Thread: how do barber hones feel...

I bought a diamong king barber hone. Alter much work and bags of used up sandpaper, I finally got it lapped. I lapped it up to 1000 and than 2500.
The hone is smoother than my chinese, but when I hone a razor, it sounds like I'm putting a lot of pressure on it, while I'm not.

how do you use it? water ,oil etc

Water (mostly) or lather. When I say, "I mostly use water", that menas I've used water 4 times and 2 times on lather.

you have lapped too fine 2500 is too much. Now try use it dry and see do you have same feeling? it shouldn't . gl

When used dry, it is very smooth.
So what would you recommend?Using it dry as is, or roughening it with rougher sandpaper (what grade) and using it with...?

most likely it is dry hone. use it dry and have fun.GL

+1 with Sham. I use most of my Barber hones dry for the best results. It depends on the hone, some are made to use dry, while others say to use water or lather.

Barber hones feel very smooth but this is deceptive. You can use them dry but I prefer using water with just a little bit of soap, to break the surface tension so the water doesn't bead up & roll off. When the edge is nice & flat, this will give you a weird suction feeling, like the hone is coated with honey. It also helps to float away the swarf. I also like to finish with two backward strokes, since many barber hones seem probe to raising a burr.

Originally Posted by Johnny J

Barber hones feel very smooth but this is deceptive. You can use them dry but I prefer using water with just a little bit of soap, to break the surface tension so the water doesn't bead up & roll off. When the edge is nice & flat, this will give you a weird suction feeling, like the hone is coated with honey. It also helps to float away the swarf. I also like to finish with two backward strokes, since many barber hones seem probe to raising a burr.

Some barber hones intent to use dry only . if you use with water it doesn't do the job properly.

I've used a swaty (my only hone) wet and dry. Does anybody know what the original intent was?