Thread: Dedicated Bevel Setting ....

Honing is all about the bevel
Getting the bevel set is 90% of the work
Bevel, bevel, bevel
It really is all about the bevel

Those are just a few I am sure I have said a few more

So if it really is all about the bevel, then here is a rundown of Bevel setters I have personally used or own...

Norton 1k "The King" the "30-06 of bevel setters" IMHO everything else is compared to this hone everything is either faster or slower than the Norton 1k, it either cuts smoother or deeper then the Norton 1k... This is a workhorse hone, although considered by some to be on the soft side, personally I don't really think that is a factor at Razor honing pressure...This is one of two 1k stones that is always soaking in water in my Shave Den.... Let's leave the Norton 1k as the standard to judge the others by so if I say fast or smooth it is compared to a Norton 1k ...

Shapton GS 1k Fast, smooth cutter leaves no deep scratches, but not a hone that I would look at for a dedicated bevel setter, I look at this hone as part of the Shapton system....

Naniwa SS 1k Smooth, rather than fast, great feedback, but again I would not consider this a hone to go buy as a dedicated bevel setter, but rather as part of a Naniwa honing system...

DMT 1200 Fast, accurate,and no maintenance, but a deep cutter, this plate leaves scratches that take extra work to pull out at the next level...

King 1k Smooth rather than fast, this is a great hone to use on full hollows as it leaves a very smooth finish but it is not my choice for wedges, this hone sits soaking in my shave den next to the Norton 1k... Also a plus for this hone, is it is Economical and Available in many places locally...

Japanese Ato I have only used this once to set a bevel, it is not a option I would use often, but as a niche system for people that want a full natural Japanese progression it does work and it works pretty good...

Chosera 1k Expensive, but honestly this one is probably the best dedicated bevel setter I have used, in fact I waited to do this write up until after I had used this hone on a few SS razors to make sure it worked all around...

Yellow Coticule Again a niche system, this is usable for mild bevel setting but not a serious option for heavy lifting...

Any of the 2k-4k Synthetics using a Nagura or slurry, Again these like a Coticule can be pressed into service to set a mild bevel but are not good options for a dedicated bevel setter that needs to do heavy cutting...

Natural finishers with slurry, Usable to a certain degree on mild bevel setting but these are "make do" systems and not a dedicated bevel setter they do however leave a very smooth bevel

Please understand that I am not saying that many of the slurry systems will not work, but I do not consider them a dedicated system for setting bevels....

1k Wet-r-Dry Sandpaper, Yes you can, yes it does work, but it cuts deep into the steel, so it can be a bear and a waste of steel to get the bevel smooth again.. This is especially noticeable on full hollows


Some things I did not mention,

Glazing and/or Loading of the hone/stones I consider this as a non-issue every razor starts with a clean surface in my house I do about 5 figure 8's with a 325 lapping plate before each razor touches the surface....

Dishing or softness issues, again a non-issue in my house because of the figure 8's and I think these are greatly exaggerated as the pressure we use with honing razors should not create dishing anyway...

Lower then 1k hones, I left these out because I consider that to be restoration and not part of honing, that is what I do before I set the bevel

Do you even need a dedicated bevel setter ??? really only you can answer that, what I can say is that starting a razor off with a clean, sharp, even, bevel will greatly improve your chances of honing succes...


Please feel free to add your experiences with your bevel setting adventures, however please keep in the back of your mind I am talking about setting bevels here.. As in dedicated bevel setter, not I set the bevel on my brand new Dovo (ie: mild bevel setting), but I ripped the steel on a beat up E-bay W&B wedge can it do the heavy lifting???