Thread: 1/4 Nortons

Originally Posted by JeffR

Straight razor blades are only about three inches long. The quarter-sized Norton stones would be plenty big enough in my opinion. I find that larger stones like the full-sized Nortons are great for things like ten-inch kitchen knives and plane blades but not particularly advantageous for smaller blades.

Let's look at what the Escher company called the Barber's Delight and Barber's Choice. 6" long x 2" wide. The usual size coticule furnished to barbers, by the pro suppliers was 5"x2 1/2". These were made for the express purpose of honing razors. Had a 2"x3" size been appropriate I'm sure that would have been the default size. An 8"x3" hone is even better, IME, for speeding up the process. YMMV.

You know, Cheap can be good, but not this time. From what I read, the large 8x3 set (2 double sided hones and a flattening hone) is 130.00 to 140.00 dollars depending on where you buy it. If funds are an issue, I'd save my money and buy a full set. Believe me, you'll be glad you waited. If I were learning I'd want to give myself every opportunity to succeed. Now, while the small 2x3 hones may be usable, they're definitely not the best or even adequate for razor honing imo, especially for a novice.

In addition to doing "just" circles you want to hone heel leading. Doing that type of stroke would be almost impossible on that little hone. Forget about smiling blades altogether. Normally Barber's hones come in pocket sizes, so do some Arkies. They're meant for maintaining a shave ready blade, 3-5 strokes, or touch up's. Not full honing. That wasn't the intended purpose.

Now, I have no problem with anyone wanting to make some money, especially in this economy, but not at the expense of novice users. Do yourself a favor and buy the full size hones. There's a reason Norton doesn't sell them in pocket sizes. These are my opinions.

You could buy 4 of them,epoxy them together,lap it well and be good to go