Thread: Help me choose a 12K hone!!

Hey guys, I am looking to purchase a 12k stone and need your expertise. I am working on a tight budget so I have chosen few stones. Please help me out.

Thanks

Gregory.

Kitayama North Mountain 12000 Grit Water Stone - eBay (item 380217828622 end time Apr-21-10 12:49:53 PDT)
Shapton Water Stone 12000 Grit M-15/ Wood Base-Cream - eBay (item 380111401289 end time Apr-11-10 14:08:38 PDT)
Shapton Pro #12000 Grit Waterstone - eBay (item 380104154225 end time Apr-09-10 14:20:05 PDT)
Razor Strops, Hones, and Accessories

Many people are raving about 12k
Super Stone.
12k Chinese natural is very slow, I can't compare to 12k Superstone finish because I never owned the Super Stone.
Then there are other natural stone options, such as Escher and Turingian but Jimmy and others that have tried them can give you their take on the performance, I know those nat stones are extremely well regarded.

Gregory, the natural stones such as the Escher are expensive. Your best bet on a tight budget is the chinese stone . You can find a link to it here.

Thanks Jimmy, I was hoping to find a stone rather then a slurry. If you could be so kind can you comment on the links I have provided.

Thank you again.

Gregory

Thanks Utopian, I have the 1k/6k and 4k/8k combos. I have 5 razors and looking in for few more

Originally Posted by GrEgZteR

Thanks Utopian, I have the 1k/6k and 4k/8k combos. I have 5 razors and looking in for few more

There went the tight budget. It's a slippery slope.

Originally Posted by GrEgZteR

Thanks Utopian, I have the 1k/6k and 4k/8k combos. I have 5 razors and looking in for few more

Okay, if you are only looking to hone your own razors, then honing time is not as much of an option. The Chinese hone simply requires a lot more strokes than the other finishers you listed. The Chinese hone is an excellent finisher for the price.

And by the way, you can get excellent edges off of the Chinese hone!

Originally Posted by mainaman

Many people are raving about 12k
Super Stone.
12k Chinese natural is very slow, I can't compare to 12k Superstone finish because I never owned the Super Stone.
Then there are other natural stone options, such as Escher and Turingian but Jimmy and others that have tried them can give you their take on the performance, I know those nat stones are extremely well regarded.

The Chinese hone wasn't listed as one of the options. Though it is not actually a 12K, as it is impossible to identify the actual grit of a natural hone. However, if you are looking for a cheap finisher and if you are not honing a lot of razors, then the Chinese (Guangxi) is a perfectly viable option. It is quite slow, but that can be sped up with a rubbing stone.

Originally Posted by Utopian

The Chinese hone wasn't listed as one of the options. Though it is not actually a 12K, as it is impossible to identify the actual grit of a natural hone. However, if you are looking for a cheap finisher and if you are not honing a lot of razors, then the Chinese (Guangxi) is a perfectly viable option. It is quite slow, but that can be sped up with a rubbing stone.

You are right not determined, for what its worth, the scratch pattern looks about as refined as a 16k to me. My only attempt to use it a s finisher provided a nice edge and I did not spend a lot of time on it. With a little bit of patience this stone will work fine for a beginner I think.

I would recommend the Naniwa 12k. I have used the C12k and really like the edges, but I don't recommend it anymore. It's just so slow. If you are a new guy, this leaves more room for a bad stroke to slip in and ruin your edge. If you have a bunch of razors, the extra time you'll spend on this compared to a Naniwa or similar could start to become an issue. But here I am showing my own personal preferences, as they are moving from quality only to quality and efficiency. I like the edges off a C12k, but I prefer to get there faster these days.