Need a polishing stone

I am new to straight razor shaving, but have sharpened knives for years. I use a 2k/4k Norton combo stone for knives, and the 4k/8k seems what everyone recommends for beginners. I won't buy a 4k/8k since I have the 4k, but might buy an 8k or just a higher polishing stone.

The 4k does not really seem that much finer than the 2k to me, so I am wondering if the 8k is really that big a jump. Maybe I'd be better just buying a finer stone altogether?

I used to use paper to finish my knives, but ran out, so now I finish with the 4k Norton. I miss the extra sharpness.

I am not familiar with a 2k/4k is this an older Norton Waterstone?????

Prolly just a mis-type, Glenn. I was kind of wondering the same thing, but meh...

BV, you might want to consider getting something higher grit in the future (the Chinese 12k stones are still dirt cheap, and fine, FINE finishers IMHO), but for now I'd go with the 8k, and just leave it at that. There's a member that floats around here called Disburden who likes to point out that, "Way, WAY back in the day last year, people were shaving off the Norton 8k..." by which he means to indicate that anything finer is a preference matter. Functionally, as Jimmy also indicated, the edge left by an 8,000-grit surface is magnificently sharp. Given that you have sharpened knives on a 4k stone, you're already familiar with something above and beyond what most people have experienced with their Wal*Mart stone sets. Imagine how much sharper something like a razor, with its ultra-thin construction, will be after finishing with a stone that's twice as fine as your knife finisher!

The 2k/4k is not a mistype, but probably a mistake. It looks just like the yellow/white 4k/8k they sell now, but I remember my finest being a 4k not 8k, so I have to look when I get home. I bought this stone in 2007, so it could also be an old stone.

Either way, I want something finer, even if I don't need it to shave or cook dinner.

Where can I find one of these "Cheap Chinese 12k" stones everyone talks about.

You can find those natural Chinese 12k waterstones here. It takes a little while for them to ship, but in my humble opinion, it's worth the wait. I went with the smaller stone, and I can't see wearing it out in my lifetime. But, if you like to sharpen a lot, you could go with the larger stone.

All this aside, I've found that the best way to use this stone is to build a slurry (I use a cheap EZLap diamond hone from Wal*Mart), then after every twenty strokes or so spritz with water to dilute some of the slurry until you're working against pure water and clean stone. That's when the C12k REALLY starts to polish. Unfortunately, it is glacially slow, so if you've got deep scratch patterns on the blade, you're gonna be working it a lot to polish those out. This is not like one of the synthetic uberstones that goes from butterknife to atom-splitter in fifteen strokes. But with patience, you can get some magnificient results from this stone.

How slow is glacially? If I get something as sharp as possible on a Norton 8k, I don't understand how polishing could really take that long - we are talking about removing a very small amount of metal.

I got my c12k at woodcraft it was 35 bucks for the 2.75 inch width. No waiting cause i am impatient:). I went straight to the store.

+1 go to Woodcraft if possible

Also you might read this thread and the link in it for more info about the PHIG (People's Hone of Indeterminate Grit)

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...nese-hone.html