Thread: Smiths tri stone

And there lies the problem with your recommendation...

With naturals I am sure you understand that it is each stone, that counts, not a general characterization of the stones...

So therefore My Snow White could very well be a much better polisher than any Black Surgical/Translucent there is no way of knowing unless you honed on it or I honed on your Surgical Black/Translucent...

So to say, that a Newb buying a Surgical Black could very well get a dud stone also, and never even realize that doing 100-300 laps is totally a waste of time ... Where then the consistency issue rears it's ugly head, to expect anyone but a true expert honer to do even 100 laps without messing up is a lot... Yet to have a newb try that is a joke, sorta like me honing Blindfolded and Hopping on one foot...
Your trying to compare knife honing with razor honing and with me, you are going to hit a brick wall every single time...

I would not recommend any Arkansas stone for a "new" razor honer let alone a $30 tri hone system... I don't even really recommend natural stones of any kind to Newbs, it adds another variable into an already complicated art...

Sorry, I didn't read all the repies. I can tell you this, I have a tri hone system myself. They do come in handy, and yes, you can use them for razor, You just need a good finisher, they're good for bevel work, chips, etc...

Also, if you get one at Hall's Arkansas stone, Jim Hall will put any stones you want in it.
So, if you want a Soft Arkie, a Translucent, and a Surgical Black, He'll hook you up, if not, let me know, and I'll help you out...

I will definitely take all the great advice into consideration, and finally decide so then I think my question becomes what should I start with, A norton set from SRD or another choice? As I have been saying I want to get into therestoration aspect but can't see myself restoring the blade and scale then having to send it out to be honed, I may as well learn myself so I'm looking for recommendations.

norton, naniwa,shapton, coticule, pastes, whatevah.

Get proficient with whatever system you decide to with before you even think about buying more hones.

Originally Posted by joshb1000

I will definitely take all the great advice into consideration, and finally decide so then I think my question becomes what should I start with, A norton set from SRD or another choice? As I have been saying I want to get into therestoration aspect but can't see myself restoring the blade and scale then having to send it out to be honed, I may as well learn myself so I'm looking for recommendations.

gssix when the stones are tested for density and graded by a reputable miner i'm confident in they're consistency there may be a little variation in arkansas stones and if you can pick it you must be better than me,unless it's rock that's formed in small pieces it's sometimes thousands of tons formed in one piece that is the same through out my family have worked in quarries for several generations,is your snowy white softer than another piece of quachita maybe is it a better polisher than surgical black definitely not if you don't believe that talk to the people that mine the noviculite,i guess all of us that do more than 100 laps without messing up are expert honers what makes honing a razor so difficult?? why can't a "newb" learn to use any stone they want?? it's not rocket science yet it's shrouded in the not for newbs mystery the design allows for extreme ease of sharpening and i'm not comparing it to knife honing,honing knives isn't that hard either but requires more concentration than a razor no need to be a physics wizz to succeed in this already complicated task,if you read the posts properly you would have read that i said bench stones would be better definitely didn't recommend a tri-hone i don't tell others to use something that i never would and there was no other recommendation of any stones just what i have experienced over years of use

I purchased the tri-hone setup two months ago, but my intention was to sharpen my pocket knives with it. It works fine for pocket knives, is inexpensive and convenient. I haven't considered using the coarse stone for anything, but I might give it a try as a bevel setter to allow me to set a bevel with less pressure than I've found necessary with my 220 and 1K Nortons. After breadknifing (the only part of honing at which I am currently proficient), I've had to spend hours on either the 220 or the 1K with no pressure. I usually get impatient with the time that takes and start using pressure to get the bevel set more quickly. Doing that has produced poor results and ugly bevels, so I may try the coarse stone tomorrow and move up from there to the 600 and switch over at at that point to the 1K Norton. Given my results so far, it's worth a try.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

And there lies the problem with your recommendation...

...snip...
I would not recommend any Arkansas stone for a "new" razor honer let alone a $30 tri hone system... I don't even really recommend natural stones of any kind to Newbs, it adds another variable into an already complicated art...

+1 on that.
The modern man made water stones are just too good.

There is a reason the 8K or better hones cost what they do.

The tri-hone kits are OK for knives but the finest hone in the
Tri-hone kit is less than ideal so why pay for the the other two
that we know are wrong.

Having said bad things -- the tri-hone kit is great for what
it does well but razors are not on that list.

Better to bid $15 on a small Carborundum 101 Razor hone in the
last 30 seconds and try to get lucky on eBay.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I am exactly that person that Randy mentioned, I started with a straight razor and a very fine Ouachita Snow White stone, that back in 1981, when I bought it that puppy it ran me $105...

..

Wow Glen,

Getting a good shaving edge off a washita (Ouachita) is hard core. I don't think I could do that.

I have got very refined silky smooth edges off of translucents. The surface has to be very smooth and the razor should be refined to an 8k level first. Then you are looking at many laps and good concentration. I do it for fun once in a while and rarely dissapointed for the extra time spent, but I can totally understand why you pros would not do it all the time. I use water with a little dishwashing soap.

I have never used them for bevel work with so many faster alternatives. Even most oil stone users opt for carb stones for the preliminary work these days. I think if you are going to use the trihone for razors, it would be wise to prep the stone properly, making sure the edges are well chamfered and if the surface is grainy by giving it a bit of lapping on sandpaper and trying it out.

Originally Posted by Alucard73

gssix when the stones are tested for density and graded by a reputable miner i'm confident in they're consistency there may be a little variation in arkansas stones and if you can pick it you must be better than me,unless it's rock that's formed in small pieces it's sometimes thousands of tons formed in one piece that is the same through out my family have worked in quarries for several generations,is your snowy white softer than another piece of quachita maybe is it a better polisher than surgical black definitely not if you don't believe that talk to the people that mine the noviculite,i guess all of us that do more than 100 laps without messing up are expert honers what makes honing a razor so difficult?? why can't a "newb" learn to use any stone they want?? it's not rocket science yet it's shrouded in the not for newbs mystery the design allows for extreme ease of sharpening and i'm not comparing it to knife honing,honing knives isn't that hard either but requires more concentration than a razor no need to be a physics wizz to succeed in this already complicated task,if you read the posts properly you would have read that i said bench stones would be better definitely didn't recommend a tri-hone i don't tell others to use something that i never would and there was no other recommendation of any stones just what i have experienced over years of use

I read you recommending a Tri-hone/Arkansas to a newb Razor restorer which in my experience with Razors is a waste of money... I also read the infamous Honing is easy statement, which I so love to see as I count the posts in the Hones, Honing, and Beginners Forums, on all of the Razor fora of guys that are asking for help because it is sooooooo easy...
Basically saying it nicely, I think you wrong

Now all that being said, Yes you can use any stone you want, but in my life I have learned that numbers never lie... And at this time I don't know of one person that hones any number of razors that actually hones on a Arkansas stone.. as I said before it is "Quaint" and you can maintain a good shaving edge on them, but when a Newb looking to Restore razors asks what stone he should use that is not my first choice or even in the running in fact that would be the last stone if all else fails option...Now I understand that stung your feelings as you seem to have a true love for the stones but I am sorry that is just the wrong choice of stone in this case....

Now if you would like to discuss the qualities of Arkansas stones further I would be happy to do so by PM.

Originally Posted by Kingfish

Wow Glen,

Getting a good shaving edge off a washita (Ouachita) is hard core. I don't think I could do that.

I have got very refined silky smooth edges off of translucents. The surface has to be very smooth and the razor should be refined to an 8k level first. Then you are looking at many laps and good concentration. I do it for fun once in a while and rarely dissapointed for the extra time spent, but I can totally understand why you pros would not do it all the time. I use water with a little dishwashing soap.

I have never used them for bevel work with so many faster alternatives. Even most oil stone users opt for carb stones for the preliminary work these days. I think if you are going to use the trihone for razors, it would be wise to prep the stone properly, making sure the edges are well chamfered and if the surface is grainy by giving it a bit of lapping on sandpaper and trying it out.

Not hardcore, that stone is what I was told I needed, I didn't know better, there was no SRP back then... I did 40 or so laps on that stone using honing oil evey week or so and it kept my two razors shaving .... Life was simple...