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