Thread: Norton Waterstone Starter Kit

Originally Posted by spinsheet

I'm looking to buy the Norton Waterstone Starter Kit on Amazon.com for $135. I have been shaving with a straight razor for about 2 years now. I shave with a razor that I bought from Bob's Razors (whom I cannot speak highly enough of). I enjoy buying razors from eBay but so far do not have the means to get them shave ready. I'm wondering if the Norton kit will give me the equipment (not so much the skill) to do so. Would this be a good investment for someone looking to hone their skills (pun intended!) with straight razors? If so, I need to buy it while the money is in the bank! Oh, and I assume that this same kit will sharpen household kitchen knives and such? If so I might actually be able to justify the purchase to the wife...

i also buy my razors from bob keys. So you will no bob hones all his razors with nortons. has you have shaved with his razors you will no what the nortrons can produce in shavability.

gary

i understand that the norton flattening stone doesnt come flat, and must be flattened first. ive used a norton 4k/8k just a little bit, and its a great stone, does the job. the fact that they sell a flattening stone that doesnt come flat seems silly, but anyways. ive used a dmt8c to do rough work on blades with big chips, and i like that i dont need to lap it in the middle of use if i have to put alot of work in. i suppose i could get the heavy work done on a norton 220, and once the chip is out, lap the 220 again and reset the bevel one more time just to be sure the geometry was right. i know there are many members that must have the norton lapping stone, but i dont hear about it being used much.. more often i hear about the dmt8c or a coarser dmt plate, or sandpaper on glass, or loose lapping grit.

the 220/1k should be great for knives, and yes if you want to and can develop the skill you could sharpen your knives all the way up to 8k.. sometimes less is more with a knife edge it seems.. maybe others that sharpen knives can chime in here.
i recently sharpened a knife for a friend and went to very high grit, leaving a very smooth edge and i thought fine/keen edge. being so smooth combined with a lack of skill sharpening knives left a knife that didnt cut in the kitchen as well as the knife might have if the edge had been left with more tooth from a lower grit.

i know some chefs use VERY fine stones for some knives and some applications, but my impression is that with knife sharpening finer grit requires greater skill to get the most out of it.

i recommend the dmt8c, its quite usefull.. if you already have the norton lapping stone on the way, lap it with sand paper on glass and see how it works.. the norton hones will need to be lapped flat before use, and to get past the factory surface that is unsuitable for razors. the 8k for example should feel quite smooth once properly lapped, but feels rather rough as it comes from the factory.