Originally Posted by
sweeneychris
Hi guys I am looking to start doing my own honing, I have been sending my razors away but came to the conclusion that I should really start doing my own.
The only problem is I have a few questions if you could help:-
1,what grits should I have? Is there a few "must have's"
Start with a known synthetic: Naniwa 3/8K or Norton 4/8K & if you need to set the bevel a 1K from either. Shaptons are awesome & pretty much all I use, but not what I personally would recommend to a person learning to hone, as they could be a bit tougher to learn.
2, is the norton stones the best out there and nothing else will do or is it personal preference? I have seen some welsh and Japanese stones for good prices.Again, please stay with synthetics to learn as your first stones. Naniwa or Norton's are on par with one another IMO.
3, would you recommend getting some razors to practice on rather my best ones? Learning to "touch-up" a razor should be step 1. Hone with electrical tape every time. I wouldn't recommend learning to hone on a custom razor, but you need to learn on a razor that has good steel in it is very important too...you don't know how to identify a bad razor right now...that will come after you have some experience with honing.
Thanks guys