Thread: Synthetic Hones Designed For Straight Razors ?

Besides looking into grits and bonding of grits there is the steel part of the equation. If yo Google "Tool Steel" you will get a wealth of information.

Here are some links to start with. The rest is up to you.

Tool Steel - All Metals & Forge

Tool Steel - Air Hardening, Oiled Hardening, Water Hardening, Shock Resisting - All Metals & Forge

Tool steel grade, heat treatment and standard designation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_steel

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

This has me thinking to hard

Let me see if I have this straight, Your looking for a synthetic stone where the abrasive and binders are geared to the geometry and makeup of the average straight razor?

I may be off here but I would think that the plane blade and a straight razor where after the same level of polish.

I know that white steel and blue steels have a slight difference in feel on some stones. The more additives the steel has, tward the dreaded stainless, more wear resistance and reactive qualities some stones display. Glasing of a King 6k happens FAST when any stainless blade is used on them. But a white or blue steel blade can go hondreds of laps with no glasing. I find that shapton GS stones glase over with different carbon steels rather quickly. Even with straight razors this has been a problem for me at times.

So far the only thing I have found usefull in a synthetic is mostly size vs target item and will it work best with carbon or stainless.

I'm still testing out all these things as well and I guess I always will be, unless I get filthy rich enough to afford all the stones and all the makes of steel

What do you mean by glazing here. I can't seem to get it as the stone is creating slurry 1;5;8 at least. Completely covered in black steel; yup, but not really glazed like an old Ark stone.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

Bingo but used to be not anymore.No one makes Barber hones in current time.May be i will open a new business and start making barber hones for new fragile,lazy Generation.

Everyone here would go nuts for them and you'd make a fortune!

Originally Posted by Disburden

Everyone here would go nuts for them and you'd make a fortune!

We would call them a Shamy.

Originally Posted by kevint

What do you mean by glazing here. I can't seem to get it as the stone is creating slurry 1;5;8 at least. Completely covered in black steel; yup, but not really glazed like an old Ark stone.

I'm not sure what is happening on the stone but it seems to build up a bumpy slippery coating on the stone that keeps the steel from getting cut by the abrasive of the stone. The 16k Shapton glass stone is worse by far than the lower grits, 1k being very slow to gunk up.

I don't use the 16k for anything but straights and after my experiences with it I'm not likely to use it on my kitchen knives.

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

I'm not sure what is happening on the stone but it seems to build up a bumpy slippery coating on the stone that keeps the steel from getting cut by the abrasive of the stone. The 16k Shapton glass stone is worse by far than the lower grits, 1k being very slow to gunk up.

I don't use the 16k for anything but straights and after my experiences with it I'm not likely to use it on my kitchen knives.

black, gray, greasy? I splash with water and rub it off with my fingertips. lately i have not been using my pump sprayer to rinse. we just need more water. that gunk always made me feel i was sharpening fast.

Grey slurry worked up till the stone turned grey, than nothing short of scraping with a flattener or slurry stone would get the gunk off. The razors are clean of oils when going to this hone so I know it's not that...

If I haven't gotten the edge I want after a few strokes.. it's a waste of time or I have to scrub the stone to keep going. I should try it with my wife's or daughters stainless knives to see if this gungs up as well. So far I have seen stones really nuts working with one steel or another.