Thread: Advice on where to buy stones.

As to where to buy stones, there are a lot of places: Sharpening Supplies, Chefknivestogo, Hidatools, to name a few off the top of my head.

I agree with the suggestion to start out with a decent 1k/6k combo in starting out. I haven't tried the King 1k/6k, but I have tried a King 1.2k/8k with Ice Bear nagura and this worked well for me. One 1k/6k combo I do like is made by Suehiro. Hidatools also has an Imanishi 1k/6k which I'm sure would work well too. I prefer to hand-hold, so smaller stones are not a problem for me, with the smaller King being the most desirable for me here as to size.

In using a 1k/6k combo, it's best to try and get the best shaving edge you can off the 6k, then straight leather stropping. Once you've achieved this, then a Solingen dedicated linen strop with red tube paste on one side and white tube paste will really take things up a notch and can be used for touch-ups later, when the edge seems to be falling off.

There are a few choices but my suggestion is buy a nice finisher and use it to keep your razors tuned up when a strop quits working, a good finisher in the 12-16K range whether synthetic or natural will serve you well then save your pennies and buy a nice 8K when the time comes and keep buying lower grit stones as needed, no need to buy all at once.

Originally Posted by Utopian

For the Naniwa SuperStone or Specialty series, I would recommend 1,2,5,8, and 12.

Agreed that's better if you're going single grit stones. I probably should've mentioned somewhere in there that I had the 3/8 combination stone in mind to save a few pennies.

Gasman - don't be surprised if the Norton stones still get used from time to time. They ever come out with a higher grit stone, 12 to 16K, I'd be content using them and nothing else.

Thank you all for the suggestions.
I received two stones in the mail yesterday. Spent the evening cleaning and playing with them.
Here's what they look like, with their eBay descriptions.

Cleaned the dirty one turned out to be a lily white I believe. I'll post pictures this afternoon.

I am going the good razor and learning to keep it in proper shape. I purchased a whipped dog, and Larry took great care of me, getting me what I had in mind. That is a great service he provides!
The Hones are for the other razors I've purchased. I want to use them all, and become proficient at all aspects of this.

Again thank you all. It is amazing how responsive and welcoming y'all are! It's very appreciated !


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I think I just won my set on eBay. Greatest apologies if I ninja'd anyone here.


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If the arkie proves to be translucent you may have one of the best finishers available, that is also capable of doing a few extra things that may save you money setting up a basic progression.

Firstly you need to clean up the stone, Take better pictures, and use a flashlight to check for translucency.

The next thing it to check how flat it is, and if it isn't flat you will need some loose silicone carbide grit and a cookie sheet. There are countless threads on how this system works and what grit grade is best. Arks of any grade are hard stones, so you are going to need a few hours at least to flatten it. Once it's done it should never need doing again if you are only using it on razors.


As a finisher translucent arks are slow, but very very fine. The face of one side of the stone needs to be burnished and only ever used to finish on.

The other side of the stone is what might potentially save you money. You leave it unburnished but otherwise as flat as possible. Then use a 1/4 norton set from whipped dog as a slurry stone progression. In a similar way to how a Jnat system works. It's not a fancy system, and it's fraught with pitfalls that a real hone set avoids, but it should work.

Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment

A true hard arkie can also do the same thing, and will burnish.

If it is a softer grade then it's not going to be a finishing stone, and should be left unburnished so it works faster.


Get it cleaned up, Get some pictures up. And we'll know a lot more.


As for the slate, Slates can vary pretty wildly from coarse to very fine. It's not always obvious from looking at them what the finish will be. So get some better pictures up with close up's if you can. The only real way to grade it is to compare it to a synthetic progression. You hone to 8K, Test the rock and see if the edge improves or degrades. Then use that as a reference for if it's a finishing stone or not.

I'm going to suggest Straight Razor Place for the same reason I went with them.

I planned on starting with a Norton. I called them and they suggested getting Naniwa if I could afford it. I'm really glad I did as they suggested.

I haven't had problems, though have no doubt that I could call them and get helpful answers.

Below is what I purchased. This isn't the cheapest route, though you'll have high quality products that will last a lifetime.

Naniwa combo, 5,k ; 8k ; 12k
DMT 325 Lapping Plate
Ninawa 1,k
Naniwa sharpening stone holder.

Thank you all for the responses! SRD is the clear winner and who will get my money. I'll post pictures shortly.


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Not a trans. ark. no light past through at all. Still pretty sure it's an old lily white. As the grain pattern seem the same as my small one. I was reading that it is possible to make it perform up to the 3k range, so bevel setter? It does need to be lapped.

The slate I believe could be a finisher. I put the Dovo I have to it and could see a marked deference in the abrasion pattern under my 30X loop. I found a tri-stone set on Etsy. It appears to be the middle stone of that set. He has it list as Purple Llyn Melynllyn with a 12k grit.


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The big one is hard to identify.

It's showing some characteristics of a soft ark/washita. It's also showing motteling like a hindustan might have.

Most but not all hindustans show layer banding like wood grain this one definitely doesn't. Best bet is to do a scratch test on the side and then compare that to a scratch test on your lilly white. If it's softer by a fair margin Hindustan would be a good guess. You can also do a rather unsavory test of sucking it. A hindustan is porus enough that you can feel air moving (and often oil been sucked out). A lilly white will not give that feeling or fill your mouth with oil! Hindustans will also try to slurry if you sharpen a knife with a bit of pressure and the slurry has a feeling of very fine sand. A well used one will often show signs of dishing. You already have a lilly white so testing it shouldn't be much of a problem for you.


The slate looks very good. I'd want to shave test from it and see if the edge it gives is any good. It looks like it could be a decent enough finisher, It certainly looks very fine and doesn't have any signs of toxic inclusions or been porous.

You should lap the big one, It needs the edges chamfering a touch as well. The slate looks like it might be flat, and it's already got a nice surface. So just drop a straight edge on it and check for light bleed. If it looks reasonable test it before you think about lapping it, as the polished finish might be hard to get back.