Thread: Poor newbie's hone set

Originally Posted by Clayglen

What are these diamond cards?
Cheers

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Sorry about that. There are little flat cards (that could be glued to something with contact cement for grip), and I think they (DMT) have little stick style hones that are thicker, too.

What you're trying to do with them is just scuff the soft side of a combination arkansas stone to activate its cutting ability. You can rub hardened steel over the same stone to do the opposite. It doesn't have to be something fantastic, but I'd avoid the square diamond hone thing at harbor freight, etc, as I've had trouble with that one shedding diamonds into a stone.

Originally Posted by DaveW

Sorry about that. There are little flat cards (that could be glued to something with contact cement for grip), and I think they (DMT) have little stick style hones that are thicker, too.

What you're trying to do with them is just scuff the soft side of a combination arkansas stone to activate its cutting ability. You can rub hardened steel over the same stone to do the opposite. It doesn't have to be something fantastic, but I'd avoid the square diamond hone thing at harbor freight, etc, as I've had trouble with that one shedding diamonds into a stone.

I'm looking for something to raise a slurry on a couple Thuringen like stones.
Any others to stay away from?
Cheers.

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Anything that looks too cheap that you don't know about, I'd avoid. The small diamond cards made with the brand "DMD" on ebay are fine, at least the ones I've tried. They seem to have copied the japanese iwood plates.

eze lap and DMT stuff is good. atoma stuff is great, but I don't know that they make anything small. I'd stick with something very fine to raise a slurry, or use a separate stone to create the slurry (I think buying another very small thuri and cutting it to make a slurry stone is a fine idea, as would be a soft japanese tomo).

Another option I've seen bandied about to create slurry is those small 1"x4" translucent Arkies. Hard as Arkies are, I can see them working fairly well to dig up some mud.

Originally Posted by malaverdiere

One option that nobody shared with you is the CNAT. The problem is that there is more variability on those than, say, a True Hard Arkansas from Dan's.

Second page. It was discussed, and the variation from stone to stone is precisely why they're not strongly recommended. I've seen people sift through 2 or 3 before finding a good one and at that point they'd have been better off spending money on another stone. $90 on the Cnat lotto, $60 for a Shapton Kuromaku, or $90 on one Naniwa 12K...It's one thing if you just want a good Cnat and you're willing to gamble until you win. It's another thing if you just want a good finishing stone, those can be had without the hassle (and potentially at less cost).

If I was going to get a phig, I'd stick with versions that come in a woodwell tools box - I doubt they're all good, but the odds seem a little better.

The woodwell box looks like this in the background: Woodwell Woodworking Tools Manufacturing Ltd.

Well guys, as predicted.. Buyer's remorse hit me hard this morning. I lapped my Nani with 1500 (it was fairly flat to begin with) which made it smoother than a tile. A honed my razor on it and while not optimal, it was the best shave I got from it.

But with all the cheaper suggestions, notably lapping film, I can't justify owning such an expensive piece of equipment with the small budget that I have. I don't shave every day and still enjoy my DE's and shavette.

I put it up for sale on Kijiji (Canadian classifieds site), would have put it here but for some reason there is a price for doing so..

Will be putting the ol' Boker aside until my wallet can recover and I thank you all for the suggestions. Have a nice day!

Lapping film is OK, but it is finicky compared to a good stone. One of the places you lose money with razor stuff is buying and selling, unless you buy right, and it takes a long time to learn to do that. For sure. The combination of shipping, local buyers who want you to do them favors and commissions or fees (ebay, paypal, the vendor cost on this site, etc) all erode your budget.

I've got films down to a third of a micron, but when it comes down to it, they are a temporary substitute for a stone (to me). There is some sort of intellectually stimulating dimension that is missing from them, and they are harsh to use, not tolerant at all of a less than perfect application job and...well, just sort of second rate (though they can certainly make a first rate plus edge).

I wish I could sit with every beginner with a 6x2 combination stone from dan's. You could spend the same amount again on a properly selected vintage strop and linen and never need anything other than possibly some chrome ox for substandard razors that won't take a good edge off of a natural stone and some electrical tape (for the same reason - it is otherwise unnecessary just like the chrome ox). the process is not elegant per se like the ASMR type honing that is popular (the tomonagura guy loves to show that kind of stuff), but it gets the job done as well as a jnat and is no nonsense.

Right on. Buying, regretting and selling is typical me. I've done it many times and probably will do again. I can't help it!

Originally Posted by Marshal

Another option I've seen bandied about to create slurry is those small 1"x4" translucent Arkies. Hard as Arkies are, I can see them working fairly well to dig up some mud.



Second page. It was discussed, and the variation from stone to stone is precisely why they're not strongly recommended. I've seen people sift through 2 or 3 before finding a good one and at that point they'd have been better off spending money on another stone. $90 on the Cnat lotto, $60 for a Shapton Kuromaku, or $90 on one Naniwa 12K...It's one thing if you just want a good Cnat and you're willing to gamble until you win. It's another thing if you just want a good finishing stone, those can be had without the hassle (and potentially at less cost).

My bad, I somehow understood that this was about Chinese synthetics. I keep forgetting that the retail of CNATs has such big markups. It is sold for 10$ in China, so the CNAT lottery is much cheaper to partake in

Originally Posted by DaveW

If I was going to get a phig, I'd stick with versions that come in a woodwell tools box - I doubt they're all good, but the odds seem a little better.

The woodwell box looks like this in the background: Woodwell Woodworking Tools Manufacturing Ltd.

That box is identical to the ones sold by Woodcraft.