Thread: Potential Ohishi begginer setup?

Gday, to start with ill admit straight i have NO experience honing razors and am a novice at sharpening knives. Have always wanted to learn the art however. So, after reading up a lot here and doing countless hours windowshopping on the net its looking like my best best/cheapest option is to source from epicedge.com in the US or classichandtools.com in the UK as the limited selection in Aus is quite a bit more expensive. Have been looking at the Ohishi hones as they have been recommended by a friend as i like the different combination stones, so far have come up with:

Ohishi 1000/3000 grit waterstone
Ohishi 6000/10,000 grit waterstone
Nagura stone
Stone Holder

So to the more experienced gent's out there would this be a versastile setup to buy "decent" old razors to learn on and get shave ready? Was hoping the 10,000grit stone would act as a sufficient finishing hone? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

P.S. Would the 1000grit serve as a lapping stone? Also apologies about the typo in the subject

For a lapping stone on a budget you could buy a small granite tile and wrap some 320 wet dry sandpaper on it. Its cheap for temporary use. I would suggest a DMT 8C. As for the stones I have no knowledge and would suggest naniwa super stones or a Norton 4k/8k.

The grit sound ok but would use the 1000 stone for lapping. The d8c or w&d would be better. I got nanniwas from here but they have a range of stones so worth a look for you. Would also recommend the naniwas. They also have strops.
Sharpening Supplies - Bench Stones

Cheers for that was well worth a look. My biggest issue is the shipping costs. Am trying to get a kit setup for $200 aud or under thats versatile. Nearly everywhere iv checked with nortons/ohishi/naniwa comes out at about $220 USD inc shipping. May just have to fork out the extra dollars

The good thing is you only need to pay the shipping once cause those hones are going to last a long time. The more you buy it becomes less per item comparatively. I brought the naniwas (1,5,8,10,12) although you only need the 1,5,8,12 and a Illinois 827also. Lie neilsen tool works sell hones in oz.

Cheers Eddy,
Checked it out and its turned into henryeckert.com, doesn't have the norton 4/8 combo and they also recommend the ohishi over norton. Just waiting on a quote as they are only getting a combination 3000/10000 in a couple of weeks. Are the nagura stones vital or can i get by without while learning?

Just did a fast search on the hones Ohishi here on SRP

I found only 4 threads that even mention them, that does not mean they are bad or good it just means that help relating to how they work on straight razors is going to be pretty non-existent..

Nagura stones have two purposes

1. Clean the surface of the hone to expose new cutting girt
2. Create a slurry that can aid in honing depending on the hone and the nagura

Using an Atoma Plate or a DMT to do these jobs is also an accepted practice, but as mentioned above I have no idea how this would apply to the Ohishi hones

Would it be best off keeping it simple using just water until i see some consistent results? Then with start experimenting with slurry?

Originally Posted by Hayzee

Cheers Eddy,
Checked it out and its turned into henryeckert.com, doesn't have the norton 4/8 combo and they also recommend the ohishi over norton. Just waiting on a quote as they are only getting a combination 3000/10000 in a couple of weeks. Are the nagura stones vital or can i get by without while learning?

They are a wood working site not a razor site. I would stick to hones recommended for razors. There just not all the same. You could also try carbatec . You would be able to get a dmt there and they are great for lapping as they are the same size as the hone. Good for slurry if needed too.

Thanks, i think for now i will just stick to the wet n dry on a tile/glass for lapping until i pickup some skill honing and then see how i go. You don't know any actual shops in Perth that sell razor quality hones by chance?