cheap 12K hone any good?

[bphaedrus]

New Chinese Water Hone / Waterstone for Straight Razor | eBay

Does this hone look like it is any good? I am buying a 4K/8K combo, but if this is usable I might pick it up too.

Thanks for the advice for a beginner.

Thanks!

[bphaedrus]

I know values can't be discussed. Am asking more about quality. I don't know what a "slow hone" means! Thanks!

[Zephyr]

The C12K's can be a very good, but you can also get one that's basicly useless, there's always differences in natural stones, but the Chinese stones seems to have a higher number of "not quite so good" stones.

I would say grab one, they cost almost nothing so if it doesn't work for you it's not a big loss.

[smalltank]

they are good finishers..but aernt 12k rated..more like 6k-8k if a number could be put on its grit..had a few friends gimme their thoughts when I thought about em...lapping them can take FOREVER..well less than that.....could be few hours

[rickboone]

Never heard them to be in the 6 to 8k range, but hey... I have one and I really like it. I use it now mostly with oil just for the fun of it, really. Kind of dedicated it to oil. But, before that used it with water. Great stone.

A slow hone means it takes a lot of strokes. I don't know....I do about 20-30 when I'm finishing on this stone. I like it because it's also a great touch up stone.

You're talking about getting a 4/8 k, all you'll need then is a bevel setter (1k) and a lapper dapper. Like a DMT 325. Sandpaper can work also for that.

As far as the C12K taking forever to hone, I dunno. I've always bought them lapped. If you want to take a while lapping something, lap a barber's hone.

[lz6]

My suggestion would be to pass on that stone. The stone in the picture is not the one you will receive. Master your Norton
4/8 (good choice) and you will have a feel for where you may want to head with a stone. Good luck and enjoy.

[rickboone]

My suggestion would be to pass on that stone. The stone in the picture is not the one you will receive. Master your Norton
4/8 (good choice) and you will have a feel for where you may want to head with a stone. Good luck and enjoy.

What stone do you receive, then? Perhaps not the exact one pictured, no. But still as described.

[Hirlau]

I have a good PHIG, but I purchased it somewhere else. I am very happy with it's performance.

[Cangooner]

I picked one up on the bay about a month ago, knowing that it could be a bit of a gamble. As has been said, some seem to be great and some seem to be pretty much useless.

I bought mine from that exact same seller and it has worked great for me so far. No guarantee that this particular one will be from the same quarry/source, but I can at least say that mine turned out to be a good one.

My one suggestion would be to consider a slightly larger size. 50mm is more or less 2 inches, and so its width will be approx 2/3 the length of most blades. If you find one that is 75mm+ you can cut down on how much of an X you have to do with your strokes if that would be helpful to you.

[Theseus]

As has been said, these stones can be a real gamble. They can range anywhere from useless to 12k+. If you do happen to get a good one, they can give some of the smoothest edges out there.