Thread: Buying my first hones

I'm looking into buying some hones ones which can take a totally dull razor to shavable. Iv aquired a few old razors and need to clean them and sharpen them, they are good to practice on and doesn't matter if I mess them up. So I'm looking at something on the cheaper side and found a few threads but still unsure. This is what iv come up with so far.

For setting the bevel a 1k King

im unsure as to what to get inbetween. Do coticules take them from bevel to finish? Or do I need something else.

Maybe a welsh slate between 12-15k for finishing.

Well, there are many options between bevel setting and finishing. A coticule can be useful in that range for sure, or Belgian combo (Belgian Blue Whetstone, BBW and coti). However, probably the most ubiquitous and arguably one of the best synthetic stones in that area would be the Norton 4/8K.

I'd suggest doing some more research in the hones forums to see what other stones are available and what people think of them, just for completeness. But personally I would go with the Norton 4/8.

MP

I'll second the norton 4/8. I've just honed a couple on that and then finished on a Naniwa 12k. Could shave off those two stones the rest of my life without a single second thought.

Norton or King 1K, 4/8K, and Naniwa SS 12K. I have more, but that is all that is required, that and a bit of practice.

I'd suggest to forget about natural stones for a while.
Get some synthetics and learn on them , you will have a lot better success with naturals after that.
4/8k Norton is may be the cheapest option also consistent stone to use. If you want add a 10-12k stone to the set up, or just use pasted strop after the 8k level.

Iv read about the norton combination stones. How about the set of combination stones 220/1000 and 4000/8000 and the lapping stone?

That combo is the best bang for the buck...I am ordering that same set as well. Even Lynn has used them for years.

Good set for little money, forget the lapping stone, most aren't even flat when they come in. Get a $6 piece of flat, smooth white tile from the hardware store, some spray adhesive and some 320 or 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to flatten the stones with, or a DMT diamond plate works great as well.

Norton 4000/8000k is a very inexpensive way to go. Good luck.