Thread: Best finishing stone for new guy?

What do you think would be the best finishing stone for a new guy
It would be nice to hear a few different opinions
any thoughts on a slurry stone would be apprecaited to

Has anybody had experience with the chinese stones I see on ebay
They are labeled finishing stones but they usually have a very reasonable price
I read some of the reviews of the chinese 12K, but im not sure if they are the same thing

I'm happy with the Naniwa SS 12K for finishing and for touch-ups.

The Chinese natural stones are a very good option, but they require some experience. If you don't have any, I would suggest something like a naniwa 12k (the naniwa super stones are quite cheap compared to the other synthetics) , sigma select 13k (a very good choice, but costs), shapton 10 or 12 or 15k etc etc. For a finishing stone, you don't really need a slurry stone, just plain water. But to answer your question, any high grit, hard stone will do the job, be that a coticule, a C12k or even a small piece of translucent arkansas. Many people prefer the norton 4k-8k combo. There are also the barber hones. Personally, the Chinese 12k stone is one of my favorites. Do you have a leather strop with any fine abrasive pastes or sprays or something like that? For a razor that doesn't quite feel as fine as it was when you first tried it, it might not need honing right now. A little stropping might be enough.

Being as you asked for best I would say to go with either the Naniwa SS 12K, Shapton Glass 16K or Sigma 13K. These are the most consistent finishing and refreshing stones available in my opinion.

Keep in mind that there is a lot of personal preference in "Best".

Have fun,

Lynn

Originally Posted by Quist

What do you think would be the best finishing stone for a new guy
It would be nice to hear a few different opinions
any thoughts on a slurry stone would be apprecaited to

Has anybody had experience with the chinese stones I see on ebay
They are labeled finishing stones but they usually have a very reasonable price
I read some of the reviews of the chinese 12K, but im not sure if they are the same thing

Best stone for a new guy could well be the best stone for an experienced guy. However as a new guy you may do better with a slightly soft stone.
The Naniwa 12k that Lynn mentioned jumps to mind as a good fit.

The inconsistency of the Chinese stones or C12k's hardly rates them as best only cheap.

If you buy a synthetic finisher don't worry about a slurry stone. You can make slurry every time you lap.

Any stone 8k or above can be a finisher. Choice is yours really, based on your needs. Now what do you need
Stay tuned you'll get more opinions, fo sho.

The finishers I bought and used in a chronological sequence: C12k, cotis, Naniwa 12k, Escher, thuri, Jnat, Shapton 12k, and various slate types in between these. If I were to buy only one as a beginner, it would be the naniwa no doubt. Fast, soft, big, relatively cheap, and very consistent, for me it was also the easiest to use out of all of the above.

Question: what are you using before the finishing stone? That could make a big difference. For instance, if using a DMT 8000 (D8EE) prior then a coticule or shapton 16k/30k would do you well. In my experience, finishing is a matter of price. I just don't get consistent results from the Chinese stones and for that reason, they sit on my shelf alone and unused. If money is an issue, go with a Norton 8k after the 4k, a Shapton 8k, one of the Naniwas mentioned above, a TPE White, or even one of the pressure sensitive 3M films on glass. Film finishing can be a bit tricky but when everything goes right you can get excellent results. You'll hear a lot of advice on this topic and one thing that's true is that there are a lot of ways to sharp! Have fun experimenting!

I have the Norton 1K 4K & 8K
I just straight razor shaved for the first time last night
I semi-restored, honed, stropped and shaved with a razor from ebay
although i dont think the razor was as sharp as it was supposed to be
Hot towel , Van Der hagen, shave, sample of Loyds after shave lotion

I think asking that question in this forum is like asking "which razor gives the best shave?"..... It really is based on the individual.. Saying that, I have a couple finishers, but I like my Thuringian as a finisher..But, I am not a honemeister... I just like the feedback of the stone.

I, myself, after 8 or 10K level synthetics like to use a natural stone to finish as it feels nicer to my skin. I used to use a Naniwa 12K but didn't like the edges after a while. There's naturals like: Coticules (although expensive now), Chinese12K/PHIG, old Thuringians you can find on ebay, etc. The chinese 12K stone can vary a lot it is a natural and from what I've read some are great some are not.



You can also go the easy route of just using a high grit paste like Chromium oxide on a strop after 8K-10K hones.
The biggest question is, how are your shaves after an 8K level honing? Great, ok, subpar?