Thread: Qestion about my Norton 4000/8000 wet stone

Is it enough by itself to put an edge on my razors or do I need to get a 12k in addition to it. Also which one of these strop products are best used to keep a sharp edge when I strop

https://www.vintagebladesllc.com/vsh...keep_https=yes

Thanks,
Christopher

If you can hone well the 4/8 will give you a good comfortable shaving edge. When you can consistently get that with the 8k a 12k is a nice thing to get a bit smoother.

For the stropping question, I would suggest chrom ox but I wouldn't put it on my daily hanging ..... or flatbed .....strop. I'd have a separate piece of leather, felt, balsa ..... just to use when I needed it. Chrom ox as a daily stropping surface would seem to me to be too much of a good thing. IMHO.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If you can hone well the 4/8 will give you a good comfortable shaving edge. When you can consistently get that with the 8k a 12k is a nice thing to get a bit smoother.

For the stropping question, I would suggest chrom ox but I wouldn't put it on my daily hanging ..... or flatbed .....strop. I'd have a separate piece of leather, felt, balsa ..... just to use when I needed it. Chrom ox as a daily stropping surface would seem to me to be too much of a good thing. IMHO.

I have 2 strops, one coming in shortly. Could I use it on the linen side of one strop to use every once and a while and then use my other for every day stropping?

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If you can hone well the 4/8 will give you a good comfortable shaving edge. When you can consistently get that with the 8k a 12k is a nice thing to get a bit smoother.

I totally agree with Jimmy! I do finish with a Naniwa 12k and love my edges. If by chance I should drop that 12k and not have the money to replace it I could live off the edge of a Norton 8k for the rest of my life! I were to drop my Norton 4/8k a and it was destroyed I'd eat peanut butter sandwiches three times a day until I could afford to replace it!!

The 12k is nice, but not necessary!

Pasted Strop? I have one, but I don't use it! I like the finish off of either the 8k or the 12k all by their own!

With all of this said, guessing by your join date that you are very new to all of this. I always advise that new members wait until they are getting consistent shaves before they make the jump to light speed and take on honing!

There is so much of a learning curve to this art of shaving with a straight! Add in learning to properly strop and not turn an edge but get that edge 'shave ready' after stropping and you are already up to your ass in alligators!

My counsel is to wait until you at least 'start' to know how to shave and strop!

Have fun and enjoy the ride! It's worth the patience!

Originally Posted by ccase39

I have 2 strops, one coming in shortly. Could I use it on the linen side of one strop to use every once and a while and then use my other for every day stropping?

You could. You could also get a piece of scrap leather and just experiment with the stuff before you paste a long hanging strop. I say that because it is easy to put the stuff on but hard to take it off if you change your mind. For me a piece about 8 to 12" long is plenty. Glued onto a piece of wood or plexiglass.

thanks guys. i don't plan on trying my hand at honing at all with the razor I shave with for a long while. i did buy a couple of cheap ones I figured would be great for practicing my honing skills when the time comes. i am just now at the point where I am finally able to strop properly and still have a ways to go.

Originally Posted by ccase39

thanks guys. i don't plan on trying my hand at honing at all with the razor I shave with for a long while. i did buy a couple of cheap ones I figured would be great for practicing my honing skills when the time comes. i am just now at the point where I am finally able to strop properly and still have a ways to go.

Who said common sense wasn't very common?

Good thinking Christopher