'Affordable' 8000 grit stone

Deciding that honing is something i want to become profecient at (i enjoy sharpening blades of all kinds) i'm looking for an 8000 grit stone. However the prices are incredible ! I picked up a Japanese combi-stone (1000 & 6000) and nagura for £30 a few years back. I don't begrudge paying that sort of money for what is, essentially, 'a stone'.

However looking at prices for an 8000 the price really rockets. The absolute cheapest i can find is about £50 not including shipping. Is there really no cheaper alternative ?

In the uk... think realy cheaper they dont go.
Razor Hones

Thanks for the link.

NB - Going to be back in Amsterdam again myself in a month or two :). Best city in the world

I have a "king" 8k.. It works fine.

I've actually been looking around the last couple of days for the cheapest starter hones I can find. Anyway, I in no way vouch for this but for what it's worth I've seen people calling Dragon's Tongue 8k-10k grit on eBay: Slate Honing Stones for sale by Inigo Jones

Someone else can comment on whether it's suitable or not; I know nothing.

The Dragon's Tongues are good stones imo especially for the price.

The Yellow Lake is a good alternative as well the one i got from UK in cardboard sleeve not salmens turn out to be in the 9k range
definately a little finer then 8k norton, i use mine as a pre-finisher.

There are quite a few naturals which might fit the bill, although there may be an element of luck involved.

After my king 6k I have a selection of cheap naturals I turn to. For £30 you could get a small coticule, a big Chinese natural or a Muller grindstone. At worst you may get something slightly below 8k at best you may get a high end finisher.

Belgian Coticule Hones
New Chinese Water Hone Waterstone for straight razor | eBay
Olivia's handgemachte Naturseifen

Thanks for the info chaps :)

Dear Prophet:

I understand your hesitation for spending large amounts of money for a "stone" but this is why they are expensive:

1- the man made stones are expensive because of their facilities and engineers and all that jazz
2- natural stones are expensive because of a) costs of excavation and mining b) rareness of the stones and supply vs demand.

I hope you have a good decision at the as to what to do

Dan

If you look at synthetic stones, even the cheaper ones. Once you get to 8000 grit the price usually doubles, that isn't a coincidence. They know 8000 grit is the most common marker for getting a razor edge be it razors or wood working tools. The only way to find them cheaper is to go natural, but even then there is no guarantee of the grit comparison when buying cheap naturals.

Here is the cheapest UK vendor that I have found so far.

Regards,
Neil

IME I can produce a great edge with a king 1000/6000 and a (so called) Chinese 12K as sold on Ebay or The Invisible Edge if you put a Dragons tongue in the progression that will help bridge the gap from the 6000 to C12K. You'll also need a little diamond plate to raise a slurry on the 6000 side to help bridge the gap from 1000 to 6000.

Dear Prophet (or consicering your Avatar, should I call you admiral Ackbar?:D),

sharpening supply does not come cheap. I know this won't change your generousity in this regard,
but a sharpening stone is not a stone unless it is a naturally occourring rock. Mor often than not it is a piece of ceramic
that took a lot of engineering to make. My point is, if you go cheap on your stones you might regrett it and miss out on some of the nicest experiences in the honing department.

But of course you can use the minimum setup. The King 1k/6k has been discussed, and there are some other Kings out there.
You should check out Workshop Heaven - Fine Tools because they carry a lot of cheap kings. But be warned, they are not the common standard.

Anyway, there is an alternative that really gets popular over at B&B. It is called lapping film. You can get it from workshopheaven, too.
The lapping film is designed for high industrial standard and works perfectly fine for all kinds of razors.
All you need is a flat surface like float glass, mirror etc. and a sheet of each grit:
5µm for sharpening, 1µm for polishing (as long as your razors are in good shape!)

That would be a total of 5GBP.
The sheets you can buy can be cut into several smaller sheats. Every sheat lasts for a couple of razors.
The results are magnificent. Here is a link with some pictures

Cerax 8000 is the best stone here. then with naniwa 10000. then you have the best razor.