Please vote and then tell us exactly what it is that you have.
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Please vote and then tell us exactly what it is that you have.
I like the coticule... but probably because I don't have a 12k or higher
Nakayama, Asagi, Escher, Charnley, Coticule, Naniwa Super 12K, Shapton Glass 16K.........This is not in any order. I actually am using the Super 12K the most right now.
OK, that one is my favorite!!
Lynn
Nakayama + CRO pasted Linen
Interesting, no Cove5440?
I use a Charnley as a touch up.
Mac
That's because I don't know yet. ;)
I'm looking just like you. Leaning towards the Chinese Natural waterstone, but don't know enough yet. I'm too green.
Asagi, then Escher, then Shapton 16K. But it really depends on the razor I am touching up.
James.
I chose Japanese natural. I'm getting a set of Shaptons, so perhaps the 16k or 30k will serve as a good touch up hone as well, but I don't think anything will replace my Nakayama Maruichi. :)
Ah! Yes very interesting.
Jer
Naniwa 12k so far. I have a Boss Barber's hone, but without knowing the grit on either side, I'm a bit hesitant. For me, I like knowing the fact that with synthetics, I know what the grit is. A coticule or bbw may be 8k, 5k, 12k, who knows?
I have a rotation of razors in a gym locker and I have maintained those razors for 5 years exclusively with a barber hone. Initially it was a Swaty, then a Carborundum 102, and for the past year an Itsapeech.
At home, I do touch-ups with whatever barber hone I feel like testing. Occasionally if I don't like the edge from my experimental barber hone, I'll switch over to my regular hones and do a few strokes on a Naniwa 12k and then 10-20 strokes on a Japanese hone. It's basically an abbreviated version of my normal final stage of honing.
It's funny that Barber Hone is getting the most votes, but no one has piped up about them in the thread.
I hit the shapton 16k, Chromium oxide on leather paddle strop, Chromium on balsa, chromium on hanging canvas, barber hone, chinese 12k..... different things.
Here lately I've been honing with tape, so touching up without tape doesn't make sense. For that reason, my most common touch up is a hanging strop. I do that instead of my paddle strop only because my hanging strop is right there with all my other strops, and it works great for me.
I use 0.5µ diamond paste on horsehide strop. Smooth!!!
Swaty.
Utopian, I've wanted a ItsaPeach but I missed out when Tilly had them. How do they compare to the lithide or the Swaty?
For touchups, I hit my long Swaty and then re-finish on my C12k. Exactly that I do on my Swaty varies depending on how much touching up is needed. Could be just a few strokes, could be some circles followed my strokes. After that, back up to the C12k for the final finish.
I used to do touchups on my coticule with just a little bit of slurry, but I prefer not to use a slurry when I don't have to. One less variable for me to worry about.
Shapton 16K then .3 micron film Then leather
Since I'm not a Honemeister and don't have the experience that goes with (or maybe defines) the title I am always trying to get a good feel for each razor in the rotation. When one goes off I try to pick a hone to suit the razor and how far off the edge seems to be. As a result, I don't really have one favorite stone.
I have a few Eschers/thuringens, an Asagi, a few Coticules and Shapton 16K and 30K. In addition to the stones I have a flatbed hone with felt and leather pads and a few hanging felt strops all treated with either Diamond spray, CrOx or Boron Carbide. Depending on any number of variables (Sun, Moon, Stars...whatever) any of these methods could be my favorite to touch up an edge. Is there a poll response for "I like 'em all?":)
Nakayama here, although I do use a Swaty every once in a while
I use a Shapton 16K then go to 0.5 and 0.25 diamond pastes then Chromium.
R
Shapton 16 K then strop on linen and latigo/horsehide
A coticule, but a particular coticule I have... a narrow, hard, greenish tinged coti/bbw natural combo. It's a particularly good finisher.
I only have two hones; both barber hones from Tilley. A fine Lithide, and a coarser one (I can't remember the name).
Shapton on glass 16k for me. Just got a whole set (1/4/8/16k and a 325 DMT) from SRD and I love 'em..!
Then a denim paddle strop with 0.5 diamond spray, gives a great smooth finish.
A coticule for me too: a particular one, very hard and with a shiny ceramic-like surface, that I use under running water. It has a reddish colour, so I really don't know if green could mean harder and pink/red means softer as I read somewhere. [And thanks to Ardennes Coticule for choosing it for me!] I have one more softer coticule that I use with slurry during bevel-setting.
I voted early in this thread then didn't post until now. I voted for the barber hone since I have been experimenting with them recently and they are good. Ive used a long Swaty, a Frictionite, and a Caborundum 102 so far. I have an Itsapeach and a Carboundum 101A on the way so BHAD is kicking in.
I've also got the flatbed hone with the magnetic leather and felt pieces and an SRD felt hanging strop with the 0.5 diamond and use either of them depending on the situation and my mood. The felt hanger is really effective IME,
I have both the Nani 12k and the Shapton 16k, which by the way are basically equal in grit size, and tend to use the Shapton more than the Nani. The reason is I seem to get better feedback and repeatable results from the Shapton than from the Nani. The 12K and 8K Nani also seem to have an issue of creating little black dots on the surface during usage that normally I wouldn't worry about, except these black dots seem to cause the blade to skip during the stroke, and re-surfacing is required to stop it. I try to eliminate both 8K and the 12K Nani because of this issue. As a final note, I sometimes use my Spyderco UF as a final polishing stone, for an incredibly smooth and polished surface, before using paste and then stropping.
Ray
great guys! keep the votes coming!
Just buy the nakayama. Its pretty obvious that is what you want :)
Yeah but which one ? That is my stumbling block with those inscrutable stones. :) Should I spend between $25 to $50 on a Swaty or $350 and up for a stone with some kanji on it ? :w I know I will eventually take the plunge but I have to pay for the Naniwa set first.
You didn't include thuringens/Eschers!?!?!?!?
The Thury and J nat are my two favourites, tied.
BINGO. I'm thinking I would like to finish off a really fine J-Nat after a coticule. The few shaves I ahve had off that combination have been fantastic. Right now I finish with a C12K, and it is good....but one of them fancy kanji stones simply MUST work better (and it will feed my developing HAD!!)
Someone tell me which J-Nat finisher to get!! And where to get it.
Edit: Oh, to answer your particular question, for quick touch ups, I use the a barber's hone that I picked up. However, I very rarely DO quick touch ups. If a razor isn't perfect, I use one that I know is. then, I go back to the coticule, and the C12K.
I'm currently learning to use my new Japanese kiita natural.
http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/vbp...6&d=1249921177
"Touch up" vs. "Refresh". Do they mean the same thing? Does refreshing an edge mean just doing literally a few laps on something prior to strop and shave whereas "touching up" an edge may mean doing some actual minimal work on a high grit finishing medium (stone, hone or pasted strop); so, doing a tad more "work" on the edge then refreshing? Do I think about this stuff too much?
I consider "refreshing" a shaving edge to be passing it over something other than a plain leather strop just a few passes to get it back to right where it needs to be when it loses that something. Without question for me, that "something" is a chrome ox pasted balsa paddle. To me for the purposes of refreshing an edge, I wouldn't even think of "dropping down" to a stone, be it my Asagi or my Shapton 16k, Chinese 12k, etc.
If an edge needs more than the chrome ox (I haven't found any of my current shaving rotation razors to need more than chrome ox, but it could be necessary at some point I suppose, then I'd pick my Shapton 16k at this point. I may say Asagi in the future, but I have not explored the wonders of the Asagi sufficiently.
Chris L
I use a Hand American bench hone for touch-ups. Usually a pasted leather pad with either Boron Carbide, or Chromium Oxide...depending on the razor.
Hard to choose, but the Vintage Thuringian just pipped the Coticule for me.