I believe i have made a big mistake in buying a cheap hone from ebay. However, it may well be down to begginers technique, as i can not seem to get this blade sharp enough for a smooth shave. Is this a result of a cheap stone or poor technique?
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I believe i have made a big mistake in buying a cheap hone from ebay. However, it may well be down to begginers technique, as i can not seem to get this blade sharp enough for a smooth shave. Is this a result of a cheap stone or poor technique?
What is the stone?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DHughes5
8" SHARPENING HONING STONE KNIFE SCISSOR SHARPENER NEW on eBay (end time 09-Mar-11 00:56:06 GMT)
It gives no information about different grits.
I would guess that is a really low grit stone. These are usually just labelled "coarse and fine".
O.k. for knives, not so good for razors.
Yup, great hone for pocket knives. Useless for razors.
You need either a vintage barber's hone, a proper set of modern hones, or you need to send it out to a pro. I would suggest that you send it out to one of the guys offering honing services in the classifieds to repair the damage done by that hone, and then do a LOT of reading here and in the wiki before your next honing attempt.
Don't feel bad though. My first straight purchase was a 3-pack or completely useless zeepk razors, a zeepk hone and a zeepk strop. The whole bundle was a waste.
Nagura Stone 6000 / 8000 Grit Water Stone Sharpening on eBay (end time 02-Apr-11 02:20:26 BST)
Would that be more suitable, or should i just got for an expensive stone?
That is not an actual sharpening stone. It is a nagura stone that is used in conjunction with a wetstone.
Read through the "What Hones Do I need" link in my signature to get a better idea what you need.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DHughes5
I am new to sharpening razors but I am an experienced knife sharpener.
Stones get really expensive really fast. First you need a stone with a grit of approximately 1k and a stone fixer to flatten it. Then you will probably want to go to something between 4k and 8k. Combo stones have 2 different grits, 1 on each side, and they can help keep the cost down. Prepare to spend a couple hundred bucks just to get started.
I truly believe you can get into honing for around $100 or so. Around $75-80 for a 4K/8K Norton and another $25 or so for a Chinese 12K. You can set a bevel on the 4K, although it will take longer and more strokes than a 1K and finish on the 8K, and 12K.
You can buy a kit like this and have everything you need for $120
Amazon.com: Norton Waterstone Starter Kit: 220/1000 grit stone, 4000/8000 grit stone, SiC flattening stone: Industrial & Scientific
1k is the only stone i couldn't live withoutQuote:
Originally Posted by rjezuit
Agreed. I would skip the hit-and-miss PHoIG (People's Hone of Indeterminate Grit) and spend the money on a Norton 1k. The ability to set a good bevel in a reasonable amount of time is very important, and if your touch is light and your honing good you will get very good shaves straight off the 8k.Quote:
Originally Posted by infamous
I think the cheapest usable set up is a King 1000/6000 followed by a Chinese 12K
The jump from 1000 to 6000 is a little larger than you really want but you can use a cheap diamond stone (something like this) to raise a slurry to help bridge the gap, start with a slurry on the 12K and dilute down and you'll be OK.
Not an optimum set up but with time and effort it works OK.
If you are honing a bunch or razors, a 1K is indispensable. If you are honing 1 or 2 every once in a while I would still prefer the 4/8/12K. "Reasonable" time is in the eyes of the beholder. I like honing. I would rather do 200-300 strokes on a thuri or 12K than 20 on a 1K.
If you're not stuck on the idea of having a stone (or set of stones), a cheap alternative is microabrasive film, like that sold at Lee Valley:
3M Micro-Abrasives for Sharpening - Lee Valley Tools
From the site: "The 15 micron (approx. 1000x) removes steel quite quickly; the 5 micron (approx. 2500x) refines the edge to usable keenness; and the 0.5 micron (approx. 9000x) gives it a mirror finish."
I've found these films work really well on razors, and they're only a couple of bucks a sheet.
Mike
Sorry to highjack the thread, I'm new here and just wanted to know if the naniwa or the chinese 12k will suffice in basic maintenance of a professionally sharpened edge.
Apart from cost difference, it seems like chinese 12k offer 2 disadvantages:
Being a natural stone, results can vary. (grit levels)
It is a very hard stone and will take many more strokes to maintain an edge.
I'd like to know whether the cheaper price of the chinese 12k can make up for its disadvantages (in your opinion and from a practical standpoint). Forgive me for posting here, its pretty overwhelming the information out there and I didn't want to start a new thread with people redirecting me to the faq etc. I have read the archives here and I guess I wanted some confirmation personally before I commit to any of those choices. Or if you have better suggestions please tell me, personally I was under the impression that it's either barbers hone, polishing stone or pasted strops.
Some additional info in case it helps:
I have some experience in knife sharpening.
I plan to tape the spine.
I'd like to say hello to everyone also, and I value your opinions.
welcome to srp
It's not the hardness that makes it slow, there are plenty of hard stones that ar fast, soft ones too. It's just slow, unless you get one that isn't that slow...Quote:
Originally Posted by drgreen
Well, that's really something that you have to decide. The price and the function are really orthogonal quantities, so there's no objective way to determine an answer. I suppose people who like their PHIG would tell you cheaper is better, those who don't will tell you that you get what you pay for.Quote:
Originally Posted by drgreen
I had good results with mine, not amazing or anything. I currently own a set of naniwas, coticules, eschers, various other esoterics, but no PHIG or nortons. I eventually decided that I'd prefer a bit less clutter.
Try both and decide, you can still recover most of your money, so the cost of trying them out is less than the cost of owning them.
Thanks, I'm leaning towards the naniwa due to consistency.
I understand the superstones are much softer, will a lapping stone be necessary? Can I expect to get a lot of use out of it (nani12k) and not worry about buying other things for a long time, given I do everything right and not ruin the edge?
The superstones are on the softer end of the spectrum. You will without a doubt need a stone fixer to lap with.Quote:
Originally Posted by drgreen
In my limited experience I spend my time on a dull edge:
90% on 1k
9% on 2-5k aoto
1% on 8k kitayama
So to me a 12k seems like it's not the most important stone to have.
When I connected to that link it came up costing $180.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slartibartfast
Is this because you generally like to hone as an enthusiast? :hmmm:Quote:
Originally Posted by infamous
Or do you believe that most blades that need a refreshing (when a strop don't cut it) need to start from a grit level lower than what the nani/chinese 12k offer?