Thread: Shapton pro and glass comparison

From my very limited experience working with the 3 different hone lines I find the Shapton Pro to be the hardest, then the Shapton glass then the Naniwa SS is the softest. The Shapton Pro is my favorite of the 3 because it does not require the frequent lapping that the Naniwa SS 8K seems to require. I have grown accustomed to the Norton 4/8 and the Shapton Pro is similar in feel. It does not clog up fast but I clean all hones frequently while honing.

Hope this helps,

Thanks randy, I am looking for opinions like this, keep them coming

I continue to experience no difficulty with the Naniwa Superstones. Actually, the softness is what I like about them for straight razors. As far as warping, I am at a loss. I have been using these and worn out a couple over the last few years and have never had any problem like that. I simply wet them until they quit drinking water, then use them with a spritz bottle. When done, I lap them under running water with a DMT 325 or Shapton GDLP and let them dry until the next use which might be daily, or weekly or monthly. As far as the Shapton Pro stones, I used to have an entire set. I think I still have a 4K around. I did not like the feel of these and found the results a little more inconsistent than with the Shapton Glass Stones. From a technique standpoint, I used all the stones in a similar manner with using firm pressure for bevel setting and then no pressure from the second set of circles on the 4K through finishing.

I really believe it is not a matter of the stones though, but of the personal preference you develop with the stone of your liking. Like the new shaver who invariably will find fault with the razor before the technique, new guys to honing, experience a similar thought process when it comes to stones. The good news is that there are a ton of nice hones out there and once a person becomes proficient at honing, the differences are slight.

Have fun.

I love the feeling of the naniwa hones, when lapped fresh. They have an incredible smooth feeling when honing, with a lot of feedback. The problem is, that if you use a bit more pressure for example on the 5k, it swarfs up in a matter of seconds, and the feedback changes considerably. And that is what I don't like about them. The Norton 4k is nice in this regard, it stays the same all the time, but the bad side is that the feeling of it isn't the nicest right from the start. I woudn't even think about getting a new set of hones if the feel of the nanis would stay the same for a bit more time.

I am not blaming the stones, they are very good, and I will continue to use them if I don't find a system that I like more.

PS: I would get the Chosera 5k and 10k if I would have the money, cause my favourite stone is their 1k performance and feel-wise.