Thread: Hones? Moving from new beginner to small experienced beginner. Honemiesters please!

I have purchased several razors. Glen has sharpened some of them for me so I have felt a real edge on my face (for reference). I'm really wanting to learn how to hone and I have a razor to "learn" with and several that are in need of sharpening before first use. I'm also going to try to do make it to a meet up this year....


My real question is what is generally accepted as the needed items for starting to hone? How many stones/what grits? Do I need a slurry stone? Chinese, naniwa, shaptons, zulus, or norton, Whats a good starter brand? Is a good starter to buy sets like SRD Naniwa 5k 8k 12k pack? Would I need more than that? Or other alternatives?

What I'm wanting is mainly to be able to maintain good edges myself. I do buy vintage razors but I try not to buy ones with big chips or anything that really requires grinding down a big part of the blade. Most will just need a new edge or a maintenance edge. Maybe a occasional bevel reset.

Sorry that this is so many questions in one. I've been reading around but most of the discussion seems to be from people with a bit of experience and it goes over my head. I haven't found anyone talking about starting from the ground up yet with much thoroughness, and I feel like I'm only getting more confused where to begin. Price wise I'll looking to try to stay in the neighborhood of $200. I do realize that there is some preference in this but I imagine that there is also general consensus as to good beginner stuff. Thank you all for any input.

Three stones minimum.
Even tho you don't want to grind blades..a one k bevel setter will be needed at some point.
A four k or three k depending on the pack you buy
And a five six or eight k...
Once again depends on the set you get..the Norton set is highly recommended as well as the three stone naniwa set.
Hope this helps...com
I would go for synthetics first before trying to figure out naturals stones.
Imho

I am just starting out too. I went with the Norton 4k/8k combo and a Naniwa 12k. I purchased a few inexpensive razors to practice on and just worked on one of them last night. It was very dull and had a very small chip in the blade. I was able to get the chip out and set a bevel with the 4k and then went on to get a shavable edge using the pyramid method and finishing on the 12k. So, in my very inexperienced opinion a 3k or 4k a 7k or 8k and a way to clean/flatten them are absolutely needed. A finishing stone of some sort is a next to necessary item and then a lot of practice. Hope you enjoy the trip and good luck!


Edit:
P.S. The setup I have is under your $200.00 at SRD

All you really need is the Norton 4/8k. Its a great stone and many pros here only used that one stone for years and got excellent results. Its the stone I learned on. It is a quality stone that you can do anything from set a bevel with to finish and polish. There were also a couple of honing methods made specifically for that stone. Another huge advantage to the Norton is that there are a ton of videos and threads here on this site that teach you how to hone using that exact stone. I found there was more learning material on the Norton than any other stone. Anything else is more of a want and not a need. Later on you may want to add a 1k to set bevels a little faster and maybe a 12k finishing stone. The 12k won't do you a bit of good until you learn the proper amount of pressure to apply and how to use slow even strokes, which you will learn by finishing on the 8k. Its about a $75 dollar set up. I have read more recommendations on this stone than any other.

your options for lapping and refreshing stones are sandpaper and a flat surface (glass or marble tile),possibly loose lapping grit and a flat surface, a flattening stone like the Norton flattening stone (which needs to be flattened before use flattening other stones, see sandpaper or lapping grit), or a diamond plate like a DMT8C (DMT325) or an Atoma plate (probably an Atoma 400 i think)

many folks would recommend a dmt8c if you can afford it as it is very convenient, but it is not necessary.

Cool thanks for the replies. I think I'll be getting something pretty soon and am excited to try it out.

To add my own two cents; The Norton setup is a great standard. For full honing there's no more consistent and accessible a setup. I bought mine from Lie Nielson Toolworks (cheapest prices I could find and great to work with). However, I've also read several good reviews of King stones. Their grits are a bit higher than the Nortons (ie. a King 1k is equivalent to about a Norton 1500) Somewhere here on SRP is a micron chart detailing this.

For full honing, a 1k is a lifesaver, and the cheapest hone you'll buy. But a 4k/8k is what you need for most honing/shaving jobs. Alternatively, a barber hone (found at a local antique store or vintage online) can do the same work for much less cost. I used a couple different barber's hones for the first year I shaved, then scraped together funds for the Nortons. All these options are will within your budget.

Amazon provided a DMT for cheap so that I could lap the Nortons, which is a definite must, though some guys lap with sand paper on ceramic tile.

Peace,
Jim