Thread: Thinking about a honing stone set for straights! Looking for suggestions!

The one stone I would buy new would be the Norton 4K/8K. as Randy said 1K wet/dry sandpaper will do a fine job setting a bevel, a Barber hone can be found in antique stores/flea markets or sometimes Ebay for a very good price. If you are getting lots of razors in the wild you will need a few stones, otherwise as others have said, refreshing a known good edge you will need a barber hone and a CrOx pasted paddle and a good strop

I've faced the same question a few months ago and after reading a huge number of posts on a number of forums concluded as follows :

1) just maintenance of a bevel once in a while a vintage barber hone from ebay flattened with wet / dry sandpaper or a Chinese 12k water stone. I got a cheap and reliable barber hone for a good price. Needed flattening.
2) for ebay buys where a bevel needs to be set a king 1k/6k cheap stone from a Japanese seller on ebay
3) I am also "indulging" in the welsh tri hone set consisting of a dragons tongue/ llyn menyllyn and a yet finer stone from a seller called AJ on ebay UK. These stones have been discussed on this forum quite a bit with positive feedback on their efficiency.

However this set like I said is an indulgence and can substitute the barber hone or Chinese 12k

With this i've been able to set bevels and hone /finish many ebay finds in to shave ready and don't find the need to see spend more dollars on so many many elitist options available.

All this are my conclusions after spending hours reading up on the wealth of knowledge on this and sometimes some other sites. I am glad I did that.

I agree about the Norton 4/8, that'll keep you going pretty much forever.

You can also use slurry on the 4k side if you need to do a bevel set, though it doesnt have the cutting power (IMHO) to do serious edge repair like taking out chips and stuff.

If you're looking for a set of hones that'll do everything it doesnt get better than the Shapton on glass series in 1/4/8/16k. Get a 325 DMT to lap and you can also use that for serious edge repair.

If you have shave ready razors then start with the naniwa 12k to maintain it and maybe the 3/8 for work on good condition razors. If you are going to start buy off ebay or doing razors that have problems (the gold dollars fit this category as you will need to fix it before you can hone it) then you will need the 1k also. Look at it ad an investment in your edges with better stones performing bbetter and requiring less work for the same or better results. Unless you are a honemiester a set will last a lifetime and you don't want to be using cheap your whole life.

I'm in a similar situation as regards to the purchasing of stones and am considering buying this set when I'm in Japan later this year.

Sigma Power ceramic 1000-6000-13000 special set. : Tools from Japan, Japanese woodworking tools direct from Japan.

Any thoughts on the Sigma Power Ceramic set?

Nothing but just a rank amateur here. I, like you, decided that I wanted to learn to hone and be able to maintain my razors. Bought a set of Naniwas (1,3,5,8 and 12). These stones are really nice and I found them pretty easy to learn on.

I could have gotten away with just the 12k to maintain my edge to start with.

To avoid putting out a lot of money right at the start, my suggestion would be to get the 12k to start with, then buy the additional stones as you can working your way down in grit.

Good luck and enjoy.

So in your “Original” post your requested minimum.

Minimum is a Norton 4/8k… and learn to hone.

I know a guy who bevel sets on a worn Harbor Freight diamond plate and finishes on a 2- sided barber hone. I have shaved off his old Sheffield edges and they are as good as a SG20k or fine Natural.

But… he’s been honing for many, many years, and that, may have something to do with it…
Learn to hone on a known good for razors, synthetic stones.

Norton or Naniwa does not matter, they both will provide the exact same edge, if you know how to use them.
A 4/8 combo stone will do all you need. Add a chrome ox, leather & linen strop and your good.

Here is a recent thread on bevel setting on a Norton 4K.

And another on chip removal and bevel setting on a 12k Super Stone.

Modern synthetic stones are very aggressive and the whole “Stone Progression” and bevel setting obsession is a relatively new thing. Until SRP and pre 1990’s, folks maintained razors with a single natural finish stone, leather and linen, occasionally a pasted belt.

As wisely said, Don’t Overthink This…

I am leaning towards the 12k Naniwa and the 4k/8k Norton or the Naniwa 3k/5k set. I haven't decided on the 4k/8k Norton or the 3k/5k Naniwa set at this point and I have plenty of time to decide! I think those two should cover most of my needs. I don't plan on buying razors that are chipped up, real old and need a ton of work nor do I plan on having a houseful of straights. I currently have a couple in route that were already honed professionally so I would just like to maintain them and then get a couple cheap GD's in to just practice full honing in case the couple that I have coming for my use end up with a chip, really dull or whatever so I can just fix them up if needed.

Thx. for all the comments/suggestions! They are much appreciated!

Originally Posted by SirMike

I don't plan on buying razors that are chipped up, real old and need a ton of work...................and then get a couple cheap GD's in to just practice full honing.

I know I cherry picked these statements out of context. I just want to point out that they are not compatible with each other. A new Gold Dollar will need a lot of coarse grit work. Most would call it a ton. You will need a good bevel setter to work on them at the least.

Don't let this discourage your plan though. Just know that a bevel setter will be part of it.

I just bought my first stone (the norton 4/8k), and you really can get shave capable edges off of it in about a solid days practice(its not going to be as good as it could be, but its not going to be a bad experience), followed by some paste its pretty decent, the members here helped me get set up about 2 weeks ago and ive been going strong since! Also ive read alot about the coticules as they can do a little more work than simply polishing/maintaining. Just ordered one (they look nice) might be worth a peek or if an experienced member chimed in.

And on the gold dollars, take it from me i didnt read a lot about them just saw reputable people selling shave ready ones and i figured hey looks like good practice. Its fairly rough i had to break out a dremel for the shoulder, and the spine is all sorts of curvy, so youll need a lower grit stone or some wet sand. those guys put some decent work into them to get them shaving

just .02 from someone who was in your shoes a few weeks ago

-Bowne out