Thread: Natural stone for maintaining a edge

Originally Posted by erobins

Sorry mate didn't get the wise crack I'm based in Perth Australia. Has anyone delt with corticule or JNS vendors that can provide guidance from Aus?

Once you hang out here for a while, you'll get my joke. I still recommend Japanese natural stones. You will get good advice there. Japanese stones are named and sold under the mine they came from. You can't be assured that what developed naturally in one formation was the same in another. Mothe nature is a quirky old broad.

I'll have to agree with OCDshaver, a synthetic hone is an absolute "known". My Naniwa 12K and someone elses Naniwa 12K will be, for all intents and purposes, the same. Naturals are best left for fools like me who have countless hours and way too much money, to play with them, in an attempt to eak out the ultimate edge. Sometimes we win, sometimes we loose.

I would encourage both yourself and anyone else starting out to set yourselves up with a nice set of synthetic hones, and when you have figured them out and gotten every last bit of performance you can out of them, yet you think there's room for improvement, then by all means, you are ready to take the plunge in the wonderful wacky world of natural hones.

You want a solid foundation to compare against, and synthetic hones will give you that, reliably... I don't think synthetic hones are the ultimate, but then I don't own a Suehiro 20k or a Shapton 30K either..... yet.

Synthetic hones will give you a solid foundation. Many straight shavers are very happy with their synthetic hones and see no reason to progress to natural hones. Others, like myself, have this never ending desire to try new hones, in the hopes we may discover the *ultimate* hone, and yet... even if we do... there's always that (insert name of a horrendously expensive, exotic natural hone, you do not yet own, here) around the corner... just waiting to prove it's better or worse than what we have already.

It's not a path I'd wish for anyone else to take... I'm OK with it.... my eyes are open and I have found hones that give me a better edge than what I get from my synthetics alone, but I need those synthetics to prepare my blades for the natural hone. So start with a basic set, wring every last bit of performance out of them, and if you are still left wanting, and have the money, by all means, you are ready to branch out into the wild wonderful world of natural hones.... Only there is no guarantee you'll find something better.


Regards

Christian

Thanks Christian for your help. I totally understand the synthetic stone path that they are known quantities. Would anyone recommend first to buy one natural stone to maintain the edge before then buying a set? Has anyone bought from metalmasterjp on eBay

I've not bought from that vendor and in any case he seems to be low in stock. I've bought from Henry Eckert in Adelaide and many members of this forum also recommend Tools from Japan.

Both those vendors sell Shapton but TFJ can't get hold of the Glass Stones at the moment - Eckerts have a reasonable stock. TFJ sells the Naniwa and Chosera range as well. Many folks here have found the Naniwa 12k to be a good option for refreshing edges.

Thanks Maladroit

I take it you use synethtics?

Have you bought any natural stones?

If the manufacturer won't put their name on their product, I have to question the quality of said product.

A close friend, who was also a woodworking tool dealer, once answered my questions regarding the difference between an American made Delta bandsaw and a Taiwanese copy.

He simple said:

"This is a $900 American made Delta bandsaw, over here we have a $400 Taiwanese copy of that bandsaw. The $400 Taiwanese bandsaw is NOT a $900 American made Delta bandsaw, being sold for $400."

Buying an "unknown" synthetic hone off ebay is like buying a Natural hone... you have no idea what you are getting, until you try it.

If you are tight for funds, get a 10K or 12K Naniwa SS hone. It will suffice for keeping sharp razors, sharp, as long as the edge does not get damaged. Even a lowly vintage barbers hone would work, though personally I have not been that pleased with the two I have... They work, but only sort of.

The Naniwa SS hones are well known, as is the Norton 4K/8K hone and there is plenty of information on them here, as well as users of same, who can help you with any issues. While the price of the hone you are inquiring about *may* be somewhat lower, I have never heard of it before, and considering that a 10K Naniwa may not be all that much more expensive, I would go with a known product, even if I had to save a bit longer, rather than saving a few coins.

A Naniwa or any other good hone for that matter, will likely last you your entire life, unless you hone for $$$, in which case the cost of the hone becomes almost negligible, as it would be a reasonable expense in the course of such a business.

In the Naniwa SS range, a 3K, 8K and 12K or a 5K, 8K and 12K would make a nice 3 stone set. It will deal with anything short of a major repairs to a blade... The 3K will be better if you are having to hone out chips, but most Gents here would drop to a 1K hone for that. Some of us might choose to use a diamond hone, but it has the ability to do damage on it's own.... so it's best to tread carefully in that neck of the woods.

It will be interesting to see if anyone else has tried the hone you refer to, but my gut instinct is to say that a rubber stamp and some ink alone, does not a 10K hone make.

Regards

Christian

Hi Christian

Thank you for your help

I would never buy a unknown hone off eBay from a unrecognised dealer you might as well then flip a coin because it is a 50/50 chance what you are buying. What is the different between choosea and a normal naniwa hone?

Originally Posted by erobins

Thanks Maladroit

I take it you use synethtics?

Have you bought any natural stones?

I generally use Shapton Glass Stones (1,2,4,8,16K) but mostly finish on a Shapton Pro 12k. I do own some naturals and I've had good results with a Coticule and a black Arkansas. The so-called Chinese 12k stones are a real gamble and I can't recommend them to beginners - there are others who say they're great but the 2 examples I own aren't

Originally Posted by erobins

Thanks Maladroit

I take it you use synethtics?

Have you bought any natural stones?

Ok, so you want a natural stone. Let's just accept that and find one for you.

As stated, your three best choices are a coticule, jnat, or Thuringian.

Coticule:

Belgians | The Perfect Edge - write to Howard and tell him you just want a coti to maintain your edge.

http://www.ardennes-coticule.be/en/s...traight-razors - write to Maurice and tell him you want a coti to maintain your edge.

J-nat

Japan Tool - write to So Yamashita and tell him you want a jnat to maintain your razor. He is in Australia so shipping will be cheaper. I have bought from him and so have many others. He can be depended on.

Thurry

escher stone | eBay

Go to eBay and type in Escher or Thuringian. These days everyone calls Thuringians Eschers, cause it might make them more money.

If I were you (and wanted a natural stone to begin with -- which I wouldn't - I would do like the others have said and get a naniwa 12k, or naniwa combination 3/8k) I would buy a coticule from one of the two coti links above. As a fellow Australian welcome to the wonderful world of international postage charges, where you will often pay more for postage than the actual item.

And once you have it, if you are getting frustrated look here:

http://coticule.be/the-cafeteria/category/10.html

http://coticule.freeforums.net/threa...-coticule-edge

Originally Posted by kaptain_zero

fools like me who have...way too much money,

Christian

I've been really wanting to try some of that lately, could you send some over to me?