Thread: Shapton Pro grit progressions

I use 1k Chosera for bevel set followed by the 5k and 8k Shapton Pro. That is my progression for anything other than kamisori , it works great for me.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Why the Pro's ???

They honestly don't have that good of a reputation with SR's

This is news to me, the worst I've read is that they're more aggressive than some others, as people have noted in the thread. Could you please elaborate on what makes them worse (or the Naniwas better)?

Thanks again Euclid, the additional info is greatly appreciated.

In case anyone's curious, I ended up not going for the Shapton Pros for the simple reason that I found a place closing down that had the glass stones on sale for cheaper. Have ordered a 2K, 4K, 8K and 16K + shipping for a total of 355 AUD (that's 275 USD for you Yanks). More than I planned to spend, but I just couldn't pass up the 16K for only 127 AUD.

Originally Posted by Blank

This is news to me, the worst I've read is that they're more aggressive than some others, as people have noted in the thread. Could you please elaborate on what makes them worse (or the Naniwas better)?

Thanks again Euclid, the additional info is greatly appreciated.

They tend to leave a harsh feeling edge... It really is that simple

There is nothing that says you can't re-adjust for it, but you have to re-adjust for it

I think you will be much happier with the GS series that you bought, and even that 16k might be a bit much for some razors you come across...

You did make a good solid decision. Norton 1K/220 is a harsh water soaking hog that can never get its fill. You end up re-wetting your 1K side every 10 laps or so. The 220 grit side to re-quote Utopian is a sloppy muddy mess that is not suitable for razors, not verbatim but you get the idea.
Congrats and let us know how those hones work for you.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

They tend to leave a harsh feeling edge... It really is that simple

There is nothing that says you can't re-adjust for it, but you have to re-adjust for it

Interesting. I assumed by the time you got to a higher grit like a 10K or 12K it would be reasonably smooth. I assume one could also switch to a less harsh finisher like a Naniwa 10 or 12K?

Originally Posted by Utopian

Shapton recommends a doubling of each grit number in a progression. We follow that in the higher grits but blindly ignore it in the lower and more critical lower grits. Norton made a 1k, 4k, 8k so that is what we recite too often on the forum. It works, but I still believe the 1k, 2k,...progression is a better start.

I tend to agree, and I can't shake the feeling there should be something between the 1K and 4K. But at the same time, Norton's 4k isn't just meant to polish it's designed to cut as well. At least that's how it's advertised and appears to perform, so it doesn't feel like such a large leap. I'm not really sure what brand of hone I'd choose to work in there if I did opt for a 2K though.

At any rate, that's why I originally suggested 2/5/8. If he felt the 2k was too slow for his purposes he could always step down and get a 1K. And of course when the time came he'd be able to bounce up to any finisher he likes. In retrospect I do like the 1/2/5/12 selection a little better though. Skipping the 8 doesn't seem like too huge a leap.

Originally Posted by ultrasoundguy2003

You did make a good solid decision. Norton 1K/220 is a harsh water soaking hog that can never get its fill. You end up re-wetting your 1K side every 10 laps or so. The 220 grit side to re-quote Utopian is a sloppy muddy mess that is not suitable for razors, not verbatim but you get the idea.
Congrats and let us know how those hones work for you.

The solution to it drying out too fast is to change your honing method (and keep a spray bottle handy). I gave up on the pull stroke, flip blade, push stroke, flip blade, repeat method when I started using naturals. Too slow. Using strokes like this:



Makes all the difference with naturals and thirsty hones that don't stay suitably wet for long. It goes without saying the 220 is too coarse for normal use. I only hit a razor with that if I have a flat 90 degree wall where the bevel should be, and I stop just before the bevel meets and finish the set on the 1k. It is messy, but it doesn't seem much more so than the Chosera 1K.

So as the guy here that has used the Pro line exclusively for the past 5 years, I always say, if you are new, get the Glassstones.

The harsh feeling comes from their deep cutting ability which has been a blessing for me considering all the edge rebuilds I do but.... the fact remains your are working with a ceramic stone that is not far removed from using a DMT plate.
As Glen says you can "adjust" for it but it does make for a steep learning curve. If you use Shap Pros on hard vintage steels they work great. On softer steels you will always be chasing burrs. I can shave off the 12k pro but it is not ideal in comfort. A little CrO stropping brings it to within 2-5% of a Jnat etc. However that small %ge is exponential in the comfort stakes.

I almost always finish with Jnats sometimes a Gok 20 k. The Jnats do a great job of "healing" the "restorative" cutting power of the Pros but that does add extra time.

The ideal stone for razors is one that cuts well but not deep. Jnats can be that way but few synthetics are. The Chocera comes to mind as a stone that fits those parameters. There are others that come close & I think you will love the GS's.

I use the 5 and 8k Shapton pro and do not have any issues with them on any razor. I follow with 10k Super stone and 20k Suehiro so I have no experience with the 12k edge. I find that very light touch is needed to achieve that very even fine finish, may be that is the adjustment Glen is talking about?

I have a similar setup to Oz and Stefan, Shapton Pro 2k bevel setter, followed by the 5k Pro, and I'm trying out the grey HC 8k Glass Stone. I also finish on JNats and I can substitute a koma slurry for the 8k (the koma actually seems finer).

Cheers, Steve

The 1k pro is the workhorse & can restore & set a deeply chipped bevel in 5-6 minutes on a hollow grind but it cuts deep & a 1.5k &/or 2k progression makes life much easier for the 5k & the honer
The light touch, as Stefan calls it, is what you learn using the pros on on razors. I always cringe when I see people talk about "pressure" when honing. Pressure just gouges your razor with the Pros.