Favorite finishing stones (and slurry)

[trondsi]

Hi there! I have come to realize that I am not terribly good at setting a bevel, but I am constantly improving on making a good edge even better.
Do you have a favorite kind of finishing stone? One that gives a nice and smooth edge?
Bonus: does this stone typically come with a slurry stone? I sometimes like to use slurry, and I also apply it to one of my strops.

[basil]

Used coticules for years. Recently started experimenting with jnats. Lots of fun for sure!

[trondsi]

jnats? Let me guess: Japanese natural stones?

[DZEC]

I use a Vermio to finish after a coticule. Much less expensive than most Jnat finishers or high grit synthetics and pretty easy to use. Griffiths sells them with a slurry stone although I don’t actually use the slurry stone much.

[basil]

Yes Japanese natural stones.

[trondsi]

One more thing: any good oil finishers out there? I am wondering about that option too

[DZEC]

Coming back to the Vermio. It is not porous so you can use oil or water. I prefer glycerine and water, but I have also heard of folks using honing oil. A quick wash with dish soap and you are back to the original stone.

[Steve56]

If you are not good at setting a bevel, you will never be good at finishing a razor.

It is just the way that it is. No disrespect, but if you master a bevel set, the best shaving edge is 10 honing minutes away.

[trondsi]

If you are not good at setting a bevel, you will never be good at finishing a razor.

It is just the way that it is. No disrespect, but if you master a bevel set, the best shaving edge is 10 honing minutes away.

I would not be so sure. Because I think you touch on the real reason right there: I don't have the patience to work away on nicks and such, and because I get impatient I make mistakes. However, I have definitely improved the edges on some razors before, with my fine Chinese stone plus slurry (from the same) on a strop. Of course, it might also be that I simply don't have the right stones to go all the way from a blunt edge to a super fine one. Either way, I have several razors that have been honed by people who are pretty good at it, and I have been keeping these alive mostly with stropping and slurry "paste". I just thought I should give a new fine stone a try, the Chinese one has some veins in it that makes it slightly uneven. My idea is that I wanted to try a stone that is so fine that I can skip the paste, and see how I like that.

[OCDshaver]

If you want a stone that is so fine that paste is unnecessary, look into the Suehiro 20k. I got one several years ago. After buying it, I have not bought another stone. Done. It’s easy to use, super fine, and delivers consistent results. Some people love to play around with hones. If you do, this is not for you. This is auto transmission. I hone because I need to. And I like a very keen edge. No slurry needed. No magic or voodoo.