Starting Out-Guidance Please

I have been wet shaving with a de for around 2.5 years now and I'd love to get into straight razors, but have yet made the jump (hopefully by Christmas :)) So in researching razors i have become interested in honing my own once I get them, but before i get there I'd like to practice.

Our kitchen knifes need to be resharpened (Block of Farberware) and I have pocket knifes, fixed bladed knifes, hunting knifes and so on that I'd like to sharpen myself.

I was thinking about getting a King 1K and 6K to start with, or maybe a Norton 4/8. I thought that I might need something a little lower like the 1k. Maybe both..lol? ( I'll probably end up with HAD...I already have SAD, BAD, RAD!) I think I've read that they are good hones, but figured I'd ask the experts. Sorry if this is in the wrong place/forum, but everyone here seems super knowledgeable.

Thanks!

The hones used for finishing sharpening common knives are the one used for beginning to sharpen razors. I would not bother to buy a razor hone until confirming that you can, and like, shaving with a straight razor. Save your money on hones and buy a properly honed straight. See how that goes for you first.

Yes, I would have to agree that you should buy a shave ready razor and learn to shave well with it first before considering taking up honing.

Even if you can hone a knife it is a different proposition than honing a straight razor and not really directly applicable. The method for honing is different for both and where the sharpness for knife generally ends that is the starting point for a straight razor. Lets say a good edge for a knife ends on a 3K stone, that same 3K stone is a decent bevel setter (starting point) for a straight with no major blade issues.

Bob

I am new to honing myself even though I have been using a straight razor for a little while now. I had always had stones to sharpen my hunting/fishing knives but they were not what I needed in terms of grit for my straight razors (highest one was 2K that I owned for my knives). I simply called up SRD and asked as a newbie what was my best bet to start with and something that would not be as costly as some of the stones I have seen out there. I went with the Naniwa Value Pack - 5000, 8000 & 12000 Grit Speciality Stones as well as the Naniwa 1000 for setting the bevel. I also got the DMT 8" Dia-Sharp Continuous Diamond Coarse - 325 for flattening as well as Steelex D1091 Sharpening Stone Holder. I have all the correct products but am still practacing on a few old razors before I use them on the razors I use on a regular basis. So far they have been really easy to use and there is not much of a learning curve and as soon as I get the guts to suck it up and go ahead and use them on my other razors (still have a newbie fear of damaging one of the five razors I have that are all in use and in really good condition...lol) I should be good to go. Hope this helps some from one newbie to another......As far as making the jump to shaving with the straights it is not as difficult as most think and as long as you purchase a good razor and follow the advice of the senior members on SRP you will be shaving with confidence with a straight in no time. Don't get ahead of yourself, as most of us do, and try to shave your whole face the first time. It does take some getting accustomed to from holding the blade at the proper angle, right amount of pressure (doesn't take much), and of course proper stropping makes a huge difference!!! Don't beat yourself up if you dull or round off your razor when you first start stropping before you learn what you are doing. Most of us did. I beat up my first strop pretty good before I got better at stropping and now use the SRD Modular Paddle Strop for travel as well as freshening blades and have a nice hanging strop in the bedroom for daily use. All this can be an investment in time and money but as everyone on this site will tell you it is worth it in the long run and once you have everything you need it's not like you will have to run out and purchase more strops and stones in a few months because when used and cared for properly it is my understanding they last for a very long time. I would just start out with a good razor and strop and once you get comfortable with the shave and stropping look to purchase stones to hone the razors yourself....

Thank you all for the replies. I should have been a little more clear. I was hoping that someone on here would be able to point me in the direction of sharpening other knifes, not so much razors. I know that I should learn to shave with a pro honed razor first, but I came here knowing what there was a lot of hone experience. I should probably look to a different forum that specializes in knife honing and not so much on razors. Again thank you for the replies and I'll keep coming back here with any and all razor questions.

Here's where you want to be:

Maintenance, Tinkering & Embellishment

BTW hi neighbor! (Kind of) I live in Crown Point, IN.

I apologize for not understanding what you were asking in the first place with your question. After re-reading it I see that you were asking about knives and not so much razors. Like I said in my first reply I had already been sharpening my own knives before I ever picked up a straight razor to shave with. I can tell you that my go to stones for knives are the Smith's Tri-hone oil stones, the DMT course, fine, and extra fine (also using the DMT aligner guide when I use their diamond stones) water stones, and I always use my Spyderco cermaic stones as the last step in my process. If the blade is in pretty good shape and just needs to be touched up that is when I use the Tri-Hone oil stones, sticking with the medium and fine grit, if the blade needs more attention I will use the DMT water stones and the aligner guide is a big help in getting the right angle. Then as previously stated my last step is the cermaic stones I have from Spyderco. There very well maybe someone else out there or on another forum geared more towards knives that has a much better process but being a creature of habit I have used the same process for a while now and it does give me the results I am looking for. During deer season I have plenty of friends dropping off their skinning knives to be touched up after they have recently used them and have had no complaints.

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Originally Posted by KingChoss

So in researching razors i have become interested in honing my own once I get them, but before i get there I'd like to practice.

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Originally Posted by Avant

I apologize for not understanding what you were asking in the first place with your question. After re-reading it I see that you were asking about knives and not so much razors.

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I don't think any apology was needed, but now we all know what the OP wants.

First, practicing the honing of knives will not help you at all for honing razors. They are honed entirely differently. A common quote from experienced knife honers when they begin razor honing is "sharp is sharp," but they quickly learn it ain't true.

For most knives, a 1k hone is a sufficient finisher. If you want hones that can serve double duty for both razors and knives, you could start with a 600 and a 1k hone. The particular brand I most highly can recommend from personal experience is the Naniwa Chosera. I have the 400, 600, 800, and 1k. If you were only honing knives, I would say the 400 would be a better lower end but it would rarely be used for razors. The 600 is an excellent repair hone for most razors but can be too harsh for some.

@Avant - No need to apologize. I have looked at the spyderco's and they do look nice. So I take it you like the alot then. Thanks for your progression.

@eKretz - Howdy! I have some family up nearer to you than me, but they are the other side of the state line.

@Utopian - So you would say Naniwa Chosera's over a King regardless of the grit?

I hope i haven't came off rude or anything. Just looking for some information on good stones. I'm not the best when i comes to getting my idea across. Sorry!

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Originally Posted by KingChoss

@Utopian - So you would say Naniwa Chosera's over a King regardless of the grit?

I hope i haven't came off rude or anything. Just looking for some information on good stones. I'm not the best when i comes to getting my idea across. Sorry!

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I have only honed on a King 1k for about 15 seconds just to get a basic feel for it. For that reason, I cannot provide personal experience about it. However, I have read others' positive comments about it so I would assume it to be perfectly useable.

I guess the main take home point would be to start with just a 1k hone. This will allow you to get a feel for knife honing to see how it goes for you. If you feel you can do it, then go ahead and invest in a lower grit hone for knives.

I don't think you came across as rude. We just tend to lean in the direction of razors!

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Originally Posted by Utopian

First, practicing the honing of knives will not help you at all for honing razors. They are honed entirely differently. A common quote from experienced knife honers when they begin razor honing is "sharp is sharp," but they quickly learn it ain't true.

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i have found this to be a very true statement, through trial and error, i class myself as extreme novice to honing a razor but im pretty comfortable with knives, first razor i honed from start still shaves like a dream, the two after that i have issues with :( but im learning.
as a result i have taken a much greater interest in rocks and hones than i ever did when my only sharp shineys were knives

The most i ever took to a knife was 6k and that was a knife that holds special place for me, I have seen sales demos on youtube aimed at chefs for stuff like a naniwa super stone 12k, and saw comments from chefs that 6k is to polished for a kitchen knife and that the edge starts to loose it "bite" above 6k. This opinion may eve vary between chefs, one may be chopping carrots and potatoes with steel, the other maybe a sushi chef with a love of ceramic blades ect.....

i would agree with Utopian that something around 400 600 would be very useful in the kitchen, i would maybe even go down to about 240 depending on the condition of your knives edges. If you did want to go to a finer finish than that perhaps something like a naniwa 1k/3k or a norton 1k/4k would be a good way to go and would give you the chance to find out if the finer edge really does agree with kitchen knives and give you the ability to compare it to a 1k finish.

Yep.....I am a very big fan of the Spyderco stones. Worth your while to check those out.

I know you are talking about the spyderco ceramics benchers Avant, but have you used the pocket spydercos? i was actually looking at those not too long ago but was torn between those and the Fallkniven ones, great things said about both.

a king 1/6 is a top notch knife hone imo .i have sharpened knives for pay for many years with those two grits. I have quite a few king hones 800 through 10,0000 and enjoy them greatly although i use arkansas stones on my razors.cheers and good luck .

For starting to hone knives I would start with the Smith's Tri-Hone. I think it costs around $50 (USD) and comes with a plastic blade guide to teach you the correct angle for most knives. It is fine for pocket knives, hunting knives, and a good start for kitchen knives and skinning knives. Get a King or Norton 1k as a prefinisher for the kitchen knives, and then either a Norton 4/8k combo or King 3/5k combo to do the final finishing on. So that's my recommendation for a cheap start.

King and Norton both make good hones. Some people like one brand over the other, but I own multiple hones from both companies and they all work well.

I think there is a carry over between honing knives and honing razors - the sound and feel of the blade when it is ready to move on to the next hone is the same.

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I do have a pocket Spyderco I keep in my tackle box and have been very pleased with it. You are correct though, I normally use the ceramic bench stones, I only have the one pocket stone.

Thanks all. I really appreciate your input!