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  1. #1
    rock collector infamous's Avatar
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    Default Why are nortons so popular?

    I'm a cook and I come from the world of kitchen knives where nobody really uses nortons. In fact I don't even think mark at chefknivestogo even sells them and he carries almost everything. Now all of a sudden I come to the world of straight razors and everybody is using nortons. What is it about them that makes them so popular?

    edit

    Also, do nortons use japanese or american grits?
    Last edited by infamous; 03-11-2011 at 02:57 AM.

  2. #2
    what Dad calls me nun2sharp's Avatar
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    A large honing surface, easy to use and understand due to its consistency. Natural stones have a lot of variance in cutting ability. Nortons can be depended on. Almost everyone here at one time or another has had or used or are stlll using the Nortons. Nortons can be bought in a number of grits or combinations of grits for versatility.
    It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled. Twain

  3. #3
    This is not my actual head. HNSB's Avatar
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    Everything nun2sharp said, plus they are a bit more affordable than most of the other popular synthetic hones.

    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.

  4. #4
    Does the barber shave himself...? PA23-250's Avatar
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    They're relatively cheap, simple, low maintenance (they need very little lapping except for cleaning @ the pressures we use for honing) & reliable. They're not the best @ any one thing, but they're excellent all-rounders. That & practically everyone has used them so there's lots of advice if somebody new runs into a problem. Also, you can get a very good shave straight off the 8K.

    Quote Originally Posted by infamous View Post
    I'

    Also, do nortons use japanese or american grits?
    Pretty sure they don't use JIS--I think I remember reading the 8K Norton is about 6K JIS.

  5. #5
    rock collector infamous's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PA23-250 View Post



    Pretty sure they don't use JIS--I think I remember reading the 8K Norton is about 6K JIS.
    That doesn't sound right, if they use american it would be the other way around I think. And thats confusing because if people are saying it should be so sharp at such and such grit, what grit are they talking about? I'm only used to Japanese grit because I've only ever used Japanese stones. At first I thought all waterstones used Japanese grit and American grit was for sand paper.

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    I did my own research and nortons use japanese grit
    Last edited by infamous; 03-11-2011 at 04:05 AM.

  6. #6
      Lynn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by infamous View Post
    I'm a cook and I come from the world of kitchen knives where nobody really uses nortons. In fact I don't even think mark at chefknivestogo even sells them and he carries almost everything. Now all of a sudden I come to the world of straight razors and everybody is using nortons. What is it about them that makes them so popular?

    edit

    Also, do nortons use japanese or american grits?
    They work very well for straight razors. They are consistent and reliable.

    How many straight razors has Mark sharpened since he started handling straight razor sharpening products in addition to his knife sharpening stock???? You don't need to answer.........lol.

    Have fun,

    Lynn

  7. #7
    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
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    Think of them like the Chevy of the razor sharpening world.
    No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero

  8. #8
    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thebigspendur View Post
    Think of them like the Chevy of the razor sharpening world.
    I think of them as the Glock. They ain't pretty but they always work and the last and last .... unless you're Lynn Abrams, then they last until they are worn clean out .... still a mighty long time.
    Be careful how you treat people on your way up, you may meet them again on your way back down.

  9. #9
    Hones & Honing randydance062449's Avatar
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    Yes, they use the Japanese grit rating system. They came along well before the Shapton Glass & Naniwa hones. At that time they were the most effective hone available for straight razors, consistent in performance, sufficently aggressive so that it did not take hours to get a great edge and reasonable cost. That combination gave them a great big head start over over the others. They are still my "go to" hones.
    Randolph Tuttle, a SRP Mentor for residents of Minnesota & western Wisconsin

  10. #10
    Senior Member blabbermouth 1OldGI's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thebigspendur View Post
    Think of them like the Chevy of the razor sharpening world.
    That explains it, I'm a Ford man therefore I don't own a Norton 4K/8K...no...wait, actually I'd love to have one but haven't scraped together the required $$$ Maybe one day.
    The older I get, the better I was

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