Thread: My first hone

Originally Posted by Servant4Christ

Looks nice!

I'm right behind ya, plan on picking up my first hones here in the next month or so. I'll probably go with the set that is sold on WhippedDog.com. It comes with 1/2 hones in the 4k/8k combo to learn on......

Good luck!

Joshua

Larry at Whippeddog provides a great service providing starter blades to the community and I recommend his razors without hesitation. However, I don't think anyone should try to learn honing on a half hone. A Norton is a great tool and its dimensions allow good heel to toe support of the blade (3") and a productive stroke length (8"). Half of a good tool is less than what it sounds like.

There are lots of shorter and narrower hones in use, barber's hones and coticules and rare old finishers, and they work just fine. But I think if you pinch your pennies just a little longer and get a full-sized Norton, you'll have a far better learning experience and a more useful lifelong tool.

Best wishes