Thread: Norton vs Shapton vs Naniwa

If you want to use naniwa stones the 10mm thick ones come in fairly cheaply, I recently bought a 3k and 8k shipped for about $100. I also bought a chosera 1k which came in around the same price. The 12k naniwa is a bit more pricey though. You will also need something to lap your stones with, the DMT plates are cheaper than atoma ones, but I am lead to believe that atoma plates are better.
So all in I guess I have spent around $400 Australian on equipment, so about the same cost as one of those fancy razors you are getting.

Originally Posted by robert2286

This is what you need right here!
Norton IM83 Portable Waterstone Sharpening System

4 Nortons stones including the flatening stone... The case holds water and stone in place... Rotate for next stone! All you need! If i could start all over i would get this kitAttachment 153496

Got my stones here but got the naniwa 1,5 and 10 to start but now have the 8 and 12. Good prices and quick shipping

Originally Posted by robert2286

This is what you need right here!
Norton IM83 Portable Waterstone Sharpening System

4 Nortons stones including the flatening stone... The case holds water and stone in place... Rotate for next stone! All you need! If i could start all over i would get this kit

They're going to sell a T-ton of those.

I started with a Norton double combo kit, no wetbox and tri-holder. I'd gladly trade the flattening stone and 220 option back in on the box/holder.

In the longer run you'll (likely) wind up with a DMT that does the work of flattening as well as 220-grade stuff. And you'll buy a higher count finisher or natural.

But that the 8k edge shaved me fine whilst i was learning, and that was sans paste.

I would ask Max to hone and buy a Naniwa 12k as a finisher and get a gooood cotton and TM strop

Ive got an escher now for finishing stone - got one at a fair price from a kind gentleman/member of this forum, but still deciding whether to go the shapton glass 1/4/8 or the chosera 1k + naniwa 5/8/12. Get mixed advice from those who know their stuff. Both seem like very good options. More people suggest the chosera 1k to set the bevel, and it seems like the general advise is to stick with the same brand/style ie not use chosera 1k, then shapton, or vice versa? I like the idea of shapton as its just a splash of water then good to go, but far more people seem to have experience with chosera/naniwa.

Originally Posted by AndrewJM

Ive got an escher now for finishing stone - got one at a fair price from a kind gentleman/member of this forum, but still deciding whether to go the shapton glass 1/4/8 or the chosera 1k + naniwa 5/8/12. Get mixed advice from those who know their stuff. Both seem like very good options. More people suggest the chosera 1k to set the bevel, and it seems like the general advise is to stick with the same brand/style ie not use chosera 1k, then shapton, or vice versa? I like the idea of shapton as its just a splash of water then good to go, but far more people seem to have experience with chosera/naniwa.

Hey andrew,
As i understand it, the issue with mixing brands is that the grit ratings arent consistent, i think this is to do with the hardness of the binder that holds the abrasive together, but at the 1k level it shouldnt matter, its just as you get higher grits, and ratings that are reasonably close that its going to matter.
Though i could well be wrong, and hopefully i will be corrected.

I personally like to stay with one "brand/honing system". I use Naniwa CHosera 1K, Shapton GS 2,4,8,16K followed by finisher of choice. Most of the time my finisher is a Escher, however I am having fun with my new 20K that is showing a lot of potential on German, American, and custom blade steels. Personally I'm not much on mixing and matching my honing stones as the "feel" is too different & the key to learning to hone is learning to feel. As far as the comment on "grit" ratings, I'm not too keen on worrying about that as my "next" stone is normally twice the previous stone (1,2,4,8,16). Something that is also kind of cool is that I tend to use about half the amount of strokes as I did on the previous stone as well with the shapton's.

My personal key to honing is having a stone that will:
Set a bevel: 800-2K
Pre-Polish: 3-6K
Polish: 8-10K
Finish: 8K+