Thread: 1000 grit stones

Are they all the same for bevel setting, I hear talk of Japanese King and Naniwa whetstones. Would one of these work just as well If so would one be preferable over the other.

Whetstone Cutlery 20-10960 Two-Sided Whetstone Stone | eBay

Taidea T6124W 240/1000 Grit Knife Sharpening Whetstone Sharpening Stone Yello... | eBay

The Taidea is likely very soft and not as fine as the rating indicates. I'd say probably not a worthwhile investment. Can't speak for the whetstone cutlery stone. Kinda looks like standard hardware store fare, and not something I would use on my razors.

For a 1K stone I'd be searching known good razor friendly hones. The bevel is the foundation of your razor's edge, and if it isn't correct nothing following it will be either. Naniwa, Shapton, King, and Norton all make good 1K hones. If you're looking at price vs performance, King 1K or Naniwa Traditional 1K are hard to beat. Norton's 1K isn't too spendy either, and does the job fine.

Maybe, I have not used those stone, but you can buy a King, that is a proven performer for $20, so why take the chance?


Most 1k have 1k grit, but the binders are different, in cheap stones the binder is very soft and breaks down quickly and goes out of flat easily, that can be an issue.

All of the stones that we use and recommend are not made for straight razor honing, they are made for tool and knife sharpening. We recommend the few, because they have been proven to work for straight razors.

So, if money is an issue look at the King or the Naniwa Economical stones.

I have a set of TAIDEAs, for razors i advise strictly against it. Maybe cutlery, but razors chip easily on the 1K and 3K. The 5K is the worst 5K i know, but at least you don't damage the razors further. The 8K is a 6K, the edge is no fun.

There are many good 1K stones, that are known to be suitable for razors, Naniwas, Shaptons and many others. No need to ruin you sharpening experience with TAIDEAs.

Originally Posted by hein31

I have a set of TAIDEAs, for razors i advise strictly against it. Maybe cutlery, but razors chip easily on the 1K and 3K.

Adding to what hein31 mentioned here, I'm referring to the Any difference between Chinese 3k/8k hones? thread. Everybody's consensus is to avoid Chinese synthetic hones.

Originally Posted by malaverdiere

Adding to what hein31 mentioned here, I'm referring to the Any difference between Chinese 3k/8k hones? thread. Everybody's consensus is to avoid Chinese synthetic hones.

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.

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.

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.

Funily, I have DMD hones too, which I got in an EdgePro-like set. I use these to flatten a stone and making a slurry, though I should invest in something bigger for flattening

Thanks for your feedback on those diamond hones - I saw them on eBay but didn't find feedback.

Originally Posted by Marshal

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.

The Shapton Kuromaku Series was my first choice, i got the 12K and the 1K. But then, by chance i got a set of Naniwa combination stones 800/5000 and 2000/8000 for a very reasonable price. I agree, the Kuromaku series is underrated. They are even more versatile, if you use some suitable Nagura for a bit of slurry. I added some Metalmaster Naguras in 10K and 15K and with a bit of 15K slurry on the 12K Kuromaku the edge is comfortable and sharp. The Kuromaku alone tends to be very aggressive and leaves the edge uncomfortable.

I made the experience, that the 12K resin bonded DMD stone agrees to a bit of 15K slurry. But since you can even use oil on it, it feels like the edge is more precise and smoother from the beginning compared to the Kuromaku. I think the resin bonded type stones won't lead to any of the artifacts on the edge the typical hardbonded diamond plate has. Bigger particles tend to easily break away.

I'm still feeling out the Kuromaku. Too many toys to play with, not enough time or razors in need of honing. The first blade I honed with it just felt unreasonably sharp/uncomfortable. That was also my first 12K synthetic edge. So of course I did a ton of strokes on the 12K to see how fine it could get and probably overworked the stuffing out of the edge in the process. And I wasn't used to having a blade that keen, so there were technique issues to sort out.

The last time I used it the edge was still a touch on the harsh side, but I wouldn't say it was unreasonable. Just different. I tend to expect that extra-keen biting edge from synthetics. But using fewer strokes with less pressure on the stone (lighter than weight of blade if that makes sense), and less on the shave seemed to give a more comfortable result all around. If I remember right the second shave was fine, but I can't remember for the life of me which blade I sharpened with just the 12K and have probably re-honed it with something else since.

I pity my razors sometimes. The ones in my experimentation rotation might get 3-5 shaves before I get the urge to play with some other hone. Which is almost all of them really.