Thread: Whats the Deal?

Looking up honing stones, i've seen some stupid expensive hones.. why is that? is there something wrong with something like what i'm shopping for below?

Amazon.com: Woodstock D1130 1000 Grit and 6000 Grit Japanese Waterstone: Home Improvement

Please help!
i'm trying to find something in a similar price range and grit selection.. i want something that i can use for regular upkeep and something if i need to put a new edge on one.. hence the 1000/6000 grit choices.
any and all information or feedback would be greatly appreciated.. new to honing

What are your plans for the stones?

Do you need to start from scratch/as in setting a bevel/ or are you just wanting to bring an edge 'back'!??

just trying to keep my edge's alive.. i'm not restoring or anything. i was thinking the 1000 grit for if i've got a lil more work to do.. just keeping my edge alive would be my most common use for the hone.. i sorta thought 6000 would be good for that

For general upkeep, I'd go with either a Swaty, which can be had for usually under $25 on ebay, or a pasted strop. You really don't need anything under 8K unless you need more than a blade refresh.JMO

I would think that the 6000 would be too coarse for finishing! I have experimented with shaving from a 1000 through a 12000. Trust me, it gets better as the blade becomes more 'Polished!'

Try this link! Let me kow how it goes!!

http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...lynn-glen.html

The way I see it the more expensive stones have to do with how they are made, the abrasive, how fast it works the finish it leaves etc.
Your pic shows what looks like King 1/6k combo which is two nice stones but the 1k is a bit slow and a bit soft compared to other 1k stones that are popular for razor honing. There is nothing wrong with going for King 1k, it is more of a personal choice what to go for rather than anything else, when we are talking about personal honing.

maybe a 4000/8000 norton..? 80$ is a lil more than i had in mind.. but if thats what i need

Just some food for thought:
1. Not a single one of the 30 reviews on that website were from a razor user.
2. Not many folks here would shave off a 6k on purpose.
3. Lots of folks here use a 4/8k Norton.
4. A barber hone is likely the cheapest alternative tho not appropriate for repair work on chips etc.

The way I see it you have a couple routes you can go

1 Pasted Strops get Dovo red and black and you will be set for awhile (probably set you back 10 dollars and some leather) Eventually will need a hone
2 get a vintage barber hone off Ebay (if you hunt around can probably get one for around 10 dollars) then you can get the hone you were looking at and be set to tackle just about anything.
3 Get the Norton 4k/8k and you can work with any razor with just that stone.

If money is the main concern I say hunt down a barber hone for now and then for a birthday or Christmas have some one get you the king hone or the Norton or treat yourself for that day

No matter which route you go you will be able to find help on the forum for the best way to use the tools at your disposal

I would go with a Norton 4k/8k. The 8k is enough for shaving off of it, the 4k is enough to do some work if necessary. You can raise a slurry on the 4k, that speeds things up considerably.