Thread: Mixed reviews Spyderco Ultra Fine -- because

I spent some time looking on the web to see why
the Spyderco ultra fine hone had such mixed reviews.

I am of the opinion and hope that this product
could be the barber hone of this century.

Out of the box it is not.

In part these photos will explain why.




What I did was run the flat of a kitchen knife over
both sides on a dry hone. The swarf marks the
high spots and reflects the way the hone was
cut down and flattened (thus mixed reviews point one)

So clearly the hone is not "polished flat". While it
is quite flat it is not a finished flat surface that we
would expect for a straight razor.

The next observation is that the hone is HARD as heck.
It would be very slow to self finish by sharpening steel
with it.

Next a first pass lapping attempt with a extra coarse DMT stone
made it apparent that anything used to flatten this white
hone would leave it with a tooth reflective of the dressing
stone used to flatten it. i.e. After working it with an extra coarse
DMT it has a coarse tooth to it that does not reflect the
internal nature of the hone. The tooth reflects the DMT
and since the hone is so hard the reflected tooth will persist
for a while (thus mixed reviews point two).

Next I applied a sintered aluminum oxide coarse bench stone to
it. That did work well at removing the cut marks. It also made it
apparent that I should have marked one side as "Base/Bottom" and
not attempted to dress both sides. Did I say that the Spyderco is
hard as heck.

Next I flipped the coarse bench hone over and gave it
some work with the finer side which calmed down the
reflected tooth issue a lot.

Lastly I gave four kitchen knives a turn on it and finally
gave a razor a light honing with it. After stropping
the shave was not smooth but sharp enough I am of the opinion that
the hone will settle in. I am not sure where it fits but it does seem
finer and faster than the 4K side of my Norton.

i.e. After it settles in it could well be a rather good "Barber Hone".

Anyhow others on the web place it anyplace from 2K to 30 K and now
I know why.

Since it needs some fine finishing it is not a grab and go hone
for the str8 beginner bunch -- but could become a favorite for me.

It does wonders on kitchen knives! No hesitation there,
I think I got 50+ slices out of a small tomato last night.

In hindsight I wish I had two to lap together with a bit of loose grit.

It is not clear where it will end up ... today it is a lot nicer than
the 4K side of my Norton. With use I am not sure where it will
settle in compared to the 8K side.

I am optimistic, glad I own it and now understand the very mixed reviews.

+1. I had a similar experience. I lapped mine from DMT-XXC to 600 grit wet-dry. Now it is so smooth I'm not sure it does anything. Makes me wonder if they might be more useful if left in the original factory condition without lapping.

I don't have enough experience with the UF to know what it can do. (I gave up on it.) Several people whose opinions I respect say they are super finishers.

By the way, the big 3"x8" UF version has a similar swirl pattern.

I agree mostly with the above posts, but would like to add a few things based on my experience with the Fine and Ultrafine hones:

-they may start aggressive, but the slow down to a crawl pretty quickly, and need frequent lapping to refresh... that will eat a diamond plate in no time.

-if used as a touch up hone, with lather, water or whatever, they do give a nice edge, but they seem to take more passes than other barber hones, and have a feather light feedback. That can be nice at times, but not always.

-their usefulness can be extended as a "base hone" with use a slurry from a fine finisher (Japanese or whatever), and let it break down with subsequent passes per the usual process. This works pretty darn well in my experiments over the last 3-4 months.

Overall, I wouldn't sell mine, but I don't know if I would spend the money on them if I had to do it over.

Originally Posted by joke1176

...
Overall, I wouldn't sell mine, but I don't know if I would spend the money on them if I had to do it over.

....Ditto.

I experimented using Naniwa 10K slurry on my Spyderco UF a while back. It really cuts fast like that. I really couldn't say it gave a better edge than the Naniwa stone itself, except that the UF stays flat.

I took my UF up to a DMT 1200, and it leaves a nice edge IMHO, I feel it's close to my Nakayama from So. I use it for a quick touch-up of my razors as I use it dry and the hone resides in my bathroom.

It's a hone that needs a lot of work to get the best performance out of it, and it's not a hone I would recommend to a new honer.

Based on the slurry hints I gave my ultra fine a half spritz of
0.25 diamond and found that it got a new life. I suspect
it will settle in as a slow finishing hone when all is said and done.
A lot finer than the 8K side of my Norton 4/8K.

Like Bjørn Erik said.... needs work not recommended for a novice...

I am now sure it will find a place as my favorite touch up hone
in a way that may eliminate the need for a non CrOx pasted strop.

I have been messing around with one of these for a few years now. I find it a lot like the Chinese 12K for finishing. I never know if it will be 30 strokes or 50 or 100. It will work, but not the most consistent stone I have. Stone is way hard and will eat up any diamond lapping plate.

Have fun,

Lynn

The Spyderco appears to be something I don't need to maintain the few razors I have.

Thanks for the review Tom. I bought the set of these from a forum member a few years ago when I was trying to figure out what hones to stick with. They had been lapped on one side and left with the factory finish on the other. I never could learn to like them and after a few attempts put them in the cabinet and finally sold them. Robert Williams also found that diamond spray on the UF brought good results. By the time he posted that I was fed up with my set and sold them anyway. Like Tom said, some people really like them but they just didn't work for me.