Thread: Chinese 12K in Place of Barber Hone

I think the c12k (the one from woodcraft) would be fine. I've had less luck with another C12k that I got elsewhere - it's not as smooth, but the one that I got from woodcraft eons ago has been quite good.

if you let the woodcraft-sold version settle in (i.e., don't scuff it all the time to get it to cut fast), then technique and light pressure is not quite so critical, it will polish an edge very well with just about any technique short of high pressure or one where the edge doesn't actually get to the stone.

The times that I've used mine like that, I've gotten a very brightly polished edge, and a good shave straight off the razor with no other pastes or powders. Keeping pastes and powders away from it means that the next time it comes to the stone, it'll hone easily right back to perfect, only removing the little bit of the edge that is actually wear on the razor.

If you want a side to scuff up, you can always use the other side of the stone. The particles are large enough that when they're refreshed, they leave a cloudy edge that's in my opinion, more in the 6k range.

It is a polishing vs. cutting issue. Something coarser like a coticule will cut a little more, but be more sensitive to technique and maybe less convenient to use in my opinion.

If I used pastes and powders, I would probably have an altogether different opinion, because the C12 would cut slowly once settled in, unless you used a scuff/slurry side, and the difference between the slurried side and the side that's been allowed to wear is so drastic that it takes the stone itself a while to remove it's own scratches from the slurry side.

All in all, though, I could easily get by with a PHIG from woodcraft as my only stone if I had to, and spend no more than a minute a week on a razor that was a daily user in shaving shape.