Thread: Choosing hones - Why, instead of what

Hi, I’ll take a shot at it.

1. IMO, the Norton 4/8 is an O.K. stone, but people report having to lap the 4k side extensively to get to “usable” material. That alone would put it in the substandard category for me, or make it a knife hone. That said, if you mess with it, it works O.K. and gets the job done. You also can’t use the edge to hone warped, smiling, or frowning edges with a double sided hone.

You might buy a Shapton or a Naniwa if you don’t want to have to lap the stone down to usable material.

2. Two basic differences in these hones, the grit standard and the binder.

Manufacturer’s use different grit ranges. A Naniwa 8k will be finer than a Norton or Shapton 8k. There’s a chart in the SRP Wiki IIRC, or you can Google it. For example, I use a Shapton Pro 2k as a bevel setter and it produces a scratch pattern identical to my eye to a Naniwa 1k Superstone. Just make sure you know what you’re using if you mix and match brands. If you use the same brand throughout the range, it’s less of a consideration. If you went from a King 6k to a Norton 8k, you might not be doing anything or going backwards.

The binders cause the “feel” of the hone. Some people prefer a given feel to another, that’s one reason why they make so many types of binder. Naniwa Superstones use resin binders and are designed to mimic a natural stone, They feel a bit “gummy” or “sticky” compared to a Naniwa Chosera or a Shapton Pro or Glass Stone. Naniwa Choseras are magnesia binders and are harder and feel less sticky than the Superstones. A lot of people like the Chosera 1k as a bevel setter, and the Choseras are, or were, thick enough to hone on the edge. Shaptons and Naniwas are not.

3. Many folks, including me, like the feel of a razor edge off a natural stone and feel it’s smoother than off synthetics. Others can’t tell much difference so YMMV, but for many, the only synthetic that comes close is the Suehiro Gokumyo series, the 20k in particular.

One reason you might want to use a Belgian coticule or a JNat is that there are “one hone” solutions. You can set a bevel and finish off a coticule although it’s laborious, and most prefer to set the bevel on a synth and go from there with the coticule. JNats can also go from a 1k to a shaving edge on a single stone but most want a more refined edge that results from a progression of either benchstones or naguras.

One reason you might not want to use a natural is because like all natural products, they vary from stone to stone with the Escher/Thuringians likely being the most consistent. If you hone a lot for other people, when you wear a hone out, you don’t want to have to buy several to get one you like then learn that particular stone’s technique to get the best edge. Your backlog would be getting huge and your patrons irritable.

4. If you aren’t at least used to basic razor honing, effect of pressure, even stroke pressure, X- and rolling strokes, dealing with non-straight straights (and a large percentage of them are not straight) and so on, natural stones that generate slurry that must be managed, especially in a very strict manner like coticules simply introduces unneeded distractions for newbies. But it can be done.

This same slurry can be of great advantage if you’re more experienced because you can tweak the edge in ways you haven’t learned as a beginner, especially with a variety of naguras or rubbing stones to create slurries of different character.

5. Good question! Likely because we’re hone nerds and enjoy owning and using different ones. I do use certain hones on certain razors, but most work pretty well on all razors.

I’m a JNat person and like suitas, Hakkas (a certain mine), and coarser tomae strata stones as intermediate razor stones, and finishers on knives. I like the finer tomae strata, kiita and asagi for finishing razors.

One reason to own several is if you like different honing styles. I like to do my final finish with the hone hand held much of the time, and a huge thick bench stone has problems in that respect, so I need smaller ones, barber-hone size or smaller.

Some of us also have a set of narrow stones for those "problem" children.

Hope this helps,

Cheers, Steve

Originally Posted by RezDog

Naturals can be a passion, couple that with rockhounding, and you have the reason my backyard looks like it does.

Hey Shaun, I have an image in my head now that your yard looks like a rock quarry over burden stock pile LOL with piles of assorted finds awaiting cutting a lapping to see if they are viable
& God help us what your actual cleaned up & tested hones cupboard looks like some thing like the Japanese lad in the middle of hte walls of stones in his shop.
I do like the look of your Shaun hones but they have a nice colouring to them.

Wow, thanks for the info, this is exactly what I was looking for! I did read the Wiki and many other threads, but I hadn't found the answers to these questions yet.

Thanks for your time in helping me out!

Originally Posted by shallard

Wow, thanks for the info, this is exactly what I was looking for! I did read the Wiki and many other threads, but I hadn't found the answers to these questions yet.

Thanks for your time in helping me out!

amen to that, it was fortuitous that this came up at the same time as want to look for info on honing!

Originally Posted by Substance

Hey Shaun, I have an image in my head now that your yard looks like a rock quarry over burden stock pile LOL with piles of assorted finds awaiting cutting a lapping to see if they are viable
& God help us what your actual cleaned up & tested hones cupboard looks like some thing like the Japanese lad in the middle of hte walls of stones in his shop.
I do like the look of your Shaun hones but they have a nice colouring to them.

I do believe that you hit that nail on the head!

for myself I simply prefer working with stones I have used for better than a decade and seven years.I'm an odd duck in most senses and like using king stones 800 up to 8000 and all in between have their place.on the Natural side I use Arkansas stones simply for the keenness imparted by them. (Shrug) .