Thread: I finally cut my hones in half! Worked out great!

Well, historical argument is definitely convincing. But still there are personal preferences, and they are for wider stone.

Originally Posted by Zelenbakh

Well, historical argument is definitely convincing. But still there are personal preferences, and they are for wider stone.

If the only girl at the dance is ugly, and you wanna dance with a girl, then you are going to be dancing with an ugly girl.

Preference without a choice is not a preference, it's a lack of options.

The only modern hones available for straight razor honers are tool hones that happen to be 3 inches wide so that is what most modern straight razor honers learn to use so of course that is what they come to prefer.

I was hoping that the the OP would help answer the age old question of "does size matter?" There ain't much resolution here. I guess that's why it's an age old question.

Originally Posted by Utopian

If the only girl at the dance is ugly, and you wanna dance with a girl, then you are going to be dancing with an ugly girl.

Preference without a choice is not a preference, it's a lack of options.

The only modern hones available for straight razor honers are tool hones that happen to be 3 inches wide so that is what most modern straight razor honers learn to use so of course that is what they come to prefer.

I use natural stones, mostly Jnats, they are rather wide. The only thin one is escher and one coticule could be wider.

If one has to dance with an ugly girl, presumably a thin/narrow one would be chosen all things being equal. :-)

In all seriousness, thanks for all the great feedback on this thread. I enjoy SR shaving for many reasons, but one of the key reasons is that it’s 10,000% more fun and interesting than shaving with pressurized goo and a plastic disposable. A big part of the fun – at least for me – is being able to experiment with all sorts of different techniques and products. As an example, I’ve made a number of strops – some paddles, some hanging, some as narrow as 1 inch, some actually wider than 3 inches, some short, some long, some with balsa, some with chromium oxide, some with graphite, etc., etc., etc. Which one (or ones) work best? It’s entirely inconclusive (and will probably remain inconclusive), but I’m having a blast trying them all out. As this relates to hones, a narrow hone may or may not be best, but trying one out could be a lot of fun. I suspect, perhaps, that the “fun factor” played at least a small role in the OP’s decision to half his hones.

Again, thanks for the post and all the quality feedback.

So honed 2 razors last night. The hones worked great, but they worked great before. The size was exactly as I suspected and exactly what I wanted.

Oh and as far as the finger cutting goes, I definitely experienced that with my 12k Chinese, but these hones are a lot thicker and it didn't seem to be an issue. I don't have big hands though, so it might be different for others.

Thanks for all the posting everyone, it has kept things interesting!

Originally Posted by Utopian

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I do like your conversion of the 220 into a lapper!

Isn´t that a bit… dangerous? I mean, if the lapper isn´t even (or doesn´t stay even, and since it´s a hone as well, it is likely) the lapped hone won´t, as well. Plus, if the lapper is as big as the lapped hone, you will automatically use the middle part more than the sides… does this make sence to anybody else but me? kinda hard to explain… (Disclaimer: This is all theoretical and maybe I´m totally wrong and it works great in real life.)


Regards,
tok

You are right. The 220 or the dedicated Norton lapping hone will work just fine as long as they are regularly lapped themselves. Given how soft the 220 is, I suspect it will need it more often.

The one I made into a lapper is a 1/4 inch wider then the other hones, and is also a dedicated lapper. The other side of it is 1000grit and still flat so is usable as a bevel setter still.

*EDIT* I reread again I will definitely have to lap the lapping stone on a fairly regular basis. But you have to do that with any Norton lapping hone, and so far it doesn't seem to need it.

I was just wondering, whether it is such a good idea to use a soft hone, which is nearly the same size as the other hones as a lapping stone. Utopian answered it. But then again, if you have to lap the lapping stone, why don´t you use the stuff you use to lap it on your other hones? Anyway, as a (mostly) coticule user, lapping is something, I don´t do very often. And when i do it, I use silicone carbide on a marble plate and wet/dry paper.

Regards,
tok