Thread: Suehiro Gokomyu 20K Waterstone

Originally Posted by TJB

Back on topic, does anyone finish on the Suehiro with a few spine leading strokes? Does this really keen up an edge or is it in my head?

It's an accepted way of removing a burr. That's all.

To go even further I once put a nice shaving edge on a Pakistani razor & it was great ... for one side of my face.
It then tuned into a hacksaw profile half way thru the first pass. So putting a good ege on a razor really means nothing. Durability is another thing.

Now back to regular viewing

Some watch two many videos of miracle honings on Gold Dollar or other cheap razors.It always amounts to durability of the razor and edge, it's quality of shaves, and the question always arises. Why spend 2 grand on stones and ten bucks on a razor, that starts out life as a 6/8 and a month later is a 4/8. It's like bragging of how your $1200 Jnat to get two shaves off one of these duds. Watch the videos. After ten strokes there is nearly as much steel in the slurry as what is left on the razor.

Originally Posted by bobski

Some watch two many videos of miracle honings on Gold Dollar ..

...And some have watched three or more many videos of miracle honings on Gold Dollar ...

Any razor that's continuously honed and rehoned will go from 6/8 to 4/8 pretty darn quick. Not sure if there's some variance in quality and hardness of the steel in the GD razors (probably there is being made in PRC) but the few examples I have honed and shaved with performed very well and weren't any softer steel than any other decent razor I've used.

Gentlemen, lets keep the discussion here on track and not get sidetracked by talking about things other than the hone performance.

I use the traditional Naniwa 1k for bevel setting, Naniwa 5k and 12k then go to the Suehiro 20k. I watched Lynn use this progression and found it works quickly and puts a great edge on razors with minimal effort. However, I've been using either my Escher or Ark Surgical Black for an edge that is very sharp and making it smooth. It just takes the bite out of the edge and makes it comfortable.

Generalisations, as to the best stone for razor bevel settings,in most cases lead us to the Chocera 1k. The populist views uphold that, and without fear of contradiction. The most economical and effective method of making an edge, the combining of a bevel into an edge comes via that stone. As to the new naniwa 'Traditional' stone, well it's a 1k stone. I'm listening with great anticipation to the man who says the Chocera 1k is a lesser hone than the 'Traditional 1k' as a bevel setter should put his name to it.

The Naniwa Traditional 1k is not as good of a bevel setter as the Chosera 1k. However, given that it is half the price and still works very well, it is a great option for anyone who wants to save some money and does not need to have the very best. Sometimes, really good is good enough.