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Just ordered the Norton WaterStone 3 Piece Set from SRD. I can't wait for them to get here! I've never honed my own razors before, but from the wealth of information I've gotten from the good folks in this community, I don't think I'll do too bad. Wish me luck!
Good Luck!!!!! Great set of rocks to have, they will serve you well.
That's a good start. A bevel setter, a sharpener and a polisher. You'll do well. Remember to read LOTS, and if at any point while honing you become frustrated....put the razor down. Excessive honewear is no ones friend. Problem solve, think about it, pick it back up and sit down at the stones. No need to be a bull in a china shop :)
Good luck!
Good luck, I also read everything I could before I started, and still ended up sending my razors out to get done after I trashed the edges lol, it can be frustrating. Maxi has a good point, once you are frustrated and just can't get it you will just make it worse so just take a short break and come back to it later. Oh and I have the same stones they are great.
Pick yourself up a cheap razor. Look around the classifieds, or local antique shops. Use it to practice on.
The Norton's are pretty user friendly, but there is a learning curve. It takes a bit to get the feel of it.
Check out Lynn's pyramid honing method on the wiki...Ask for help if you need it...
Rich
Let the good times roll...
Excellent start and whats great is there is so much info here to guide you along.
Thanks guys. I got them on Monday, spent that evening soaking and lapping them. Well y'all were definitely right, there is a learning curve! It takes some getting used to to keep the razor flat on the hone with one hand, so I've been using two instead. Been practicing with an old Challenge Razor I got for 15 bucks. I didn't expect to be able to get a perfect edge being a novice, but it's frustrating when I'm doing everything that I've been advised and it doesn't turn out lol. Practice makes perfect and I'm not giving up though. I walked away from the table many times (great advice by the way).
Just got started with str8's bought one from an antique store. bought whetstones honed on it and honed on it didnt get an edge tell I watched this. gssixgun Honing on a Norton 4-8 - YouTube as you can see he uses pressure on the edge to set the bevel which I wasnt doing. when I did that I got an edge. watch it maybe you will pickup something that will help.
I'm confident you'll get the hang of it, and once You do, you will be able to take care for your own razors - and this is one hack of a feeling!Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffC79
This IS a great advice, and not only when i comes to honing :)
BTW, does anyone of you guys know how/where to get Norton 4000/8000 in Europe (I have found one company that sells Norton 4000/8000 for the price of £74.95, and that gave me a good laugh; also, they charge £16.95 for the Norton Prep Stone (AlOx slurry "wee little stone" ;) ) - enough said...
Thx!
That sounds about right sadly... most waterstones are way more expensive in the uk and europe than in the states..
That does help thanks! Where can I find a good slurry stone? I have been in Ace HW, Lowe's, Home Depot, and other supply stores and no one seems to know what the heck I'm talking about. It's frustrating, there's a bit of a language barrier where I'm at and it just makes me think, do they really know what I'm asking for??? Or are they just saying they don't have it because they have no clue what it is?
You don't really need a slurry stone. Learn to use the Nortons on their own first, that's the foundation you should have before you worry about other things like slurry.
Well can I use my 220 or even my lapping stone to clean off my 4k and 8k like Glen uses his DMT?
Use the lapping plate for lapping and deswarfing (cleaning). The only reason that people use the DMT instead is because it's gauranteed flat, and it stays flat.
You can't use your lapping plate for slurry creation, because it will likely release some large grit into the slurry, which would be very bad. As mentioned though, you don't really need slurry. FWIW I honed eight razors on Nortons yesterday, and I didn't use slurry at all; I rarely do on synthetic hones.
I found that if you need other stones and help with materials, I went to Woodcraft, and bought some my stones there. Woodworking shops often use the same items for sharpening the lathe tools.
Yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adept
If you live in Europe, the best place to buy them is... still the US.
With the low dollar, and the fact that prices always seem to be pounds for dollars, it is much cheaper to buy in the US and pay the 15$ shipping fee. At least that was what I did for my stones.
I live in Belgium. Back when I bought my 8x3 coticule, it was cheaper for me to buy one from Howard (shipping included) than to just buy one here.
In fact, the cost of the coticule + a DMTD8C + shipping was still cheaper than the retail value of the coticule alone in a local store.