Did any body have a opinion about that Stone.
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Did any body have a opinion about that Stone.
You will find a ton of opinions if you enter the term "PHIG" in the search bar. These opinions mostly deal with the full-sized PHIG, Larry at Whipped Dog cuts them into 4 pieces so you will be getting a Quarter PHIG.
Yes, the Chinese natural hone has been around for a while, it may or may not be 12k, most probably not, and closer to 6k. They are a crapshoot, some work, some don’t, most are just average stones producing average results. A quick search will reveal tons of threads here and other fora.
The Chinese stones and small stones in general, are the cause many posted, new honers problems and frustration with honing, because they do not deliver expected results.
If you really want one, buy a whole 8 in stone, they are not expensive. If you want to learn to hone, buy full size stones. Small stones will cause you more problems than they will solve and in the end, you will either buy full size stones or give up on straight razors.
Honestly, spend the $35 and get the full size hone. Yes, they're hard as all unholy h#!! so lapping it will be a pain. But they cut slow enough that I would not want to hamper myself using a 1/4 Chinese 12K. I usually run between 250 and 400 strokes on the full size hone. I don't want to imagine trying that on a smaller one.
That said, I must've gotten one of the good ones. I haven't played with a lot of these, but judging by the one I have they can be good finishers if you have time to play with them.
Agreed. Buy the full size hone.
To repeat yet again, IT IS NOT 12K and people who are supposed to know better should not be promoting that fallacy.
Go ahead and spend the $35 for the full size hone instead of paying $15 for a quarter of a $26 hone. IF you don't want to pay the $35, then at least spend the $26 on a the hone that will be twice as long and will have TWO usable surfaces.
Pfft ! Used to be able to get them in 8"x2"x1" here for $15
Oz, I paid 10 bucks for one at Carbatec 5 or 6 years ago - unfortunately it wasn't anything like 12k in grit rating, nor was the larger size one that I paid $45 for last year! These things seem pretty hit and miss to me. The OP would be better off buying a Naniwa or Shapton - they're known quantities that actually work.Quote:
Originally Posted by onimaru55
Agreed on the rating. I think natural hones should be graded on a coarse - medium - fine - extra fine scale rather than a grit rating. More fair both to the stone and the end purchaser, since naturals do have a bit of variance to them. Some PHIGs might* reach 12k, most are probably lower. Calling it a fine stone without creating that grit rating expectation is probably more fair and accurate.
I got one for my travel kit. It does work.
I've had three PHIG's and all were different, my main one I bought on Ebay from Poland and definitely improves a Norton 8k edge, the other two from Woodcrafters weren't as fine but one of the other two did improve an 8k edge. They can be a crap shoot but if you get a good one they are really nice
I for got to mention, it's just for touch up straight and use it like a barber honeQuote:
Originally Posted by Papabear11
These stones are such a crap shoot. I have owned a few in the past(from woodcraft and the polish ebayer), each one was different. It may be my lack of skill, but i didnt notice much of a difference, if any going from my 8k to this.
Not everyone is going to agree with the following either... If you are looking at cheap finishers, hard to beat paste. Just dont go crazy. I use a combo of a swaty barber hone and paste to maintain my razors, but your mileage may vary
If you dont care about cost, the sky is the limit on finishing hones however.
I would suggest a different hone them - perhaps an actual barber hone. If you ask I'm sure you'll get a few good recommendations. I'm partial to Sways myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Papabear11
I went ahead and bought it(12k barber hone Whipped Dog). I test it this morning on my 6/8(touch up) and it went good not perfect but good, my guess is i didnt do enough laps on the Stone. Right after my shave i lap it more and tomorow Will be an other test shave, my guess is tomorow Will be a good shave.Quote:
Originally Posted by Papabear11
3 questions, 1 - How are you prepping your hone? 2 - Did it come with a slurry stone? and 3 - if it did, are you using it? If not, are you working up slurry with another method, or just honing with water?
I rather enjoy my People's Hone of Indeterminate Grit. So I'm glad yours is working for you.
Everything is wrong with that item other than it being Chinese. It's not 12k. As a natural stone, it has no grit designation. I know I have beaten this point to death but it should not be called 12k when it is not.
Also, it's not a barber's hone and cannot be used like one. They are not the same thing and cannot be used in the same way. A barber's hone is a synthetic hone that is simultaneously aggressive and able to produce a relative fine edge with just a few light strokes in the range of 4 to 6 strokes in total. A Chinese natural hone is going to need a lot more strokes than that in order to accomplish a touch-up.
Competent people should know better and should not propagate confusion.
I just use Water and lather and no slury stoneQuote:
Originally Posted by Marshal
I understand your saying but it seen that hone work?? But this is all New for me and i'm open to any suggestions, now that i have few straight and to my opinion(9 straights) i have enough. What i want is just keep a good edge on them. Like i said i'm open to any suggestions but budget wise. ThanksQuote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
The Chinese hone is very slow. That is, it cuts steel very slowly. For that reason you have to do a lot of strokes (like 50 to 100) to accomplish much of anything with it. Now if you cut that hone into smaller pieces, you are going to have to do a proportionately greater number of strokes to accomplish the same thing.
You can get the full size hone for about $35 and the 2 inch wide but still full length version for $25.
I haven't done many touch ups with mine. Depending on how dull your razor is, you might want to look into getting a slurry stone. I think for the Guangxi hones they're fairly cheap, just a dollar or 2 and change. Use it with slurry to speed the process up. The Guangxi hone needs it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Papabear11
Also - consider polishing your hone a little further than just your lapping grit. Mine is very finely polished, but you can probably do 320 grit (skip if you're already using a 320 grit lapping plate), 600 grit, 1k, and maybe 2k to finish. The more finely polished, especially if used as a water/lather hone, the finer the edge it will produce. If you've lapped both sides, leave one 'rough' - just lapped with your lapping material of choice, and use that as your slurry side. Save the polished side for pure water and lather.
But, I stand by my previous recommendation of an actual vintage barber hone. Keep an eye on Ebay. I found a very nice lot of 3, 2 barber hones and what I can only assume is a safety razor blade refreshing stone, for 30 bucks. Both will put a very nice shaving edge on a razor, and do it much faster than even my full size Guangxi hone.
Just to gave a report on my shave this morning, after my third atempt i did get a great shave this morning. Like Utopian said it's not a barber hone cause to get good results it needs at least 200 laps(circular for that1) to get good results, but it work.
Just to gave you a report i did another refresh but this Time on my 5/8 round point Artist vintage hamburg straight last night, i did 60 laps on the Stone, 30 on the canvas and 80 on the leather. I test shaved it this morning and the result was perfect, that stone really works for me maybe i just got lucky i guess i got a good one. To clarify the point no it's not a barber hone, the main thing it work's for me(touch up). My 5/8 was just starting to pull when i refresh it so i guess the edge was just starting to get dull.
You're getting results that you're happy with, at the end of the day that's what is important. I like hearing PHIG success stories.
I did my third refresh on another 5/8 square point, another sucsess. I test shave this morning a great shave. That little hone works very well for me so far.
Since i had The Stone i refresh few others Straights whit no difficulty, The only thing to get a great job around 200 to 300 laps is needed, but my Straights came shave ready to my opinion. I didnt test How long The edge stay's sharp but right when The straight Start to pull i used it right away and it work. I might later on bought The full hone but The little one is doing is job.
I have the small one from whipped dog as well as a full size one. After I got the full size one, I haven't used the small one. Initially it was not working well for me. After researching here on how slow they were I did more passes on it. Worked great!! Been using it ever since. I agree that a synthetic is more predictable and faster. Eventually I will get a synthetic as well as other hones on the wish list. Until then I am able to get the results I want with what I have. Glad to hear you are having success as well.
If you can get great edges on a natural like the PHIG, you will almost be bored with how easy the same level of finish will be on, say, a Naniwa12k!Quote:
Originally Posted by Chugach68
Scout-you just talked me out of buying a Naniwa!! I don't want to be bored...:rofl2:Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad
If you have found what works for you, and if you do not desire to fall down the rabbit hole of trying other hones, then you really have no need to buy a Naniwa or any other hone. I got by just fine (relatively speaking) for 5 years before finding SRP with just two barber hones. If you are happy with the shaves that you are getting from what you already have, then you have no need for any other hone.
Congratulations!
My C12k is an excellent hone too. Mine takes about 35 ultra light passes on clear water to bring back an edge and a darn good one at that. I must have got lucky right away too. I think I got mine from a Chinese seller on eBay back in 2013. It came with a little rubber stone that is the perfect size. I think mine actually is 12k but maybe it's 60k. I don't care. I love my Guangxi stone and it is always there if needed and never fails to give me a superb edge.Quote:
Originally Posted by Papabear11
And that is exactly why we don't recommend the cut down PHIGS for beginners.Quote:
Originally Posted by Papabear11
The stone itself may not be an issue if you score a good one but the Barber Hone size offers a few hundred chances of a mis-cued stroke.
I have 1/4 nortons from Larry and I can attest to what others are saying buy the full size stone. I have not used the PHIG so I can not chime in on the grit rating but a tiny stone like those are not the most fun to use unless you have a mini razor ;) . The 1/4 stones are what I could afford at the time and I still use them with success but looking back I wish I would have just got full size stones.
I guess I skipped a page I should have read more carefully, my last post is pretty much null and void. Glad this stone is working for you enjoy and shave on sir :D