Thread: Advise on my Hone Setup.

Hi, my name is Corin, and I have HAD. . .


Lol, all kidding aside I am looking for opinions from the more experienced. I am trying to identify whether my hone lineup is effective and if/how it should be improved. Here's what I currently have that I use on my straights.

1. DMT XX Lapping Plate
2. 400 Chosera
3. 1k Chosera
4. 6k White Suehiro
5. 12k Naniwa
6. Zulu Grey Rough Cut (Enroute)

The first 5 stones were acquired prior to getting into the straights. Not sure if I like the Suehiro, and it feels like a big jump. My thinking is that a 3k/8k Naniwa SS or a 5k Chosera would be better. I've been collecting sharpening/honing equipment for decades before I got into straights. This stuff is just so exciting that I can't keep my cool when thinking about hone purchases.


Knowing not to trust myself to know whether it's the HAD sickness talking or whether I really should improve my setup, I figured that it would be better to reach out to the more experienced. Any advise?

That's quite an eclectic mix of rocks you have there !! If you check the Get Together and Meetings forum you might find
a club or individuals nearby that can give you hands-on help.

I stick to Naniwas: 400,1000,5000,8000,12000# and chromium oxide balsa strop and 3" leather/felt Big Daddy strop.
This isn't the perfect setup, but it works for me at my stage of development.

As to the effectiveness of your particular lineup, does it work for you ? do your razor(s) give you a smooth shave ?
No doubt someone more knowledgeable than me will be along soon to give you feedback.

Good luck !!

Originally Posted by bongo

That's quite an eclectic mix of rocks you have there !! If you check the Get Together and Meetings forum you might find
a club or individuals nearby that can give you hands-on help.

I stick to Naniwas: 400,1000,5000,8000,12000# and chromium oxide balsa strop and 3" leather/felt Big Daddy strop.
This isn't the perfect setup, but it works for me at my stage of development.

As to the effectiveness of your particular lineup, does it work for you ? do your razor(s) give you a smooth shave ?
No doubt someone more knowledgeable than me will be along soon to give you feedback.

Good luck !!

If live to find some people to meet up with in the Phoenix area. As far as my setup is concerned, it works, but the question is how much better can it be. I get acceptable shaves off my honing setup, but I would like to do better then acceptable. I can't blame my hones, I'm working on my technique. Right now I build a heavy slurry on the suehiro then work to clear water on the stone.

I think you should be able to get fantastic shaves off of the Naniwa 12k. If not I would keeping working with that before I went to a natural. Naturals have a tendency to be tricky and a lot less consistent. Try to max out your edge on the stones you have before trying a different one.

my only observation would be that 1K to 6K to 12K are all big steps. I know there are guys out there that can handle the big steps without problems, however as a beginner I am not so skilled and find the smaller steps easier to deal with. Personally my line up is 1K 4K 8K and then some naturals.

It would depend on the suhiro 6K.

I have a king 1/6K and if the suhiro is comparable to the king 6K then jumping to the 12K is too large a step. It's as simple as that. If I were to personally go from the 6K king to the 12K I would not get the correct level of finish, The 12K doesn't cut the blade it polishes it, and the scratch pattern from the 6K king would still be visible after many strokes on the 12K.


Your only real options are the 3/8 superstone, or the 4/8 norton, if you want to keep the cost as low as possible and get the absolute best value.

The 3/8 would be my choice. It will allow you a direct progression to the 12K and the 8K to 12K step is pretty easy to hone through. It also means you polishing stones will all feel the same. This is important.

I also found my 5K superstone is a far better polish than the 6K king. With the king you can see a defined scratch pattern the naniwa in comparison has a much reduced, and shallower scratch pattern. And leaves a brighter overall polish. The 8K superstone leaves a near mirror finish with the scratch pattern only visible if you move the blade in the light. The 12K superstone seems to have a more defined scratch pattern and a less bright finish but the scratches are smaller and far closer, also out of direct light the mirror is far better. It took me a while to work out why the 8K looks better in direct light the difference is the final mirror not the ability to reflect a direct light source. The 8K's mirror has a more clouded reflection. It may be that I still need to lap some more off the 12K and that I have too much grit on that face of the hone causing the extra micro scratches.

You can use the 6k stone with 1k slurry on it and 12k stone with 6k slurry on it for a part of the laps to ease the process.

Hitting the flea markets and antique stores is also fun/cheap way to find good hones. I have only started doing the recently, but have had great luck so far. It's cheap, fun, and alleviates some of the symptons from HAD until you get home then you start having withdrawals.

I forgot to mention what hones I have and what experience on them!


1/6K king, My first stone. The 6K should be near identical to the 6K suhiro.

5, 8, 12K naniwa super stones.

various natural finishers.


My starting rotation was 1K king to 6K king to crox strop, to regular strop. From this I could shave, and the shave was good. I used this system for about 6 months.

Now my rotation is 1K king, 5, 8, 12 naniwa, (natural optional), crox strop, to regular strop. The shave is significantly smoother. I would not say the blade is sharper, it is. The big difference is the way the razor glides. There was no tugging before, but now there is no resistance. That lack of resistance makes it feel like the hair is been wiped off. And the effect on your skin afterwards is noticeable.

The 3/8 would replace the 5 and 8 in my rotation. And you should see an imitate benefit in the end result of the honing process on the blade. Also because the hones have a closer polish increase the time to hone is decreased. I will set a bevel as Gssixgun does, then just do about 40 circles either side and 10 laps on each stone. Your spending only a few minutes with each rock. The time to hone on my original system was in the region of 1 hour with a fair bit of time on the 6K side getting lighter and lighter to try get the most out of it before going onto the crox. The updated system reduces that 1 hour to about 15 minutes. And the whole process is a lot less frustrating.

I plan to add a few more stones to fill out the system to be totally naniwa, Probably by adding a 4-600, 1K, and 3K before Christmas. The king for the time been is perfectly suited as a bevel setter and it doesn't present any problems other than a little more time needed to be spent on the 5K to counter the differences in the way the king and the naniwa interact with the blade. When I have a fully naniwa setup I expect this time to hone will remain the same as it is now.

For your setup on the 3/8 if you found the transition between the 3 and the 8 sides was taking longer than 40 circles and 10 laps then you know a 5K can be dropped right in there to make up a little time if needs be.

Put me in the get a "Nani 3/8k" camp. I think you'll love the consistency of the progression.

By the way, have you heard of the 16k?? Just joking!! But be forwarded, if you thought you had HAD with your knives...