Zowada Razor Honing?

Hi all,

I got a straight egde a few years ago and I am ready to start honing / sharpening it myself.

I've read a ton of threads (and watched videos) regarding honing and which stones you all prefer. I noticed that some prefer different stones for different razors...

Could someone who has experience with a Zowada Damascus Steel Razor share their opinion of what I should get?

I'm pretty much only going to hone my razor (not looking to hone vintage razors as a hobby or anything). So I am probably not going to really experiment with different types of stones. I am basically going to get one set and stick with it (assuming I'm happy with it). That said $500-$800 isn't exactly chump change for me, but if it's worth it, I don't mind spending that on honing equipment. I don't really want a "starter" kit then grow into another set. I'll just take my lumps now and get it over with. I also don't mind if one stone/method is harder to learn, as long as it's achievable for a non-professional

So taking money and learning curve (within reason) out of the equation, what's going to be my best long term solution.

Thanks!

- Gene

First read my sig line well


I will even copy and paste in case I change it in the future :p

"No amount of money spent on a Stone can ever replace the value of the time it takes learning to use it properly"


That being said I really like to head to the Naniwa Super Stones when I have a Custom or a Damascus (pattern welded) come in for honing. they really let you sneak up on the edge... they are such wonderful polishers..


That is just a personal observation...

Sounds to me that what you want to do is to simply maintain your razor sharp, which is completely different from honing it in the first place.
You need just one hone or even pasted strop or similar abrasive media to do this. If your razor is already too far gone for this to work right now, spend the money on another honing to get it back in shape and then continue with maintenance.

I don't have enough experience with damascus razors or zowada's damascus razors to recommend a particular hone over the rest. But I'm quite sure that pretty much all of the standard finishers (naniwa 12k, shapton 16k, thuringian, nakayama) will give you comparable results. The chinese guanxhi (spelling?) stone is slow so it is likely to work well too. There is a relatively big variation among them, but they should all give you a decent edge and cost $20-$30.

Yes this is correct. There are no dings or chips or anything like that...it's just gotten to where I need more than the strop. I have sent it to Tim in the past for sharpening and I don't really know exactly what he did...I just see on his website he recommends the Escher Stone as the finish stone (but lists a few alternatives). I just want to make sure I use the best stone for that particular blade.

Well, if you have a $100 to spend you could probably find a small (say 5"x1") vintage thuringian/escher and you're set having his recommendation. Or any of the alternatives should be good, after all afik he hones all the razors he sells, so he has most experience with honing these.

Finishing hone is the only thing you need for maintenance.

And put the same amount of electrical tape on the spine as used during honing (or a little more, but not less) otherwise your finisher is not going to be touching the edge but rather the opposite end of the bevel.

Get a finishing stone and try that, being mindful of your pressure and number of strokes. Pick a stone of that class, any stone and read up about how folks use that stone. Most of the synthetics only take a few strokes, and many of the naturals take more, and some take lots and lots.

If you can't get there with whichever finisher you get, then back down the scale a notch, say from 12-ish to 8-ish. Check out Glen's "one-stone" honing vids. Be mindful of slurry and pressure always. If that doesn't bring it back, then send it back to Tim and ask him what he refreshes with.

Wise men with great experience already indicated the direction they'd go (and I'd take their advice). I'm just laying out simple guidelines that I'd follow.

The best thing about starting with finishers is that, if you do it right--that's all you need, ever for a particular blade. And that if you do it wrong, you shouldn't do much harm (or you won't do as much harm). If i get a new (used) razor in with a good-looking bevel, I marker the edge and drag it over a finisher just to check it out, see what is actually going on. The "marker test" is great for seeing exactly what contact you are achieving and learning what it takes to correct it if necessary. I don't think any particular stone is going to make or break your refresh job. best of luck