Thread: Natural Stones

Can anybody tell me anything about natural hones?

Originally Posted by jte87

Can anybody tell me anything about natural hones?

Search is your friend

I see them everywhere I go. It's literally driving me mad! I lap each and every one of them secretly in my mind, you see.

Originally Posted by jte87

Can anybody tell me anything about natural hones?

Have you checked out the SRP library here ........ Category:Hones - Straight Razor Place Library ? Some info there. You can also do a forum search for 'natural' and pick up on some threads from the past.

I sent an email to The Perfect Edge but never heard back. I've checked out some of the older threads but am about as confused as I was before.

Originally Posted by jte87

Can anybody tell me anything about natural hones?

Do you have some questions ?

Before Jacob layed his head on the stone, he lapped it.

jte87 - how much do you know about honing with synthetics?

I ask because generally, when speaking of naturals, one compares it to a synthetic.

For example, most naturals are used to finish your blade, so 12k + "grits". PHIGS, JNats, Esher's etc...

People claim they give a smoother shave than synthetics. The jury is your face though.

Of course, there are many naturals under the 12k synthetic range. Coti's with slurrys. Belgian Blues, etc are all fine stones used to get you to your finisher.

There is a lure to natural stones. I know I love em. But they are all temperamental and assigning them a real grit like a synthetic is impossible.

Naturals in my opinion are great, but should really only be used after knowing how to use your synthetics. Your synthetic is your benchmark... Or your mainstays.

The other thing about naturals is guys are passionate about them - and loyal. The rules are ment to be broken with them hence, I fully expect someone to pick up on something I said about an example I gave and go wild lol!!

Have fun.

Natural hones is a long and confusing subject filled with a lot of opinions and subjective interpretation. They mostly come in pre polishers and polishers. Very few are bevel setters. A pre polisher goes after the bevel set and before the polisher or finish hone. They can be used with or without slurry. The use of slurry is mainly to increase the cutting speed of the hone and give it a wider range of grit equivalent. Every natural hone is an individual in which you need to develop a relationship with in order to get the full potential. Some naturals are more consistent from stone to stone, probably due to quality control at the manufacturing level. It is a long and deep rabbit hole

I probably should've mentioned I haven't even bought a strop yet, much less a hone. I'm about as new as you can get. I'm one of those that agonizes over decisions such as this. I've put years into deciding which ceramic grill I want, not to mention table design.