Thread: Hone recommendations

You can keep the stones in their boxes so that's a non issue. The are many different hones. Many like myself started on Norton's. Reasonable and they perform well. Naniwas are certainly good hones. I have a few myself. You won't go wrong with any that are made for razors. And as far as longevity goes, I believe Lynn has said he gets like 3000 razors done on his nortons so that's a non issue also. Regarding strops, I don't know what the desert weather can do regarding drying etc. I will leave that to some one else. Good luck.

Go with the 3k/8k nanwiwa combo for $80 and the latigo strop from SRP, you can get both under $160, but I don't know what the shipping will be. As far as care, pick up some of the FROMM strop conditioner, use the oils from you hand to rub out the strop before each use, and use the strop dressing when you get the strop new, then use the oils in your hand when you rub it. If you feel like the leather is trying to dry out, use some of the strop dressing again. It only has to sit overnight, so it's not like you can't shave for days on end.

Naniwa and Norton are both good hones. Either would be good for a beginner. There's lots of info on here, especially for the Norton's. As far as stropping goes, there's a bit of a learning curve. It's pretty common for beginners to cut into a a strop. I don't know if I'd buy really nice expensive strop until i got it down. My two cents.

Wow, this is some really quick response times, and good advice. Please keep it coming. I figure I've got about 8 months to go so I've got a little time to decide what I'm going to do.

I'm new to honing razors, and after reading around a lot and watching videos, I've gone for the Naniwa 3/8k - and I've been immediately impressed by it. All I can compare it with is the King stones I've used for honing knives and tools, and the Naniwa seems a lot better. It's hard to describe, but it seems to cut better, and I get more tactile feedback using it (and my knife-honing has gone up a notch too).

Alan