Thread: What Do You Think About The Shapton 30K

I've owned my 30K Shapton glass stone for a couple of weeks. I also add two extra layers of tape for a total of three when I hone on this stone. I copied the 3 pieces of tape philosophy from custom razor artisan Tim Zowada. Coming off my 16K Shapton the 30K makes an already sharp edge extremely sharp.

I always complete a three pass shave, one pass ATG with my razors. It takes a very sharp edge to shave ATG an experience little or no blade irritation. The Shapton 30K glass stone delivers the performance I desire for my BBS shaving experience.

Is the stone necessary to achieve a fantastic shave with a S.R.? NO; but after seeing Japanese Natural stones on ebay selling for thousands of dollars. I don't feel buyers remorse when I hone on this stone.

Isn't that one of Butch's razors? Niiice. BTW you don't have to spend thousands of dollars to get a very nice JNat. I've gotten JNats for less than $100 that give great shaving edges. Can't comment on the 30k, I only have the Pro 12k/16k, whichever it actually is.

Thanks eKretz: It's a custom B52 for L Harner. It's an awesome tool for S.R. shaving.

I have the Shapton 30K and I guess I'm one of the ones who don't cotton to it. No matter how few passes I try I wind up with a harsh edge. I get much better results with the Suehiro 20K to tell you the truth.

I debated on purchasing the Shapton 30K or the Suehiro 20K. I read nothing but great reviews about the Suehiro 20K. Since all my other stones were Shaptons, I decided to keep the clan (ceramic micron content together). I'm a sucker for trying new things in order to achieve the ultimate shave. At some point I may purchase the 20K Suehiro.

Is interesting to me that people equate Higher grit stones to a better shaving edge,is just not so.

Years ago I had a set of Shapton professional stones from 1 through 30k. This was when I was starting out and I got too many hones too quickly. Anyway, using the shapton pros in a 5k/8k pyramid following the 1k bevel set, I'd go on to the 15k. I rarely felt the desire to go to the 30k.

At the 15k level the razor was already 'there' as far as I was concerned, and putting another step on the ladder didn't seem to me to be worth the reward. I got on a natural stone kick and I ended up keeping my Nortons, and selling my Shaptons, and my Naniwa superstones. They were both great sets but if it ain't one thing it is another, and I had to sell 'em.

I still have the Nortons, and a few naturals, but mostly hone with Choseras nowadays, and now my top of the heap is the Suehiro 20k. I'm real happy with that. I could do fine with the Shaptons or the superstones but I probably would still go for the 20k over the 30 knowing what I know now.

Originally Posted by feltspanky

I've owned my 30K Shapton glass stone for a couple of weeks. I also add two extra layers of tape for a total of three when I hone on this stone. I copied the 3 pieces of tape philosophy from custom razor artisan Tim Zowada. Coming off my 16K Shapton the 30K makes an already sharp edge extremely sharp.

I always complete a three pass shave, one pass ATG with my razors. It takes a very sharp edge to shave ATG an experience little or no blade irritation. The Shapton 30K glass stone delivers the performance I desire for my BBS shaving experience.

Is the stone necessary to achieve a fantastic shave with a S.R.? NO; but after seeing Japanese Natural stones on ebay selling for thousands of dollars. I don't feel buyers remorse when I hone on this stone.

Well, for those who own a 30K, I think one can overdo it. It might take just a few very light strokes on a 30K as opposed to many strokes which could make it too sharp. Just a few very light strokes on it to put a slight polish on it would probably be all it needs if that. Any more than that might make it too sharp & could be irritable & make the edge more prone to chip more easily also. I'm not saying not to own one because several people do but if so to use it efficiently & very little. That's just my opinion & I hope it makes sense.

Didn't say earlier that I do have an SG20k also, it gives a great edge. Didn't think it was on topic then, but since the conversation has shifted...

I'm going to wade in with an odd, ill-informed reply...

Having only ever used and had a Norton 4/8 and a Shapton 16k I find it hard to understand why one would want more than a 16k. As someone said, I don't know what I don't know, but with ten strokes (remedial fashion) on the 16k delivering what seems, to me, to be a pretty good shave ready edge, I'm not sure it's warranted...