Thread: Which hone first?

Never heard of the second hone and the grit of a Swaty can only be guessed at. From the info I have the finest grit size available & used in those days was a grade called 1200F. To use an analogy... it was put thru a sieve that allowed all grains 1200 grit and finer to pass thru. From the size distribution graphs I have seen this corresponds to about 6000-8000 grit by todays standards. But... as Hi_bud_gl mentioned, there were additional processes performed in the making of some barber hones that would reduce that grain size. If those processes were used to make the Swaty I do not know.

Hope this helps,

Originally Posted by souschefdude

Awhile back I purchased a Franz Swaty hone. Recently I also acquired an Edlis Special No. 715 hone. Both are identical in size, and almost identical in color. The Edlis, though, seems softer, more clay-like, as opposed to the Swaty which seems granite-like.
So which one would I use first, after coming off my Norton 8K.
I tried comparing results in a loupe, but couldn't tell much difference.

Let's go back to the question of the OP.

I basically think most of us never compared both hones directly. I am afraid souschefdude has to find out himself. And please report the results of his efforts on this forum. Grit size isn't everything. Spiked honing particles give a different result from rounded particles (e.g. diamond hones will give a less smooth edge than the garnets of coticules). For relatively hard steel a relatively soft hone is recommended and vice versa. Even the lubricant used makes a difference some say. E.g. kerosine or honing oil is said to give a smoother edge than water. I do not like using oil as it clogs up the pores. So I cannot say this from personal experience. Using slurry makes a difference as well, coticule slurry tends to downsize the grit value of the hone.

I hope this helps.