Thread: Me first stone! Naniwa, Coti?

Originally Posted by eastoahu

Actually, now that I think about it, do you people use the 220, the 400 amd the 10k naniwas?

Im thinking 1,2,3,5,8,and 12k would be great?

Dude no.

If you hone razors that have edges in ok condition, you only need a 3K/8K or 4K/8K or a coticule for example.
If you have the intention of honing razors with dinged up edge, you could add a 1K stone.
If you have the intention of honing lots of razors, add a DMT D8C lapping plate for keeping your stones flat.

there is absolutely positively no reason whatsoever to buy that amount of stones, just for the sake of sharpening a razor. More stones 'can' make life easiers, but it is silly to buy 500$ worth of stones for the sake of maintaining 1 or 2 100$ razors.

To make an analogy, for personal travel you have feet, a bicycle, and a car. that is all you need for most of your traveling needs that are not really long distance. Sure, you could add a segway, a skateboard, an SUV, a long haul truck, a moped, a quad, a trike, and several other things, but you don't NEED them at all. Not if all you'll really do is move about in your local village.

Will this give me as smooth a shave compared to the full set though? Im really going for a very comfortable shave.


Also im looking into doing some mild restorations in the future. Thanks for the input


Edit: doh! Screw it, 3k/8k naniwa combo and a. coticule. If I like the naniwas over coti ill buy more of the set.

This is hard already! Lols




P.s. where to buy coti from? Are the ones from SRD good?

Originally Posted by eastoahu

I really like the whole idea and techniques behind coticules. Im so stuck on what to buy lol >.< even if I just bought both im gonna wanna stick to one or the other to learn that particular stone..

And as far as members close by, I live in the middle of the pacific ocean (Hawaii) and doubt there are any forum members out. Here... but I could be wrong!

There are a couple guys on Oahu, you should throw a Hawaii post out there and wrangle them together. I lived there for 6 years, how are you keeping rust and mold off the blade and strop? The humidity is a killer.

Originally Posted by eastoahu

Will this give me as smooth a shave compared to the full set though? Im really going for a very comfortable shave.

Yes, it will.

Your finishing stone is the last step on the ladder. For the purpose of clearing the ladder, it doesn't matter if you get to the top rung by taking 1, 2 or 3 rungs at a time.

I restore razors, and have restored and honed quite a few.
I only have a D8C, a norton 1K, 4K/8K and a finishing stone.

Originally Posted by eastoahu

P.s. where to buy coti from? Are the ones from SRD good?

As good as from another source.
It doesn't really matter where you buy it. It makes sense to buy it and the naniwas at the same place obviously (shipping)

Here's a good thread for you to check out. http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...less-more.html

If I had to recommend stones for a beginner, it would be the Norton 4/8. As of late, I prefer them to my Naniwa stones, but that's me.
Both are good, but I have yet to find a blade that could not be tamed by the Nortons.

Once you can get good comfortable shaves off the 8k, then I'd get a Coticule, not before. Coticules have a bit of a learning curve, and if your new, they can really frustrate you. Great stones, but the one stone does it all can be difficult to the novice honer IMHO.

The actual Coticule you buy plays a big role in it as well. They vary greatly from stone to stone. Do your research. Most guys that use them go through several before they find one they can be completely happy with. Some keep several, one for finishing, and one for cutting, or more aggresive bevel work, and some collect them, like you would any other natural stone.

Just some food for thought....

Happy Hunting....

Originally Posted by Wintchase

There are a couple guys on Oahu, you should throw a Hawaii post out there and wrangle them together. I lived there for 6 years, how are you keeping rust and mold off the blade and strop? The humidity is a killer.

Oh yeah, its horrible.. I made a habit of wiping my blade after each pass on my face, then immediately dry with paper and let dry in my other room on top of sheets of paper. Works fine but I have some camelia oil just in case.

And Bruno what stone do you use for finishing?/??

If I used a Coti solely for finishing wouldnt it be similar to using other stone since I don't need to dilute and all that.. or would say a 12k nani do best.. I have crox paste too

I have a nakayama asagi. A natural Japanese stone.
I wouldn't recommend a beginner to buy one of those.
Until you can get good shaves off an 8K stone, you should not use anything higher, because it will just be a waste of time and money.
And while I prefer it to the coticule I had before, it costs 10 times more as well. Japanese stones of that quality cost in the several hundreds of dollars, all the way up to 2000 $ for certain stones.

I don't say you shouldn't want to buy such a stone, but I would wait until you can shave comfortably off the 8K. At that point, figure out what you want to do.
For the purpose of just finishing the edge, you could use a Chromium oxide strop, and you would hardly notice the difference with a very high grit stone.
I know many people who do this, just for the purpose of maintaining their 1 or 2 razors.
If otoh at that point you feel like experimenting with stones because you like honing and you hone a lot... sure, have fun.

A coticule or a 16K shapton would be the ideal finishing stone from a cost / benefit pov imo.
That, or a pasted strop.

For a coticule I would email Jarrod at The Superior Shave and tell him what you want and he will pick you a great stone.

Currently in between emails with Jarrod at The Superior Shave. He too agrees a 3k/8k combo stone and a 12k would be a perfectly good.

Can you go from synthetics (naniwa) to natural stones (coticule) for finishing???

What about a bit on 12k naniwa for consistancy and then a bit on a coticule for extra smoothness at the very end??? Sorry if im going a bit overboard I just want everyones opinion

Originally Posted by eastoahu

Currently in between emails with Jarrod at The Superior Shave. He too agrees a 3k/8k combo stone and a 12k would be a perfectly good.

Can you go from synthetics (naniwa) to natural stones (coticule) for finishing???

What about a bit on 12k naniwa for consistancy and then a bit on a coticule for extra smoothness at the very end??? Sorry if im going a bit overboard I just want everyones opinion

I would skip the 12k for now. And I may be wrong, but going from a 12k to (approx.) 8k coti seems a little pointless. Whatever finer polishing you do on the 12k might be undone by the coti.

Like many say, be all you can be on the 3k/8k...then move on to other stones.