Thread: Finishing Hone?

I'm looking for a good finishing hone and I would like to ask members what they would suggest, and why? All info. is welcome and appreciated !!

What kind of experience do you have honing?
What is your set up so far?

In general my recommendation will be Suehiro Gokumyo 20k

Originally Posted by mainaman

In general my recommendation will be Suehiro Gokumyo 20k

Really? Seems a bit pricey for a first finisher. Or any finisher, for that matter.

How about a balsa hone with chromium oxide? It works really well.

N.B.: I'm serious, this is in no way meant as a snide remark.

And about slow finishing coticules: any coticule I tried needed maybe 50 X-strokes max. for finishing on water. I'm talking about the very final finish, of course.

Originally Posted by Pithor

Really? Seems a bit pricey for a first finisher. Or any finisher, for that matter.

How about a balsa hone with chromium oxide? It works really well.

N.B.: I'm serious, this is in no way meant as a snide remark.

And about slow finishing coticules: any coticule I tried needed maybe 50 X-strokes max. for finishing on water. I'm talking about the very final finish, of course.

Ha! My wife has an expression that used to drive me batty but I have come to respect - I believe applys here.

"Its all about the definition."

Some would say crox is for maintaing a blade - not a finishing stone. But I guess you could say a 20k was something you could use to maintain a blade too.... And some like you say crox is the final step and consider it he final progression of the honing process.

Tomato, tomato... Lol!!

Originally Posted by mainaman

What kind of experience do you have honing?
What is your set up so far?

In general my recommendation will be Suehiro Gokumyo 20k

+1 to this. The Suehiro Gokumyo 20k is my go to finisher in conjunction with the Shapton GS hones. I use it almost exclusively now.

It is a bit pricey, but worth it IMHO. When compared to many of the Jnats, Eschers, etc...It's cheap.

It gives consistent results, and it's easy to use. No variables like you have with many of the naturals.

I don't think the OP mentioned on the cheap, budget or his experience. All this needs to be considered.

Pretty much any paste or spray would work as a final finisher.

That is a crazy rabbit hole. There are many ways on that. I have a few that I like. Of course my favorites are ones that I have harvested in the wild and finished. I do have a french hone that is fast and leaves a great shaving edge. I have a Barbers Gem that also does a once job, but not nearly as fast as the french hone. I also have a couple of coti's. One is way faster than the other but are both slow compared to the Escher and the french hone. All leave a smooth edge, which is after all their job. I have and have tried some others that were either too slow or I didn't like the edge.

A hard jnat with diamond plate slurry can get you a great edge.

Originally Posted by bill3152

A hard jnat with diamond plate slurry can get you a great edge.

I would not recommend Jnats or other natural to beginners at all.
And the 20k Suehiro is on par or better anyway.

There are so many out there Walter,,,I would stick with something quite predictable to begin with, A Naniwa 12K,,so they say,,a Shapton 16k.

I would pass for a while, until you have honed a little more, on the PHIG, Zulu or Jnats. JMO.

Originally Posted by mainaman

What kind of experience do you have honing?
What is your set up so far?

In general my recommendation will be Suehiro Gokumyo 20k

I have been honing my razors for about 3 months, my set up so far is 1,4,&8k nortons,and 12k SS.