Thread: 1000 grit stones

Originally Posted by hein31

Well, that is traditional chinese hones, i would specify. I have a 3K, 6K and a 12K resin bonded DMD diamond hone, grid is as advertised. I have no problems sharpening razors on them, i mostly use the 12K, the others have far better japanese rivals among my stones here. But those DMD stones are far from traditional and i'm obviously the only nerd who tried them.

I looked at those and seriously considered them when I was looking to replace my first Norton 4/8. But I didn't care for the feedback I got off most coarse grit diamond hones, and the general concensus among most is high grit diamond hones (and often pastes too) tend to cut deep and leave an uncomfortable edge. That kinda swayed me away from them since my face is rather sensitive to a very keen/harsh edge.

I think perhaps diamond hones could be an exception to the 'cheap Chinese junk' rule of thumb. You can't really go cheap on the resin used to stick the diamonds to the plates.

Another hone line to consider is the Shapton Kuromaku series. They're not too spendy, and I think perhaps overlooked/underrated. I have their 12K and use it after my Norton 1/4/8 progression. Another user has their 1, 2, and 5K hones and his report on their performance along with my experience using their 12K kind of makes me want to fill out the lower end with them too. Not that there's anything wrong with my Norton hones, but HAD is a heck of a thing.