Thread: Method to test stone's finish?

Is there some method to test stones against one another to determine which will finish smoother?

The obvious answer is to hone and shave with them both but is there a more direct less subjective method to limit the variables which doesn't involve electron microscopy? My honing skills haven't developed well enough to be eliminated as a variable.

I would like to determine if my HSB & CO OVB is adequate as a finisher. I have a Norton 8k and sometimes I will finish with a few strops on a crox paddle.

I don't know what kind of stones are yours, but I use to rub the top of my tongue on the stones to determinate if are coarse or fine. Hope my tip can be helpful at all.

All the best

I'm not quite sure how a tricycle would be the best of ways to hone your razor...

When googling your term"HSB & Co OVB" this the first hit I got..

Edit:
The hone with the same name seems to be a pretty standard barber hone.
From what I could find, that is.
Barber hones are usually in the 6-8K grit range.
Not the finest of finishers, but it'll work..

Originally Posted by jaswarb

My honing skills haven't developed well enough to be eliminated as a variable.

Kinda puts you out of the equation then.

Seriously tho , the shave test has to be the decider. Cosmetics & visuals count for naught. You'd be surprised how a toothy edge can shave nicely & how a smooth bevel can pull like a rake.

Originally Posted by jaswarb

I would like to determine if my HSB & CO OVB is adequate as a finisher. I have a Norton 8k and sometimes I will finish with a few strops on a crox paddle.

Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. Our Very Best Yes it is a very nice finisher, how much better than a well handled Norton 8k is more in your hands or your face

But that little hone will keep you shaving for years unless you ding a razor

Thank you. How can we test the stones on how fine they are? Yes, shaving with them, but, there are many stones around 1k or 4k or somewhere around there. Stones that are not the best finishers. Accept from the tongue trick, that has been used for centuries (somewhat accurate method), are there any other options? How shiny the razor gets? Or the stone? What do we do then? I don't wanna hear "we strop it and see how fine it shaves". Are there any other options? No microscope.

@vasilis

You can try all sorts of Tests

From the scratch patterns to the tongue..

But in the end Razors are still just a tool...

If I sharpen a knife regardless of what stone I use or what tests I use as I am sharpening, sooner or later I am going to do what the knife is designed for, either cutting Tomatoes or gutting out an Elk it in the end has to do it's job...

A straight razor is the same thing the only difference is it has to be not only sharp but also smooth so regardless of any tests I do sooner or later that thing has to shave my face comfortably... It has to accomplsh the job it was designed for...

As to the other part of the question on the lower grits most all the tests work even just feeling the stone in comparison to other known grits.. The touch tests for stone work pretty well up to about the 6-7k levels then they seem to fall apart... Mostly because we can't discern the differences by touch tests..
The more stones you handle the better you can tell the difference at the lower levels,,,

Keep in mind though grit is only part of the equation how it is held and released from the binder also plays a part

Well I may have discovered a good method. Rubbing stones against a face with stubble seems to work. I used the barber hone to finish after the Norton 8k because my testing told me while it cuts faster it is smoother. Using water and detergent on the hone I got a smoother but just as keen edge as I have gotten with the Norton 8k. I have been rubbing stones on my face for the last 24 hours then comparing on my face and it seems to work for me.

very light touch less than 10 passes on the barber hone.


After reading the threads about one stone honing, I have also been careful with lubricant on the stone and pressures. This forum is rich with possibilities.

The smoothness of a blade on our face also depends from the steel and its hardness. You can try shaving with an authentic yanagiba, but, no matter the way you hone it, something harder than 60-62HRC will not give you a smooth shave. The question was more about new hones, the ones that are not sold on internet. I have found more than a few, and I was wandering how we can establish a reliable method for testing their grit, again, without microscope. Rubbing hones on a face is comparable with licking them, or passing them from our lips. If you use a 50 or 100 or 300 grit sandpaper to lap them, the feeling will be different. If they get mirror like, it will be ever more difficult to distinguish them, the fine from the finest.

I ain't licking a 75 year old barber hone for no reason.