Thread: Newb to razor honing question

Hey all,

I have just started straight razor shaving and went the route of buying a good vintage razor that needed to be honed, and being a hand tool woodworker, I already have some sharpening gear. I sharpened the SR I purchased using a 1000 king stone to shape the bevel, followed by a norton 4000/8000 combo. I then went to a leather strop charged with green compound and finished it on the bare leather side. It seems to work okay as I have now shaved twice with it. My shaving technique needs a lot of work but there is no denying my razor was sharp. That said, I think I could do better...

I am intending on buying new Japanese ceramics as I go as my Norton is getting a bit thin these days and I get great deals through my work on Sigma Power Select II and Bester/Imanishi stones, but I am not in a spot to replace all my stones at once just yet (the kids need stuff too apparently... ), so I am thinking about buying a new 13k stone to finish off with rather than going from 8k to green compound on a strop...

What are your thoughts on this? Is that a bit too big a jump for a razor? I wouldn't hesitate to do it with my chisels and plane irons (which also shave hair haha) but wood is not skin. Eventually I will get a new 1k, 4k, and 8k, but I am trying to decide whether to get a 10k now or jump right to the 13k...

Thoughts?

After I hone with 8k, I go to a 12k and get good results

Like some here, I go to a Naniwa 12K after the Norton 8K.

There are some that go to a Shapton 16K after the Norton 8K, so I don't think that the 13K is off the mark.

Welcome bobby!

Don't get too hung up on grit ratings and the size of the steps from one hone to the next. Grit ratings are quite fuzzy and only reasonably uniform within a particular product line. For instance, the Suehiro Gokumyo 20,000 grit stone advertises a particle size of 0.5 micron while the Shapton 30,000 has a particle size of 0.49 micron. Huh?

Remember that the only reason we start with, say, a 1K stone to set bevels is because of the speed of the stone. We could use that 30K Shapton to set bevels and do chip repair - it might take six months to do it but it could be done. We select the next stone in our progression simply to be able to remove the scratches from the previous one in a reasonable length of time. "Reasonable" is a relative term, of course. Your 1K King is considered to be a slow stone but outside of a production environment, so what? There's been many a bevel set on that 4K Norton, it just takes a bit longer and the speed also depends upon the technique used. Heck, I honed a blade yesterday that I took from a 1K stone straight to a super hard jnat with an imaginary grit rating of 20K+. Anyway, your jump from the Norton 8K to the (I assume) Sigma 13K might be too much for one guy and child's play for the next. It's a matter of personal preference and yet certainly in the ballpark.

If you are seriously infected with this sport you will end up with a much larger selection of hones anyway so you can fill in later. If you find that you enjoy buying a lot of "junkers" that require much love to restore the edges, you will probably want something like a 1-5-10K Chosera progression. If you are primarily touching up largely undamaged blades you will need only an intermediate stone and finishers. Then again, "need" and "want" are seldom in agreement.

rs,
Tack

After my Norton 8000 I go to an Edlis 715 Barber's hone. Not sure what grit it is, but it is working for me. Thinking about a CrOx on Balsa Strop to add to the mix.

Originally Posted by bobbybirds

..... a norton 4000/8000 combo...... is getting a bit thin these days and I get great deals through my work on
Sigma Power Select II and Bester/Imanishi stones.......

The Sigma 13K after the Norton 4k/8k will work very well.

I have tinkered with a 10k, 12k, 13k, and 15k hones
to follow a Norton 4k/8k combo edge and they
all work very well. The differences in the shave
had more to do with my skill at honing than the grit
of these four hones....

The Sigma 13k a very good one. If Sigma has stock
rocks in the 10k-15k range you are good to go.

The Sigma only needs a tiny bit of lapping to flatten
the surface and eliminate the very thin casting release
rind... Sigma makes a good hone. Hmm.... I am repeating
myself.

8k to 13k is an OK jump. However I would recommend that you do yourself a favor as somewhat of a new guy, try to finish on your 8k and get a decent, comfortable shave from the 8k. The reason being, most of us who have been honing for more than a few decades will agree that if you can teach yourself to successfully finish on the 8k, you then will/should be able to finish on just about any stone whatsoever. I consider the 8k to be the threshold to all other finishers. Shave comfortably from the 8k and you have arrived. Good luck.

Thanks guys... To respond to a couple points, I have been planning on buying new stones anyways for my woodworking reasons anyways, so now I am thinking of how to maximize the crossover ability to razor sharpening, and I am going specifically with Sigma and/or Bester/Imanishi because of being able to get a substantial discount through my work (35%). Otherwise if I was paying retail I would be considering a much larger range of stones, but these are really well regarded in the woodworking world so I would imagine they should cross over well...

So far I have gotten shaving ready with an 8k, but I think I can get a bit better and I know it will help a bit on some of my tougher grained woods so I am going to be getting a better stone no matter, but it is more a question of what.

I also need to get a proper barber strop. I am just really researching that now. How does everyone feel about the roo type strop? Do people prepare there strop when they are new in any way or just run with it dry as is?

There's no need to do anything to a new strop but use it. You will find all sorts of treatment goop available but these are neither needed nor recommended by most. A good rubbing with the palm of the hand before each use is sufficient to keep it supple and smooth. You can run your hand through your hair or over your forehead to pick up a bit of extra natural oil first if you wish.

rs,
Tack

There's a lot to be said for the barber hone. It will follow Norton 8k nicely. That with some linen and then leather stropping and you should be happy.