Thread: Questions and input on hones

Hey everyone,

Had some questions about hones. Ive become really intrigued with straight razors since buying all my stuff to get started in the world of straight razor shaving. I've been seeing a lot of razors online that look like they have potential to be beautiful once again or at least be reliable quality shavers but people don't seem to have the patience to restore them or don't wanna bother sending them out to be restored. I've picked up a couple practice blades that seem like they could be brought back to a quality edge but won't be a huge loss if I damage them. So my questions are... What types of hones should I be looking at purchasing to get started on my journey of "attempted" restoration/making them useable? Types, grits, brands for sharpening and finishing? What do you guys think of Carborundum, Arkansas Translucents? Should I be looking at getting a barbers hone for general upkeep on my own daily shavers? Any and all feedback, ideas, etc. are much appreciated. Much of this info may be in the forums already but there's so much out there it's hard to find sometimes so if you just wanna point me to an existing thread I would appreciate that as well. Thanks for enduring my novel.

Curtis

boom wiki link found along the top of the forum.

This is a constant, and justifiable question. For maintenance of an already sharp razor, a barber hone can be all you need. For restorations, you'll need a 1k bevel setter, a sharpener around 4k, and a polisher at 8k. Optionally, you can get a higher grit hone for a slightly more comfortable shave. Then you can use your finest hone for maintenance.

Do a lot of reading around here. Also, see if you can find someone near you to hone with you in person. This will speed up your progress tremendously.

+1 to Utopian.

A lot of people use the Nortons. They are reasonably priced, and they come in combo stones (220/1k, 4/8k), so if you're tight for space like I was when I began, then that's another bonus. Lots of people also like the Naniwa set, although I can only really comment on the 12k. I've used the 3 and th 8, but not enough to speak about them.

It may also help at the beginning to stay with one set. That way you'll develop a feel for the hones, and you can set benchmarks for sharpness tests as you become comfortable with them.

Hope this helps a bit.

Thank you all for your input and help so far. I will be looking at the wiki link and look at everything you guys have pointed me towards... I have to say, it's pretty cool to beable to come to a place like this and get so many people eager to help and so quickly at that! Thank you all again.