Thread: do i need a 1k?

i ordered a norton 4k/8k and a 12k from woodcraft. i've got a bunch of india stones. do i need to spend the whipout on a 1k or can i use an india stone for bevel setting?

You're off to a good start. The answer to your question is, it depends. FOr the longest time I just had the Norton 4/8 and did fine. I was able to create bevels but it took a bit longer than it would have on a 1k. What really depends is your budget and the number of razors you will be getting off ebay and local shops. For new razors the 4k is as low as you want to go. Lots of local finds and ebay purchases and wedges/semi wedges may prompt you to get a 1k. If the budget is a constraint work with what you have. After a few months or more you will know if you need the 1k. Yo are starting off with a good set of hones and won't be causing too much damage as quickly as if you had the 1k. I was using a rough oil stone also before I got the 1k. Bottom line is time is money. If you spend the money on the 1k and hone a lot of used razors needing attention you will save time. If you are just honing several razors a month you can save the money and invest a bit more time.

Good luck.

i'm not going to be getting rad, i hope. i have way too much stuff as it is. i just want to get a moderate number of razors and am almost there. i recently honed a hollow ground block plane blade to a flat bevel, and when people here talk about removing a lot of metal, i don't think it's approaching the amount i had to hone off that plane blade and that was totally manageable. i also once ground and polished a 6" mirror for a telescope and that was a lot of work. i figure after a certain learning curve i can do this. i've already gotten into making scales and learning how make rivets. this is fun.

there's a 1k on amazon for 25 bucks. that's not bad, if it's a good stone. i paid 106 bucks for the two stones from woodcraft.

Originally Posted by Noisykids

i'm not going to be getting rad, i hope...

Mick

Very much depends what you wish to do, and then it would depend on your other stones and how much you know how to use them.

I once read than not having a 1K (or equivalent, I use an 800 King) is like having one testicle; if you are setting bevels.

Of course it can be done on a 4K or a BBW and many other hones, but why make life difficult?

Sometimes I go lower than 800 if there are small chips.

i just read that the 12k needs to be lapped before use. what can i use to do this in the absence of a diamond plate? Scrub it back and forth on a cinder block?

Originally Posted by Noisykids

i just read that the 12k needs to be lapped before use. what can i use to do this in the absence of a diamond plate? Scrub it back and forth on a cinder block?

Before I picked up a DMT 8C, their 325-grit continuous diamond Course plate, I used wet/dry sandpaper on a flat surface and was always very happy with the results. Pick up a few sheets of 325 and 600 grit and spare yourself the horror of destroying your hone on a cinder block. YouTube is filled with all sorts of videos showing you how to do it.

i have a piece of plate glass, and the auto parts store is right down the street, but c'mon, there's got to be a way to make this complicated.

Originally Posted by Noisykids

but c'mon, there's got to be a way to make this complicated.

You could get an electron microscope to more accurately measure the flatness after lapping but that is totally optional.

don't tell me that. i'll head right to the library to get a book on how to make one and save a few bucks. when My Favorite Martian was on tv in the 60's Ray Walton made a laser with a slide projector. My parents were in the other room and my father said to my mother, wait, listen... and sure enough, I said, let's make one! there was a place in my town that made ruby rods and a buddy and i went to scope one out, but it was 800 1965 dollars, so that project never got off the ground. now you can buy laser pointers at hardware stores for 2 bucks. i have a trend of getting wacky ideas and following through to a point, and then losing interest. Hence the telescope where I could see the splashes on Jupiter from the comet which nows sits in a corner, and the 5-ton brick oven which gets fired once a year for pizza. that's why i can't go crazy with razors and hones. adult ADD and all that. got to keep a lid on some things. time will tell