Thread: New hone?

Right now I have the norton 220/1000, 4000/8000, and a naniwa 10000.
I was wondering if I should go ahead and get a naniwa 12000 or it the 10000 is good as a final polish?

Thanks guys.

I think you'd have to ultimately decide for yourself which you prefer.

If I were you, I'd buy the 12k and sell whichever I didn't like as much.

They both work well, so I have them both! As you go into higher grits, the hones become more expensive and the improvement of the edge relatively becomes ever more expensive. You can get a very good quality of shave off of the 10k. The 12k might or might not make even a perceptible difference for you. You might get a better edge by improving your honing technique rather than investing in yet another hone.

Is the 10k good enough? Yes.
Is it as good as you want it to be? That's up to you.

Dylan's right. These stones are easily resold for nearly the same amount that you paid new, so the cost of buying and trying is pretty minimal.

On the other hand, you might also want to consider that the difference in the actual kernel size between a 10,000 grit hone and a 12,000 grit hone is ridiculously small, like tiny fractions of a micron small. What I'm saying is that if you finish one razor with a 10,000 grit stone and one razor with a 12,000 grit stone, then put on a blindfold and shave with both, I'd be amazed if you or anyone could consistently pick out the difference by actual feel.

Now one hone might have better feedback for you when you are sharpening. Or one hone might just fit better into the progression of other stones you use. Or one might have a nicer size. But I'm not sure that it will be entirely "worth it" to purchase and audition two stone that are so similar in grit.

How about a Shapton 16,000 or 30,000 plate? Just wondering if you've considered other alternatives too. Good luck!

Hi,

+1 on what has been said.

I got both the 10k & 12 K Naniwas, and at my level of honing skills (very much still a newbie), I couldn't tell the difference between the two on my 'test' razor, both in the shave or looking at the edge under a magnifier.

If you have the 10k, stick with it for a while.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Originally Posted by Trevorxgage

Right now I have the norton 220/1000, 4000/8000, and a naniwa 10000.
I was wondering if I should go ahead and get a naniwa 12000 or it the 10000 is good as a final polish?

Thanks guys.

The final answer is hidden in "Your personal shave test".

The Norton 4/8K has a well deserved reputation as a work horse.
Adding your Na10K is gravy and should do a deluxe job.

I have a Na12K and love it... but I can tell you that the strop
is more important. I would review your strop situation
before hinting that you need a finer hone more or less than
improvements to your strop situation.

My Na12K can give me a very harsh shave a lot like a Feather
factory blade. The second days shave with a Feather is better
for me than the first For my str8 stropping with a sub micron
pasted strop helps the Na12K edge calm down.

The difference between 10K and a 12K is so small that
I suspect a well selected submicron pasted strop like
a hard felt strop might be a better tool for that final
bit of polish/ finish. Start v. fine (0.25micron) you can move
to coarser on the same strop if you like but not the reverse.
My pasted hanging strop is inexpensive Tandy leather....
but I am "cheep" and wanted to tinker.

I too agree with what was said above, I have the 10k and the 12k stone. For me the is very little difference in edge quality off any of them.
It's a matter of personal preference which one to go for.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

My Na12K can give me a very harsh shave a lot like a Feather
factory blade. The second days shave with a Feather is better
for me than the first For my str8 stropping with a sub micron
pasted strop helps the Na12K edge calm down.

I have had the same issues with the 12k but it's still an awesome stone. I then smooth it out with an Escher but it hurts otherwise.

The 16K Shapton is actually a lot harsher even still.

I have found that using my Naniwa 12K with a light slurry (gasp! heresy?) makes the edge a lot smoother. When i started doing that, the razors got that smooth, "squeegie" not "Sharpie" feeling.

Just saying, but what do I know?