasing option 2b negate the need to buy and use 2a & 2c? And so on. In other words is buying a standard strop and ONE of the other 3 options all I will need to keep the razor sharp? Once I clearly know what specific equipment I need I'll be in a better position to decide between 2a,b,and c.

Duke

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Originally Posted by gfoster

Just be careful about starting out with the feather with the interchangeable blades... that thing is sharper than hell and not a super great idea for starting out with a str8. Speaking from personal experience (yeah, I bought one to start with)... I traded mine to Joe and made us both happy.

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You didn't trade it to this Joe.

One thing I should add is that the Feather may be an easier transition to str8s for a skilled DE user. These guys may otherwise be poor prospects for a str8. THey ae getting great shaves and suddenly go to the str8, which has a learning curve. Even after they get the feel of the razor, it's some time before the str8 shave gets as good as the DE shave. All that time they're frustrated and wondering why they're putting themselves through it. But the str8 shave has the potential to surpass their existing DE shave. If tehey go the Feather route they will be using a razor with a familiar feel and should get good shaves right after they get the feel of using a str8. The sharper edge will not be as much as a problem because they've already learned pressureless shaving. The difference is that this is even more pressureless (if that possible).

Duke,
If you buy 2a, you do not need 2b. If you buy 2b, you do not need 2a (assuming you buy a fine/finishing barber hone).

If you buy 2a or 2b for a Lynn sharpened razor; and you use a hanging strop for daily shaves; and touch up with your 2a or 2b purchase when the razor begins to tug, you will not need 2c for quite some time. Eventually your 2a or 2b purchase will not be able to touch up your razor sufficiently. Then you either need 2c, or to mail it to professional honer which will run about 20 bucks.

Just to clarify, use the hanging strop before every shave. After a week or so, the razor will begin to tug, then you touch up with 2a or 2b. After months of this routine, 2a and 2b will no longer be able to keep your razor tug free. That is when you mail out your razor or buy 2c.

Ah Ha, now I've got it. Thanks Texan. Now I know I need a plain hanging strop and a touching up paste board and then either a stone or have someone else sharpen it for me. So it is really a 3 stage process. It took awhile but the light finally shown through.

Since I'm at the first stage right now do you have a recommendation for a hanging strop? I was thinking about the DOVO at ClassicShaving only because they say it needs no preparation before first use - whatever that is. Also because it is Russian leather and that leather is supposed to be the best for the job. Is Russian leather better? If I go with something else what preparation is required? Thanks again.

Duke

The Dovo strops work fine. Tony (of paddle strop fame) also sells hanging strops. Handamerican makes a good hanging strop. I use an old Illinois hanging strop (also sold by classicshaving).

The "preparation" usually involves working the surface of the leather with strop paste, also sold by classicshaving on the same page as their strops. Whether your strop is "ready to use" or not, you will eventually need strop paste -- it's basically leather conditioner thats specially formulated for strops.

Russian leather has a good reputation, but this reputation dates back century or more and I'm not at all sure that the modern "russian leather" has any relation to the old stuff other than the name.

Check these out The Well Shaved Gentleman
He has a factory Second strop also that rolls up about the size of a soap cake and you can tie it with the leather thongs that come with it.
Just a thought (going in my suitcase,with the Swaty and paddle strop)

I bought the DOVO strop from classic shaving and it works fine. However, I later discovered this forum and have heard people say they like Tony's hanging strop better than the DOVO. If I recall correctly, Tony's hanging strop is bigger and as good if not better than the DOVO, and is either cheaper or the same price. Also, since Tony has given me such helpful advice previously, I recommend his strop instead. But the DOVO is just fine.

Many people use 2a-b-c interchangeably but as Texan said 2a and 2b negatre each other for most people. 2c is, the Norton 4/8K, more than able to give you a shaving sharp edge, if thats all you have. But, you will like the edge from 2a or 2b better.

The better strops now come ready to use, no breakin required. Just get a good strop, not a cheap one.

Hope this helps,:)

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Originally Posted by Duke

Randt,

Thank you. Very succently put. Here's the one part of this I'm still trying to figure out:

In your post does purchasing option 2a negate the need to buy and use 2b and 2c? Does Does purchasing option 2b negate the need to buy and use 2a & 2c? And so on. In other words is buying a standard strop and ONE of the other 3 options all I will need to keep the razor sharp? Once I clearly know what specific equipment I need I'll be in a better position to decide between 2a,b,and c.

Duke

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