Thread: Norton Waterstone 12k or 15k grit?

Why doesn't Norton make a 12k or 15k grit waterstone? Also I would like to move up from the 8k to either a 12k or 15k stone to finish up and smooth out my razors after the 8k. I'm used to the waterstones so would a Sharpton 12k be a good step up? or should I get a ceramic? It seems like there are a lot of different opinions out in the world on this, Any old threads I should read to help me out?, Thanks.

Naniwa super stones or whatever their called today , I think if you do a search you will find out there is a bunch of good about them. Tc

Originally Posted by THORandODIN

Why doesn't Norton make a 12k or 15k grit waterstone? Also I would like to move up from the 8k to either a 12k or 15k stone to finish up and smooth out my razors after the 8k. I'm used to the waterstones so would a Sharpton 12k be a good step up? or should I get a ceramic? It seems like there are a lot of different opinions out in the world on this, Any old threads I should read to help me out?, Thanks.

The main honcho at Shapton USA, Harrelson Stanley, is a chisel and plane blade honer extradonaire. He says that the glass stones were more or less meant to double in grit as you go up the ladder. So 1-4-8-16 for the glass. Norton is 1-4-8. The Shapton pro stones are a bit different, but more or less the same.

I think the Naniwa super stones are sweet, especially the 12k. I would say moving from the Norton 8k to the 12k super stone or the 16k glass stone would give you good results.

Why Norton hasn't expanded their hone line to a 12k or above is a mystery to me. Ten years ago they were the main workhorse for guys on this forum, and then the Shaptons and Naniwas, others started gaining market share. Of course none of these are made as razor hones, just for tools and we appropriated them 'cause they work for us.

Moving up from 8K to another synthetic hone, you'll have many good choices, all are ceramic grit based hones. Here are some of the more common ones:

Naniwa 12K SS

Naniwa 10k Pro

Shapton 16K GS (glass backed hone)

Shapton 15K Pro (conventional hone, no glass backing).

There are other brands, though Norton isn't one of them. Why doesn't Norton make higher grit? Because they don't think it will be profitable enough to bother with. All the above hones are made in Japan where the attitude is different towards hand tools and sharpening.

Pick whichever one you think you might like, and that fits your budget.... They are all good finishers. My preference is for the Naniwa SS, as it's a softer feeling hone than the Shapton GS, which I had before. Both work great, it's just the feel while honing, much like deciding how much draw you like in a strop. I do NOT like fast strops... I like some draw, so it's only natural that I prefer softer feeling hones.

Regards

Christian

The naniwa 12k superstone is terrific after the norton 8k

Everyone lovesthe Naniwa 12k fromwhat I've read but I can vouch for the Shapton 16k glass.
I don't use it anymore but when Idid I wasvery happy with it.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

The main honcho at Shapton USA, Harrelson Stanley, is a chisel and plane blade honer extradonaire. He says that the glass stones were more or less meant to double in grit as you go up the ladder. So 1-4-8-16 for the glass. Norton is 1-4-8. The Shapton pro stones are a bit different, but more or less the same.

I think the Naniwa super stones are sweet, especially the 12k. I would say moving from the Norton 8k to the 12k super stone or the 16k glass stone would give you good results.

Why Norton hasn't expanded their hone line to a 12k or above is a mystery to me.

And that math says there should be a 2k in the mix following the 1k.

I think the answer to the mystery is simple. These are tool hones and there is no need to go above 8k for their most common uses, which don't include razor honing.