Hones/Procedure

[Cfour]

Hello Gentlemen,
So this is my first post in the SRP so forgive me if I’m committing any faux pas. I’m asking these questions because I’m having a hard time finding this info in one place. Also… I’d love to hear your different opinions.

Background: I’ve been shaving with a straight razor for a few years now but have never felt comfortable with the hone. It’s time I bought some quality stones and became self sufficient.

1. What stone(s) would you recommend if I have a blade that isn’t shave ready but has a nice edge? I’d love to hear about brands but I’m more asking about grit. Could I get away with the Naniwa 3000/8000 combo stone?

2. On average, if you have a blade that has an edge but isn’t quite shave ready, how many passes over each side of the stone do you need? This is where things get shaky for me. A lot of sites/vids are dedicated to technique, but how long are you supposed to hone? How do you know you’re done honing before moving to the strop?

Any tips on procedure would be really helpful.

Thanks!!

[Marshal]

The 3/8 combination hone is a good place to start. The Norton 4/8 is also good.

On average, you hone until you're done. If it's one that previously shaved well and just needs a touch up, you would probably be best served to try a few passes (10-20) on the 8K first. If that doesn't help, then do passes on the 3K until it's as sharp as you can get on the 3k. Then you'll do passes on your 8K until all the 3K scratches are gone. Don't get hung up on counting passes, it's the performance of the edge that matters not how many laps you did. What it takes will vary with steel types, pressure exerted, and of course experience.

[RezDog]

An 8K is certainly a good shave and still has a bit of ability to cut. There are plenty of people that began touching up blades on the 12K Naniwa Super Stone and have had great success. Unless you start doing restoration work there is no point in going lower that the 3 or 4K that often come as part of a combo hone. If all you are doing is touching up you will likely never need less than an 8K but they are a handy combo hone. Natural hones are a bit of a rabbit hole and if you go down that path there are so many natural finishers and techniques for working with them I just have to say there are tons of threads to join in on.

[Utopian]

How many razors do you have?

How many do you think you will have?

To start out, you probably are better off with a quality barber hone or, as suggested by Rezdog, a Naniwa 12k. The latter can remain a part of a hone progression some time later if you want to do more extensive honing, but is also is quite effective as a maintenance hone.

[eddymerckx]

I would suggest to give a coticule a try. In my opinion, an ideal stone for touch-up work because of its variable workings. One has one stone for a wide range of applications depending on whether it is treated with water or slurry or the method used (dullicot, unicot ...). In addition, it gives very good signals as soon as work ist done.

[JOB15]

Practice and experimentation will answer all your honing questions..
Folks here can help though.

[Marshal]

I'm going to have to advise against a natural stone. If I had began with a coticule, especially one that behaves like the one I have now, I would probably never have gotten a good shaving edge off the stone and be forever chasing my tail on a stone that is actually a poor performer with water and standard surface preparation methods.

Start with a known good synthetic, then once you can get a good edge off that maybe consider adding a natural finisher.

[Aerdvaark]

Definitely! Do not buy a coticule unless you know for certain that it performs well for razors. Confirm it before hand! I have 1 that performs like a piece of curb outside on the sidewalk and another current stock select grade that performs worse than my worst jnat. Stay with synthetics until you really know what you are buying in a natural. I'm sure there are plenty of good coticules out there because of the reports I've seen coming in. And from those reports, they have been described as very old and used particularly for razors and then there are particular veins that are likely to produce good razor grade coticules. It's just buying blindly from fresh stock that you cannot do, it must be tested before hand to do exactly what you want it to do and be specific.

[Euclid440]

Welcome to the forum.

Post some photos of the razor, what brand is it?

What do you mean, I have a blade that isn’t shave ready but has a nice edge?

Has the razor ever been honed, shave ready?

You cant go wrong with the Norton or Naniwa line. Read the first 3 post in the Honing Forum, it may answer many of your questions.

[bobski]

I too think coticules are to be avoided when starting out. After going through dozens of different stones, sold many regretted a lot of them, I finally believe that if I were to go way back to the beginning, I'd say you could succeed with just five stones, all synthetic. I would in hindsight buy these. A Naniwa chosera 1k. Naniwa superstones 3k, 5k, 8k and a Suehiro Gokumyo 20k. I hear people saying, 'dont spend a fortune on the 20k.' I reply with the fact it is easy to use. It's easier than the Naniwa superstone 12k to use, and will last a life time. IMHO, this combo suits both beginners and seasoned pros who also use this type of progression. The best thing about this progression is that you really won't need to do anything more. You won't need another stone as far as I'm concerned. At some stage in the future you might wish to dabble with natural stones, no problem doing that at all. But with what I have suggested your edge will be the equal of any, no matter what it is honed on. There are no edges out there that can say they are better than that of the Gok 20k consistently. I know that some utilise excellent natural stones, but the honers out there who have such nats, are seasoned and know what they are doing, so I am not denigrating naturals, I am giving a new honer a regime that will give top class edges consistently and for a long time.