Thread: Re-visting the Chinese Hone

Originally Posted by LawsonStone

An incomplete or poorly set bevel is like threading a shoelace through the wrong first hole. You just can't fix it without going back to the beginning, which is more efficient anyhow.

Oooooooo I like that one, I have to file that away to use at a later date, will give credit to ya Lawson when I do

Hi guys! I just acquired a Kajima and I see there's lots of debate about whether it's actually Japanese or Chinese but all seem to agree that it's agood finisher.
I've been using a Purple Slate from AJ to finish and that's very crisp but I suspect the Kajima will just be nicer...
...My Kajima is a combination stone - one side seems midrange and the other the finisher so i was wondering if i set the bevel on a coarse synthetic, i could then do everything else on the kajima, moving from heavy slurry to clear water on the midrange side, then moving from heavy slurry to clear on the finishing side diluticot style.

Of course I'm going to experiment and find out for myself, but will a diluticot method be efective with this stone?

Hi guys, I'm new to honing and so my question is going to be a honing/Guangxi stone question (sorry if it's redundant, I looked around but wasn't able to find an answer to my question, I think). My razor has hit the point (sent it to the US over the summer to be honed, have been shaving with it a little over a month, doesn't cut a hair set on it and when it move my thumb across the edge of the blade it feels smooth...I guess newbie stropping has dulled it a little quicker) where I think it needs a refresh, not a complete honing--correct me if you disagree with my assessment. Now, as I live in China, I am faced with an interesting situation: most shaving supplies are either impossible to get, or incredibly expensive, and there is nobody I can go to to get the razor honed. However, the Guangxi stones can be gotten here for $1-3 apiece. So my questions is, can I refresh my razor with one of these?
I was watching Lynn's video on refreshing, and he was (if I remember correctly) using a few laps on a 12k stone, then a few laps with a treated strop, then on to the regular strop. Could I use the Guangxi stone in this process (I can, I think, bite the bullet and order something to treat a strop with from Japan or Hong Kong probably), or is a finishing hone not suitable for refreshing edges?
Apologies for any misunderstandings I may have made about honing... and thanks in advance for your help!

Yes you can do an edge refresh with a Guangxi stone IF you are able to accomplish a proper honing stroke and IF you have a stone without any inclusions in it.

I noticed and appreciated that you did not call it a 12k stone! I'm not certain of the video of Lynn's that you referenced but it likely was using a synthetic 12k. In the case of the Guanxi hone, it is much more likely to require 100 laps on that hone as it is much slower. Yes, a finishing hone IS suitable for refreshing edges.

Unfortunately, since you seem to be new to this, those 100 strokes give you many more opportunities to make a bad stroke that may harm your edge. Like riding a bike, the honing stroke is easy once you get the hang of it but difficult until you have practiced it quite a while. You might as well start practicing.

Are you stropping before every shave? Are you comfortable with your stropping technique?

The Guanxi hone that can be bought in the U.S. can vary a lot, but a good one is a very good finisher and I use one 80% of the time. If you can buy them that cheaply, buy a few and use the best one

Hey guys, thanks for the fast response. I'd noticed there was debate about the exact grit of the Guangxi stone, and they don't call it a 12k in China... You are right, this will be my first hone, though I'm not quite ready yet, still have a lot of reading material to go through, terminology to learn, and videos to watch before I give it a shot (i.e. not sure if this stone should use just water, should be soaked, or should have a material added to it--slurry?, sorry, still working on terminology; not sure if it is ready to use out of the box or should be prepared somehow, etc.).
I strop before every shave; if I was giving grades, I'd give myself an 85% on stropping technique at this point.
I'd considered buying a cheap Chinese razor to practice honing on first, but not sure if it would be any good to test the results, or if I'd want to put it against my face. Hesitant about jumping right in with my Bismarck though...
If I refresh with the Guangxi stone, do I need to move to a pasted strop after, or can I just go to the regular strop and shave?
And yes, I do plan to order a few of them so I have choice. However, being new at this, I have no idea how to choose the best one. I read in the guide on Guangxi stones that the color/visible grain can be indicative of the honing quality or the grit, so I plan to contact the seller and ask him to help me find stones that match this description, and inspect the ones I get. From there, though... I'm wandering in the dark.

Thanks again guys, and I'll keep checking back here for any further input.

My best one is very dark and glassy looking, my #2 is dark grey with some grain on the stone

The best one is the top one in the pictures

The ones I have had the best luck with are the dark and with light streaks in them, like the top one above. They do take many strokes to finesse an edge.Are they Thuringer equivalent? Probably not but they are a usable hone and can yield a nice shaving edge.
~Richard

In my case, I guess I was lucky with every one I bought, 5 if I'm not mistaken. Top finishers, smooth, very fine edge, slow stones.
As for your case, ffourteen, Japan is somewhat close to you. You can order from tools from Japan a Chocera and a Sigma 6k, the yellow-purple one.
I don't know if there are issues with your customs, but shipping should not be too expensive, nor the stones, and you won't regret it. Get one or two of these Chinese natural finishers, and your set will be complete.
I have to open a thread about this 6k sigma stone, it's the best stone in its category.

I started out with a guangxi and very light X strokes (35-50) plain water only followed by a pasted balsa strop followed by a leather strop to refresh my Dovo (first razor) It can be done.

later on I expanded my skills and added slurry.