Thread: Please school me on natural hones

I have as of late figured out my Norton 4K/8K waterstone and am getting a very sharp and acceptably smooth shave from my razors. I have been looking at and considering a naniwa 12K as my next step up, but the purist in me is interested in natural stones as a finisher. many here talk about the endless varieties and there are just as many preferences. It seems that "HAD" is a real danger for me. But, I am just getting started and have several shaving related addictions to feed. As a result, I am seriously considering the natural finisher route. It seems that one can drop as much $ as desired on the various options available but I would like to purchase a GOOD stone for an affordable price. Being new at this and drowning in the endless posts about Cotti's, Jnats, Belgian Blues, Apache Strata's and Arkie's, I find myself wondering what the real difference is. What would be recommended as the next step from a Norton 8K that won't break the bank? Belgian Blues and Arkansas stones can be purchased for much less than the others but do they perform at the same level? Are the Jnats and Cotticules better or just more collectible? And then there are approximate grits.

Please help me clear this up and put me on the right track to a high quality yet affordable finisher.

What you ask, you could write a book about, a very big book.

Best to read the posts about the different kinds of media.

You will get many opinions and realize hones are a hot subject and everyone will argue for their favorite type. To me in the end the right hone no matter the type or cost will hone your razors just fine. It's only if you get hone crazy that you'll want the ultimate whatever that is and it's a moving target.

Originally Posted by Straightandproud

I would like to purchase a GOOD stone for an affordable price.

There is a lot of high demand for naturals which are considered top tier. This drives price pretty high, so finding quality at affordable price can be tough.
You can luck out at flea markets or garage sales.
Belgian Blue stones are not finishers by the way. For Arkansas stones you have to find the right grade, not everyone will be a finisher.
J-nats is the same thing, you have to find the right grade of hone. All higher grade hones will cost money.

Originally Posted by Straightandproud

I have as of late figured out my Norton 4K/8K waterstone and am getting a very sharp and acceptably smooth shave from my razors. I have been looking at and considering a naniwa 12K as my next step up, but the purist in me is interested in natural stones as a finisher. many here talk about the endless varieties and there are just as many preferences. It seems that "HAD" is a real danger for me. But, I am just getting started and have several shaving related addictions to feed. As a result, I am seriously considering the natural finisher route. It seems that one can drop as much $ as desired on the various options available but I would like to purchase a GOOD stone for an affordable price. Being new at this and drowning in the endless posts about Cotti's, Jnats, Belgian Blues, Apache Strata's and Arkie's, I find myself wondering what the real difference is. What would be recommended as the next step from a Norton 8K that won't break the bank? Belgian Blues and Arkansas stones can be purchased for much less than the others but do they perform at the same level? Are the Jnats and Cotticules better or just more collectible? And then there are approximate grits.

Please help me clear this up and put me on the right track to a high quality yet affordable finisher.

Don't forget Escher's....

first decide if you want an oilstone or waterstone .
next set a budget that you can live with conscious wise.

as far as Arkansas stones go feel free to ask me about them anytime .cam.

FYI and reading pleasure, I just typed natural hones in the Google Custom Search box at the upper right of this page, and got 10 pages of links to posts on the forum here.

Originally Posted by Blistersteel

first decide if you want an oilstone or waterstone .
next set a budget that you can live with conscious wise.

as far as Arkansas stones go feel free to ask me about them anytime .cam.

Usually staying on low budget "you get what you paid for".
For examples dimension of the stone: it will be cheaper to buy a small one but usually the result is harder to reach and at the end you will discover that a bigger stone works better and you have wasted money on the small one.
THere is nothing more expensive than cheaper tools.

Originally Posted by Basetta70

Usually staying on low budget "you get what you paid for".
For examples dimension of the stone: it will be cheaper to buy a small one but usually the result is harder to reach and at the end you will discover that a bigger stone works better and you have wasted money on the small one.
THere is nothing more expensive than cheaper tools.

what low Budget ? I said conscience not go cheap.cam.

assuming you get into reading all the threads you will find on here I will add my onion on choice of naturals ..lol..

i prefer the coticule and love there edge !! my only issue i have is that instead of learning one coticule i kept buying them ..lol.. sure it is fun to play with all those stones but but out of 7-8 coti's i use i think 2-3 i feel comfortable with r have learned enough to get that edge i like almost every time where as some of the others im going back to hone more .. so when you decide i think you will benefit the most by learning your natural through trial and error before you try another , kinda like synthetics ... least that's my un-professional thought on the natural

The first start into naturals can mostly done with 2 types of stones....these are both types in my No. 3 list of natural stones ;-)

1. Coticule
2. Thuringian Stone

Both stones have their own personality and have a different character.

The Coti needs a bit more time to get into it...its like someone you meet and you have to get to know each other, to evaluate what he is and what he prefers....a very variable stone, easy usable after bevel set with a 1k up to finish, each stone has its story...

A thuri is like an old friend you already know a long long time, you know his preferences and what hes into...hes visiting you know what to talk about ;-) a very consistent and easy to use stone, very smooth shaving result, usable as a touch up stone.

Concerning the price:
If you do not have any "highs" in mind....like 10x5inch of those youll come around well with Bouts or stones in the range around 15x Xcm...costs of each could be around 60usd....

Jnats are very nice stones but actually this topic is much more complex, so i would personally skip them first when beginning with naturals...