Thread: what hone do i need if im going to use a pasted strop

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Diamonds are for ladies, lapping your stones, razor repairs/corrections and knives, otherwise as very coarse work. Please forget about the pastes & sprays, a quality barber stone or Naniwa 12K will keep your razors going "to infinity and beyond". Pay attention to the advice you are taking in, is it advice from someone who has a bit of experience or not.

Thanks! I've heard lots about barbers hone's. I've heard that they are to be used dry as well.

What would your advice be, in terms of use / laps on a barbers hone to bring the edge back to going, "to infinity and beyond". (great line!)

Cheers!

I use a paddle strop daily, canvas and leather. Once a month I use canvas rubbed with chromium oxide. When the oxide no longer seems to do the trick I use a Naniwa 12K stone.

I use barber hones with water or lather. The stone I use is Shapton 16K mostly, but sometimes I take out my Swaty barber hone for the heck of it. I got lucky and picked up a long one (8") several years ago, works well with lather & about 10x.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

I use barber hones with water or lather. The stone I use is Shapton 16K mostly, but sometimes I take out my Swaty barber hone for the heck of it. I got lucky and picked up a long one (8") several years ago, works well with lather & about 10x.

Cool! Thanks for the info!!

so just to confirm, your saying once my 12k stone arrives I should hone on that when my razor begins to tug and move directly to stropping on normal leather, forgoing the .5 paste completely?

Originally Posted by keokitsune

so just to confirm, your saying once my 12k stone arrives I should hone on that when my razor begins to tug and move directly to stropping on normal leather, forgoing the .5 paste completely?

If you wait that long you may have waited too long .
It would depend a lot on your beard & usage tho. Some guys would do 3-5 strokes 1 x week on the 12k, others could get away with the 1month. You will have to tailor the maintenance to suit your circumstances

Originally Posted by keokitsune

anyone have any experience with DMT diamond stones? SRD sells them and I just noticed the 12k is $45 but the 8k is $68. the NANIWA 12K IS $72. SO JUST WONDERING IF THOES ARE A GOOD OPTION.

First and Foremost, Please post where you are in this wide world! There may be experienced help close by!

Secondly, where did you purchase your razor? Is it 'shave ready' from the factory, or was it custom honed by a Pro??? If it's from the factory, it is more than likely 'lacking' to say the least!

Most importantly, you will need to learn how to 'Properly' Strop make lather and of coarse how to get a good shave long before you need to worry about buying hones!!!

Once you have at least semi-mastered the basics, then you may consider learning to hone! Honing is an entire Art all in it's own!!!

Sending your razor off to a Pro will give you a base to know how you are doing compared to someone who has years of experience honing!

Once the basics are mastered, it really becomes a Joy to Shave! I look forward to it each and every day!

You will too!

Great advise about the 12k. Pasted strop can be used but you need to learn the leather well enough to not damage the edge. Shaving, stropping honing etc are skills that take time to master, but you will if you keep at it.

Originally Posted by keokitsune

so just to confirm, your saying once my 12k stone arrives I should hone on that when my razor begins to tug and move directly to stropping on normal leather, forgoing the .5 paste completely?

While this may seem a bit confusing right now it's just a learning curve which can be different from person to person. Variables like beard type, beard prep, shaving technique, lather and stropping technique all come into play. And as each of these improve the frequency of using paste / honing will change.

I found it a bit frustrating but stuck with it and eventually found a "system" that currently works for my variables. But I'm sure these will change as I continue to gain experience.