Thread: Current opinions on Zulu Grey and Suehiro 20k? Shapton 30k?

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Used on an already shave ready razor it enhances the edge/feel perceptibly.

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

I agree, and furthermore I wouldn't call most of the stones "pre-finishers" either. As far as I am concerned the 10 and 12k naniwa ss and shapton 16k gs are finishers. If used to shorten a gap for a higher grit stone then sure, they are being used as prefinishers or intermediate steps, bu lets not lose sight that they are finishers in their own right.
Regards,
Neil

There is the essence of the whole thing,,,

I have thought to myself many times reading threads here, geez there is only so much steel there to finish (re-read what Neil posted about having to back the edges down he explains it well)

But it really comes down to the term "Shave Ready" and where your honing is at regarding that term..

Going way back, the advice has always been "Until you can get a smooth comfortable shave consistently at the "8k level", buying a finisher will be a waste of money" personally I still believe that... Actually the trend toward people trying to buy their way to an edge, was why I changed my sig line to ""No amount of money spent on a Stone can ever replace the value of the time it takes learning to use it properly"

Neil and Shooter both have also touched on a subject little discussed here too, about matching the Hone to the Steel, some do not believe that even exists, others of us are positive it does... That is something you have to work out with your razors and your faces..

Ahhhh the wonderful world of finishers, where we all disagree and spend tons of money