Thread: Swaty Stones for finishing

I have two razors I've been shaving with that were honed by Lynn. I am pretty sure I killed the edge on one by learning to strop.

I want to learn to "refresh" the blade and have read the Swaty stones are good for this. So I got two.

Any directions other than four times on each side, no pressure just the weight of the blade would be appreciated. I would also like to know if I really screw up the blade, can a honemeister fix it?

Here are the stones I purchased:

Hi, I'm not seeing your pics, but I'm at work, it could be big brother...
Swaty's are great little hones, I have several, and use one daily. They are meant for keeping a shave ready blade, shave ready.

If you in fact, killed the edge, The Swaty is not enough at this point. They're very small and not meant for restoring edges, more upkeep. 3-5 passes on Swaty are done prior to stropping and shaving daily. They extend the life of a shave ready edge..
You may need a Norton 4/8 at this point or something similar...

And yes, A honemeister can fix it...

You're man after my own heart. if one is good two is better. I've seen Swaty instructions that say the mark side of the stone is the fine side and the smooth (unmarked) side is the rougher. I've also seen Swaty instructions that didn't differentiate between the two sides.

If I had those I would scrub them down to get any dirt off of them. I would take sandpaper of a lapping plate to the edges and get rid of any chips or divots that might catch the edge of the razor and damage it.

They are a bear to lap so I wouldn't do that until I tried them first. They may not be that far off and may work well without going through all that. If not you can always lap them when you decide they need it.

Try touching up the dull one on the best of the two stones and see what happens. Start out with the four round trips with no pressure and see what happens. If it isn't getting you anywhere increase the strokes as in the instructions. Not too much pressure but maybe a bit more than the weight of the blade.

Note that the one set of instructions says to keep on until the desired sharpness is reached. This is meant for a touch up on a sharp blade but maybe it isn't as far gone as you think. A honemeister would be able to undo anything you might do ..... if you don't go crazy on it. They can't put metal back once it's gone. .

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

I have two razors I've been shaving with that were honed by Lynn. I am pretty sure I killed the edge on one by learning to strop.

I want to learn to "refresh" the blade and have read the Swaty stones are good for this. So I got two.

Any directions other than four times on each side, no pressure just the weight of the blade would be appreciated. I would also like to know if I really screw up the blade, can a honemeister fix it?
......

Swaty hones are good ones.

Use some lather it can lighten the touch of the razor on the
hone.

Your four times on each side is a good start, follow with
about forty smooth stropping strokes and test. If it is dull
try four more laps on the hone, strop well and test.
Strop on canvas first then leather if you have both.


As long as you do not chip or crack the blade
it can be honed....

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If I had those I would scrub them down to get any dirt off of them. I would take sandpaper of a lapping plate to the edges and get rid of any chips or divots that might catch the edge of the razor and damage it.

.

What would I scrub them with and what grit sandpaper would I use?

Thanks for the responses, I'll try it out.

It's a good hone. I lapped mine so both sides are the same. I would say it's like a 6k stone.

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

What would I scrub them with and what grit sandpaper would I use?

Thanks for the responses, I'll try it out.

you can use 325 dmt or 325 sandpaper.usually it is unnecessary to go more then 600 grit.
Make sure you have flat surface and water running .

Swaty's are around 12k...Swaty 12K - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

What would I scrub them with and what grit sandpaper would I use?

Thanks for the responses, I'll try it out.

I just take a scotch brite pad and comet and scrub off the grunge from the years of knocking around. As Sham said 325 paper is good. As I said before, lapping those is more work than it is worth IMHO. I would bet my Livi Takeda damascus against a donut that 99 out of 100 barbers never lapped them.

The x stroke on a short and narrow barber hone is very effective. OTOH, I've lapped some and I know that the general consensus is that flat is where it is at. Give it a try both ways and see how it works for you. I did and I found a Swaty that I never lapped but only cleaned wasn't absolutely flat but worked well. I always lap my waterstones. The barber hones are the only ones on which I forgo the exercise. Different strokes.

Thank you Jimmy I just picked up a swaty from Glen, I had no Idea they were 2 sided hones. Is the back side the coarser side?