Thread: Which hone first?

Alright, here's my take on the matter.

First, what folks are talking about is how it was explained to me. If you can't get a great shave off an 8k, then it's the honer and not the hone. If you ARE already getting great shaves from the 8k, then you're ready to move on and only you get to decide when you're ready. It's sorta like the, 'the hone will come when the student is ready' philosophy.

On to barber hones, IMHO, you'll be better served with a larger desk hone instead of the barber hone. Go pick up a Chinese natural if you're interested in honing. It takes alot of laps to bring out that edge, but it's practice time on the hone. 100 laps on a Chinese stone will teach you honing much faster than a Naniwa 12k at 10 laps.