Thread: Anyone here use a Smith's 6" Bench Sharpening Stone Kit for sharpening Straights?

I was just wondering if any of you use these diamond stones for sharpening your straights. I've used them for sharpening knives and chisels in the past, and was curious if anyone else has any experience working straights on them. The coarse one has a grit of 300. A fine diamond hone has a grit of 750. What would be the next step for getting a "razors edge" for a straight?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

That would be waaaaaaaaay to coarse to put a razor too. Even if it is very dull, it's still too coarse.

If a razor is is reasonable condition and you only need to sharpen it, You generally need a 4000 grit stone to set the bevels and remove metal, and an 8000 grit stone to polish the edge. If a razor Is really dull is sometimes use a 1000 grit stone, but nothing coarser unless I need to remove chipping from an edge.

In the stones themselves you have several options (naturals and synthetic) but 4000 and 8000 are the grits you need for sharpening a razor.

I used one of the Smith fine hones for a heavy wedge. I followed that with DMT D6E 1200 mesh, D8EE 8,000, a barber hone, and newspaper. It worked fine.

Normally I don't use anything coarser on a razor than the 1200 mesh.

thanks for the info, the 300 grit I have is useful for my machete, and that is about all. Now I need to get a 1200 and 8000, any good deals on these out there?
What paste should I use for stropping? such as micron size?

Thanks guys

What you need is in the 4k-8k range for a working razor. the 300 grit is good for nothing in the honing process, the 1200 would help set abevel or hone out chips when needed, but for general maintenance the 2 grits that are generally considered must have are in the range of 4000 and 8000. Something like a Norton combination stone or a small collection of course and fine barber hones. Depending on your situation and needs. Wait around, others will show up to either confirm or deny what I've said, hopefully without causing any confusion or alarm. Good luck and God Bless.

I appreciate the input guys. what size grit should I be using on my strop?

Originally Posted by beardnomore

I appreciate the input guys. what size grit should I be using on my strop?

Your daily strop is plain leather.

If you are talking about a bench strop or a paddle strop for using as a final sharpening step most people like either diamond or chromium oxide paste in 0.5 micron grit.

Originally Posted by beardnomore

...
Now I need to get a 1200 and 8000, any good deals on these out there?
...

I've had good results buying DMT's at Craftsman Studio. You might look around a bit more for a better deal.

The DMT D8EE cuts a little faster than a Norton 4k and gives an edge just a bit finer then the Norton 8k, for me anyway. And you'll never need to lap it. It's a good idea to rub something metal, or a hone, on the DMT plates to smooth them up before use.

One more time.

Just before each shave you need a plain leather hanging strop, with no abrasive pastes applied to it. You strop your razor for 30-50 roundtrip laps....just before each shave.

The abrasive pasted paddle strop usually has a 1.0 micron on one side and a 0.5 micron paste on the other side. These are used as a finishing step when honing or as a edge "refresher" when your razor starts to pull.

Hope this helps,