Thread: Glass hones

Does anyone have experience with these glass hones?
Razor Strops, Hones, and Accessories

Can I get your thoughts on them please.

I was thinking, that buy using this 30.000 grit, I might be able to skip the pasted stropping.

I have the Shapton stones in 1/4/8 & 16k grits and they are very good. A lot of people on this forum use them, so there is a good support network if you have any questions.

They give good feedback when honing and put great edges on your razor.

You could use the 30k in lieu of a pasted strop for finishing, but the clincher for me is the price difference. A pasted strop is, in its most basic form, $2 for some balsa wood and maybe $5 for the CrOx? The 30k is $280 plus postage. Thats a HUGE difference in price and TBH I'm not sure you'd notice the difference between the two. Or at least $273 worth of difference..!

I use 0.5m diamond spray on denim (another cheapy option comprising some denim from an old pair of jeans glued onto a piece of window sill) after the 16k and this gives me great edges.

I've been toying with the idea of adding the 30k to my stones and going up to the 0.25 micron diamond spray, but its the huge outlay thats been putting me off. $280 is a lot of razors! Or one very good one..!

Glen (gssixgun) told me on another thread (which I cant find at the moment!) that he only does 6 strokes on the 30k, just to give the edge that last tweak. It was, IIRC, a 3/2/1 pattern of 3 normal strokes, 2 back strokes and 1 normal stroke.

I dont know how this stone performs as a touch up stone. Its similar grit size to 0.5m CrOx so I dont see why you couldnt use it, its just a massive outlay when there is a cheaper alternative out there.

I'd wait for some members who have this stone to chime in as well though..!

Good luck!

I have used the Shaptons up to 30K for years and find them to work exceptionally well. The only hone I have found better for finishing is a very expensive japanese natural. The Shaptons are expensive, though, but for me have been worth it.

Chris

Originally Posted by ccgnet

I have used the Shaptons up to 30K for years and find them to work exceptionally well. The only hone I have found better for finishing is a very expensive japanese natural. The Shaptons are expensive, though, but for me have been worth it.

Chris

Do you use a pasted strop afterwards, and if so, what kind of strop and paste?

I use the 30k with one piece of tape at the very end. It really finishes off the blade IME it gets the edge as sharp and true as it can be. Very light stropping on leather is all I need after this. I know many will not agree and strop till they drop, but I am finding that very little but regular stropping keeps the edge longer for me. In all my playing with naturals eg escher, coti and nakayama do not IMHO give me the same level of keeness as the 30k.

I have the Shaptons and like them a lot. I do prefer my coticule and Japanese natural edges to the 30K though. Just a preference thing, but there isn't THAT much difference IME

Many Shapton user's, Do not use the 30k. Member's either swear by it, or Swear at it.
Me, I have the 16k, I never was a big shapton fan. I've heard mixed reviews about the 30k. All the extra stuff they say, you have to have, is way expensive. They have their own special lapping plate, DGLP, 300.00, they have a special holder and pond. I've heard you do not have to buy all that, then I heard, it works better if you, so I passed, and pretty much bought every other hone on the face of the earth....There's an Escher on the classifieds right now, I'd grab that. It's a great finisher....JimR is selling it...

I went with a Japanese natural, and I'm glad I did. By the time you buy all the Shapton gear, you can get a J nat, which IMHO is far superior to a synthetic hone, and they are rare. that makes them a possible Collector's item...

In keeping with the OP with regards to the 30k:
The thing is with the 30k is that it is a highly specialized stone. It does one thing really well, that is it finishes an already very sharp blade. It will suffer in comparison to the naturals in that it can't refine the edge until it is already very sharp where the naturals(at least the ones I have) are much more versitile. In the context of the question asked as to replacing the pastes at the very end of progression, it is incredible. I can honestly say that at that level, I have not been able to get an edge sharper with any of the forementioned hones.

Originally Posted by Kingfish

In keeping with the OP with regards to the 30k:
The thing is with the 30k is that it is a highly specialized stone. It does one thing really well, that is it finishes an already very sharp blade. It will suffer in comparison to the naturals in that it can't refine the edge until it is already very sharp where the naturals(at least the ones I have) are much more versitile. In the context of the question asked as to replacing the pastes at the very end of progression, it is incredible. I can honestly say that at that level, I have not been able to get an edge sharper with any of the forementioned hones.

I cannot make the same claim. But as I said before we're talkng about minor differences.