Thread: Poor boy's stones

Originally Posted by dinnermint

I'm sure you've done this, but just for redundancy's sake. Round or chamfer the edges of the hone. It'll probably suck with that hone and eat paper, but it'll help frustration later

I recommend using the flattening stone for this - the back side without slots cut into it.

You only need to chamfer the long edges of the hone. Make sure that the chamfering movement is primarily done in a lengthwise stroke with a rounding over movement made during the stroke. If you only do a lateral movement over the edge, you will create a saw-tooth pattern in the edge.

Originally Posted by rickstwowheels

I enjoy reading this part of the forum. The stones you guys use are beautiful and out of my league! I am new to honing and feel like I have been doing a decent job with a King 1000/6000. However, I recently ordered a razor from whippeddog and noticed that he sells 1/4 of a stone that is available at Woodcraft. Since I wanted a whole stone and have a woodcraft nearby, I picked one up. Before use I flattened it on my Norton flattening stone and soaked it for a couple of hours. Here is my confusion. The Woodcraft stone (which is reported to be 12000) feels more coarse than my King on the 6k side. Am I confused or just wrong maybe? Can I hone razors with what I have here? If one of you guys has a minute to help out a newb, I would be grateful.

The stone from Woodcraft is on the left...
Attachment 228256

These chinese stones can be hit or miss.

Originally Posted by rickstwowheels

I enjoy reading this part of the forum. The stones you guys use are beautiful and out of my league! I am new to honing and feel like I have been doing a decent job with a King 1000/6000. However, I recently ordered a razor from whippeddog and noticed that he sells 1/4 of a stone that is available at Woodcraft. Since I wanted a whole stone and have a woodcraft nearby, I picked one up. Before use I flattened it on my Norton flattening stone and soaked it for a couple of hours. Here is my confusion. The Woodcraft stone (which is reported to be 12000) feels more coarse than my King on the 6k side. Am I confused or just wrong maybe? Can I hone razors with what I have here? If one of you guys has a minute to help out a newb, I would be grateful.

The stone from Woodcraft is on the left...
Attachment 228256

If you are concerned about cost and want an economic solution for all your honing stages, you can find 5x1.5 coticules $60 through Ardennes. You can do anything from bevel-setting to finishing on those and your razor will come out just as good as if it had been ran on shaptons, IMO.

I also own the King 1000 / 6000, but I recently found a better one (aluminum oxide material - uses just water instead of oil) on Amazon for about $39, and it works wonders. Amazon.com: Whetstone - Best Professional Grade 2-Sided Knife Sharpening Stone - #1000 & #6000 Grit - with Non-Slip Bamboo Base and FREE BONUS Knife Angle Guide - (Honing Stone, Waterstone, Wetstone): Kitchen & Dining Anybody else tried this one yet?

Always be on the look out for Barber Hones! I have 3 that work well. A Swaty 3 line, A John Primble that I love & a Keen Kutter. All were picked up at Flea Markets & garage sales for around $5.00. A very light touch on the Primble is a great finish before stropping. & it only needs a few laps to do it's magic.

Slawman

Originally Posted by ShaveWares

If you are concerned about cost and want an economic solution for all your honing stages, you can find 5x1.5 coticules $60 through Ardennes. You can do anything from bevel-setting to finishing on those and your razor will come out just as good as if it had been ran on shaptons, IMO.

Not trying to be a stick in the mud, but I think a lot of people have experience with coticules that doesn't mirror that.

I could easily sharpen a razor with the stones shown in the first picture, and after two trips to the linen, nobody would know what stone did what.

The red side of the synthetic to set the bevel, then the tan side, then the chinese hone on slurry (they probably have particles similar to what we would think of as 4k), and then on water.

If someone wants to get an inexpensive honing setup, I couldn't think of anything cheaper than a thin slice of hard arkansas (not true hard, but what's sold as hard these days, which still has some bite) and one of the smaller size phigs from woodcraft for about $25. And a small vial of silicon carbide.

It would take the same time to hone a razor (But could do *serious* bevel work if needed) as any other setup, just the phig on clear requires a little more disciplined pressure to get work done.

Originally Posted by DaveW

Not trying to be a stick in the mud, but I think a lot of people have experience with coticules that doesn't mirror that.

I could easily sharpen a razor with the stones shown in the first picture, and after two trips to the linen, nobody would know what stone did what.

The red side of the synthetic to set the bevel, then the tan side, then the chinese hone on slurry (they probably have particles similar to what we would think of as 4k), and then on water.

If someone wants to get an inexpensive honing setup, I couldn't think of anything cheaper than a thin slice of hard arkansas (not true hard, but what's sold as hard these days, which still has some bite) and one of the smaller size phigs from woodcraft for about $25. And a small vial of silicon carbide.

It would take the same time to hone a razor (But could do *serious* bevel work if needed) as any other setup, just the phig on clear requires a little more disciplined pressure to get work done.

Its all in your technique (and stone), but from my experience I have gotten those type of edges off of my hard La Grosse Jaune 10 bout. I also incorporate my BBW's into the progression which can get the edge sharper and finish on my hard LGJ coti with soapy water.

Originally Posted by DaveW

Not trying to be a stick in the mud, but I think a lot of people have experience with coticules that doesn't mirror that.

I could easily sharpen a razor with the stones shown in the first picture, and after two trips to the linen, nobody would know what stone did what.

The red side of the synthetic to set the bevel, then the tan side, then the chinese hone on slurry (they probably have particles similar to what we would think of as 4k), and then on water.

If someone wants to get an inexpensive honing setup, I couldn't think of anything cheaper than a thin slice of hard arkansas (not true hard, but what's sold as hard these days, which still has some bite) and one of the smaller size phigs from woodcraft for about $25. And a small vial of silicon carbide.

It would take the same time to hone a razor (But could do *serious* bevel work if needed) as any other setup, just the phig on clear requires a little more disciplined pressure to get work done.

IMO FWIW the King 1000/6000 and PHIG are probably slightly better. Teeny bit more pricey, 30 & free shipping for the king, 35 & free shipping for full size PHIG vs about 25 + shipping for a 6x2 Hard Arkie from Dan's and 15 + shipping for the 1/4 PHIG. By the time you factor in shipping, you're looking at about 50 bucks for an arkie and quarter PHIG, vs 65 for an King and full size PHIG.

My experience leads me to think it would be much faster to use the King VS a hard Arkie (correct me if I'm wrong here). And you'd have larger working surface. I much prefer an 8x3 bench stone to a 6x2 and/or palm sized one. I guess whether that matters is up to the individual using the hone.