Thread: what do I really need ? Where should I go ?

I currently have a Norton 1k / 4k combo stone. A 5k and 8 k Chinese stones ordered from Poland ,and a 12 k Chinese stone. I can shave off these stones and am fairly happy with my cheap stones. What can I do to step it up a notch and improve my honing at a reasonable cost? I want a sharper and smoother edge. I've got a good edge but I'm still not as good as a razor honed by the professionals ( Larry, Glenn or Lynn) Thanks your input will be greatly appreciated.

Assuming that the 5k and 8k stones you have are quality, all you need to do is practice more. IF those two hones are good, you don't need anything else to get really great edges. I had, used, and loved my C12k for quite some time. I only moved to other hones because (one was a gift and another was a lucky buy in a lot and) they are faster finishers.

It's not the hones, it's how you use them.

Well the quality of the 5k and 8k stones are totally unknown to me, so I can't answer that question.

Practice for a few months and see if you learn anything and your edges improve. If you stick with the same stones, even though you said you get good edges now, you're edges will get better the more you use them.

The reason Lynn and the others get such good edges is they've been doing this for years, they have a ton of practice.

its probably your technique its all about having a lite touch how many laps do you do on the c-12 and is it with water or a slurry but here is a trick if you want to improve your edge with out spending alot of money buy some chromium oxide liquid from chefknivestogo.com it will make your edge 's very sharp