Thread: Shave-sharp from a 6000 grit ?

I realise there are a lot of factors in play, but in general; Can you get a razor shave-sharp from a 6000 grit stone ?

Well, let me word it like this;
It will be able to cut hair, and you'd be able to get a shave from it, given it has been taken to the max of that stone.
As to the comfort and actual "shave readiness" I think I would pass on using that 6K as a final step.
I have shaven off 5K stones, and can tell you that it was no pleasure.
I would add one more stone before going to pastes and/or stropping.

Probably, I know you can from 8000 since that is what I use to hone my razors.

Technically, you could shave with a razor off of a 1k as long as the bevel is properly set. Will it be comfortable? Hell no. Razors need to be be both sharp and smooth with the smoothness coming from higher grits. In my personal experience, you 8k is the bare minimum for both sharp and smooth. YMMV.

i think NO, you need min 8000 grit for a painless shave.

From the research I've done, most people do not get a close comfortable shave from anything sharpened on a stone less than 8K and many people prefer to take it up to 12K. A great way to get a wide range in sharpening grit is to use a natural sharpening stone such as a coticle. Depending on whether you use it with a slurry (slurry is kind of a mixture of water and loose sediments of the stone) or just use the stone when its slightly moistened it seems you ca get a range anywhere between 8k - 11k, but don't hold me to that. I haven't tried my hand at honing anything yet.

Originally Posted by Theseus

Technically, you could shave with a razor off of a 1k as long as the bevel is properly set. Will it be comfortable? Hell no. Razors need to be be both sharp and smooth with the smoothness coming from higher grits. In my personal experience, you 8k is the bare minimum for both sharp and smooth. YMMV.

I have shaved off of a 1k and can guarentee you it sucks. That was all I had for about three months. Do yourself a favor and get a chinese 12k to finish on. Not very expensive but provide a nice edge.