Thread: Higher grit hones

I was looking at buying a 12,000 grit chinese waterstone from classicshaving.com, and I wanted to know if this stone is the finest stone needed to get the sharpest edge?

bill

No, it won't produce the sharpest edge, but it will be enough to give a very nice edge.

I really like the edges my C12k gives me. They are slow, but very fine finishers. The sharpest edge? I have no idea what hone does that... but I bet it's very expensive.

The Chinese 12K is one of the finishing stones that will give you a shave ready edge. There are many others ranging in grit levels to 30K and beyond. To better understand how this stone relates to the other choices do a search on Chinese 12 K. It's been discussed extensively. The general consensus is that it is inexpensive, will produce a fine edge and is a very slow cutter.

As far as the sharpest edge goes, that raises a question far too complicated to answer with a recommendation of one stone.

Originally Posted by conan

I was looking at buying a 12,000 grit chinese waterstone from classicshaving.com, and I wanted to know if this stone is the finest stone needed to get the sharpest edge?

bill

There may well be finer stones but not at that price range

Originally Posted by conan

get the sharpest edge?

bill

Getting that is more in the hand of the honer than in the hone IMO. +1 to what the other gentlemen said on the Chinese stone.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

No, it won't produce the sharpest edge, but it will be enough to give a very nice edge.

+1 and
some C12K are not as fine as others so try it with lather too.
Lather will make it SLOWER but also make it act finer.
Hone with a light touch....

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

+1 and
some C12K are not as fine as others so try it with lather too.
Lather will make it SLOWER but also make it act finer.
Hone with a light touch....

and use it knowing that a high lap count will be required. I use 100 laps minimum.

Theres a difference between sharpness and smoothness as well. I have both the Shapton and Naniwa hones and I prefer the edge off the 12k Naniwa to the one off the 16k Shapton. The Naniwa gives a much smoother edge than the Shapton, which can feel a little harsh, to me anyway. So its not all about the highest possible grits..!

Get the naniwa 12k super stone from straight razor designs if you want a 12k hone, its a lot better than the chinese 12k. Not as cheap but its an awesome hone to finish on.