Thread: naniwa combo vs norton combo

Just learn to use the hones you buy. The more you complicate things the harder it will be for you to figure out what you're doing.

Originally Posted by gugi

Just learn to use the hones you buy. The more you complicate things the harder it will be for you to figure out what you're doing.

Totally agree with this, I remember a few years ago when I took the plunge I bought a ton of stuff I didn't need. To tell you the truth once I got a good shaving edge with one hone I tried other "finer" hones and remember not getting a whole lot different edge smoothness. Then I resorted to CrOx and that helped after about 2 years of honing tons of shaves and getting one comfortable edge with one stone I thought was the best I had SURPRISE! I tried honing on other lesser hones and got better shaves off them rather than my hone of choice.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you don't get a ultra comfortable shave of your one hone choice by means of skill its pretty pointless to try other hones since you won't be able to get the juice out of them.

Having used both, I feel compelled to throw my $0.02 in: I can't tell the difference between them when it comes to the shave, but I prefer the Norton due to its harder feel & easier soaking/lapping regimen. To me, it's more of a non-complaining workhorse--I always use it when I have a finicky blade--some technique on the Norton will always work for any usable blade; it's just a matter of which one the razor likes. It always works in the end, though. Always. It's also cheaper, which seals the deal in my book!