Thread: First setup

For maintaining a shave ready blade a single fine stone should do the job, if it's just for occasional use you could further save by lapping on wet/dry paper in place of the D8C. For razors straight from the factory or off ebay there's often a lot more ground to cover, you may need to go down to 1K or below. D8C>King 1K>Coticule is my attempt at minimal stones & bugdet to get from butter knife to shaving sharp.

Originally Posted by Proinsias

For maintaining a shave ready blade a single fine stone should do the job, if it's just for occasional use you could further save by lapping on wet/dry paper in place of the D8C. For razors straight from the factory or off ebay there's often a lot more ground to cover, you may need to go down to 1K or below. D8C>King 1K>Coticule is my attempt at minimal stones & bugdet to get from butter knife to shaving sharp.

I see a lot of king 1k/6k combo stones on flea bay. Not terribly expensive

So it seems the consensus is to go with the Naniwa 12k & DMT D8C

Then if I decide down the road to go into restoration or bevel setting I can purchase a lower grit stone.

Originally Posted by doug954

So it seems the consensus is to go with the Naniwa 12k & DMT D8C

Then if I decide down the road to go into restoration or bevel setting I can purchase a lower grit stone.

Thats what i would do, but i am not the most experienced of honers,

Originally Posted by doug954

So it seems the consensus is to go with the Naniwa 12k & DMT D8C

Then if I decide down the road to go into restoration or bevel setting I can purchase a lower grit stone.

You'll need more than that to get GD working... Well in a reasonable amount of time i.e.

Yes. That's the thing that keeps resonating in my mind. Lately, I've heard of new people(I'm new too) buying Gold Dollar razors to practice on. What they mean, learn on.

It's NOT a good razor to learn on and can end in discourage and defeat. I'd rather see people hit the 'tique stores and such and avoid the avoid list Brands of Straight Razors to Avoid - Straight Razor Place Library

I wish you the best, but don't be discouraged if you aren't able to achieve shave-ready results. Grab some know good Sheffield or real solingen steel. I don't want to discourage you, but encourage you by telling you that if you don't get results with the GD razor, don't quit.

K/R,,,