Thread: Need help picking a bevel setter

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...l-setting.html


There is the thread that Zib was mentioning

As you can see in that breakdown there isn't one that doesn't work...

I'm a fan of naturals, so in this category, for bevel setting the most famous are;
Arkansas
The wastila from Finland
The Pyrenees sandstone (I think it's a sandstone)
The two coarser stones from the perda das meigas, I will open a thread about them when I have the time
The Cretan hone-Candia stone but many people seem to have a problem setting a bevel with this stone although it works well for me
Many Japanese stones like Amakusa and even Aoto with heavy slurry
The opinel stone, I think it's also from France
Coticules with heavy slurry can be used for bevel setting
And many many many more, this list is nowhere near completion. Those are some names I remembered that work well near 1000 grit, I haven't done any proper research. If anyone knows any other famous natural bevel setters I would be glad to hear about them.
For synthetics, anything that's near 1000 grit will work. They are always faster, generally cheaper, and you don't have to worry about inclusions or other defects. But naturals are naturals.

You say you bought about 90 razors so far, that makes approx 2-3-4 razors per week. Thats a massive amount of razors, and you will benefit from a nice bevel setter sharpening these. If all of your razors would have costed you 10$, than thats 900$, or 1800$ if we calculate with 20$, and you are debating of getting a 20-30$ or 85$ stone for rough work? Seriously?

While everything can be used to set a bevel, the 1k Chosera is doing it better than any I have tried. Actually, if there is a stone out there thats better than the Cho 1k for razors, than I don't really need it. Nice feeling, very good speed, very nice scratches, no clogging, almost splash-and-go, big, thick, and VERY wear resistant, and laps fast. The King 1k and Naniwa SS 1k just don't compare, they are really no match for the Chosera. I don't say these stones are bad, just that they are in a different league. They are entry level 1k stones, while the Chosera is the non-plus ultra for me. Its price is the highest too, but it has saved so much time and frustration for me, that the difference in money had been covered tenfold.

I can nothing but join the choir for the Chosera.

I used the Naniwa SS 1K for about a year before I got the Chosera, mainly because of the price, but from the first time I used the Chosera I never looked back, and regret I didn't get it before....

If there's a issue with SWMBO and money, put the $50 you have aside for now, save up another $50 in the next weeks and get the Chosera.

All 1K stones will work, but with the amount of razors you have, and like you say, still growing, I think a Chosera will be your best buy.

Originally Posted by jeness

You say you bought about 90 razors so far, that makes approx 2-3-4 razors per week. Thats a massive amount of razors, and you will benefit from a nice bevel setter sharpening these. If all of your razors would have costed you 10$, than thats 900$, or 1800$ if we calculate with 20$, and you are debating of getting a 20-30$ or 85$ stone for rough work? Seriously?

Many of them were gifts from friends and family friends...a large proportion came from a 2nd cousin who's uncle (more distantly related to me) was a barber and collector. He had received them all, and I heard they were just sitting in his closet...I got 43 razors from him alone for just the cost of gas to get over to his house...

Yes...I have definitely cheaped it up to this point

Than its even easier. Sell 1-2 razors in the classifieds, and you will have the money for your stones. I don't think you are going to use all of those razors

I've done around 7,000 razors on my Chosera so far and it's still going strong. It is fast and has a great feel and superior feedback for me. I try to test all the 1K's out there, but keep coming back to the Chosera. The King is one of my least favorite stones, but it CAN get the job done. When you start honing a lot of razors, you look for something that will not only get the job done as quick as possible, but something that won't tear up the razors and something that will give consistently good results.

Have fun.

I have owned and used Naniwa, Norton, King, Shapton GS, & Chosera 1K's. I also have worked with a few naturals. As mentioned before, all "work". I keep my Shapton GS's as I have the whole set. What does most every veteran honer end up with, use, and keep? Yep, Chosera 1K. If you stay at this sport, you will more than likely end up with one...so why waste the time.

Everyone is saying to get the Chosera, so that's what I would do, but if you really can't hide the $90 from SWMBO then go with the $20 king or Norton. I know woodcrafters carries those cheap! I actually started on a King 800, it sets a bevel very quickly, then a few strokes on my Soft Ark, then on to the higher grits. So I am sure that the 1000 or the 1200 would be good if you have the time to put in. Right now with the stones I have it takes me between 20 minutes and 2 hours to completely hone up a razor. One I spent about 10 hours on, but it was a really stubborn Morley.
If you can go with the recommendations of these guys I would, but if not, any of the stones from the bevel setting thread will do just fine! They may just take up a little more of your time. I don't mind taking time, it's very peaceful with some good music and a nice single malt (not more than a couple ounces)

Good luck to you. And perhaps when you sell a couple of your razors you can upgrade to the Chosera!

Edit... the ten hours on the Morley includes everything from trying to set the bevel to sitting there staring at the thing, to asking questions here on SRP... Then going back to it. Adding tape, removing tape, trying naturals, moving to synthetics back to naturals... That was one heck of a pain!