Thread: Chinese Guangxi province hone?

I see Classic Shaving has one of these up for sale for relatively cheap as far as high-grit hones go. I'm on a budget, but I'd like a hone of about 12k, and this fits right into my price range.

While I'm not worried about getting screwed over by the guys at Classic Shaving, I'm aware that there migh in fact be a reason why this hone is roughly $30 less than other comparable-grit hones.

So, does anyone have any experience with these? How good are they? Are they worth spending the $40 on, or should I save up and go with a Naniwa?

This hone is commonly referred to as "C12k," and there is lots of talk about it around the forum. I have one and found it gives a great edge. It is a pretty slow hone; many members seem to have agreed that 100 laps is the number required. If there is a Woodcraft near you, they carry them in store. They come in two sizes (I opted for the "small" one, which is still plenty big and only $20).

What Holli said. On a budget it's a good hone. It's a PITA to lap and may require a lot of laps. Good practice for honing though. I have had good results with the hone also.

I have slightly smaller versions on the books and find they stack up well against the Naniwa 12k but are, as has been said, slow. Good though, and well worth the money.

+1 on the above.

The smaller one would work great, and its's a good hone to have. It is a bit slow as stated. Personally tho, I didn't have trouble lapping mine...maybe it was pretty close to flat, but didn't take long.

Great price and worth it!

(I would get it from Woodcraft.com tho)

Just to add to what everyone else has said +1. I normally make 100 to 150 passes on mine, it is a slow stone. Puts a nice edge on a blade though!!

I think it's one of the best values in honing, great stone for beginners