Thread: Help for new stone purchase..

I must concur with the other posters above that particle size is not the only factor in the honing equation. Particle hardness and shape and the type of binder means a lot if not more than size when it comes to the edge you are looking for. Thus is the reason honing is more of an art than a science. You can make just about any edge one desires by fiddling around with different stones because of the many different particle properties. Books have been written based on the properties of stones alone thus one thread much less one post can describe what needs to be looked at when stone hunting. Lol

A lot depends on your experience and how much honing you intend to do.

If you are fairy new to honing and are just maintaining a few razors, keep it simple. The 12K Super Stone is a no brainer and very well proven performer, post 8K. And if later, you progress to the GS20k, the 12K SS is a nice and proven step to it.

As said many of the stones listed will have a learning curve and may not deliver expected results.

There is a reason so many have made the 12KSS a key component of their progression, it is also a very aggressive and versatile stone.

You can re-invent the wheel… but why?

Many thanks to all the posters in reply to my question. The insight & advice ...Priceless! Anyway, I decided to go with the Naniwa 12kSS, to succeed from the Norton 8k
Mainly because of the differences between the resin bound and the glass stones, but also for the closer progression rather than going from 8 to 15-20. While much of my collection is for art and U.S. history, there are many that just need some help to be shave worthy. So this stone is going to get a workout and I expect some nice results, after 15 years of shaving with nothing finer than the 8k. Maybe one day I'll pop for a GS and a finer polish, but I first need to peddle some more shavers. Again, thx to all.

Good choice. I have the Naniwa 1, 5, 8, 12. After the 12, I use a pasted 4 sided strop and that smooths out the (fins) edge nicely, then it goes to the leather strop. I liked the diamond paste followed by the Chrom.

Paster