Thread: Essential number of hones

And I thought the answer should be as many as you partner and valet allow. But seriously you need to decide how fine you want to go and is good enough for your shave. In old times people often had one hone like coti and it was good enough for them lately the number is more like 5. For me as essential I consider 1 Chocera 1000 and good coticule for the rest.

Straightnewb

As I understand your question you only want to maintain a single razor, no repairing nicks, restoring eBay specials, sharpening kitchen knives. It probably won’t work that way… the bug will bite you, but…

When I started out (1974) it was with a single razor, Illinois leather strop/ linen and a 6 inch translucent, all purchased new from my barber with a quick lesson and occasional question. I kept that razor going for years with just that, then bought a Washita and Hard White Ark and more razors. That is how most Americans probably did it for years or barber hone, Europeans used their local equivalents, until synthetics came along in the 80's.

Once as an experiment I stropped a single razor for over a year on a Nylon (Seat Belt type) Strop and MAAS metal polish. The bevel was stria free at 100X and the edge super sharp and very comfortable.

With a Naniwa 12K super stone, a nylon strop with CBN .125 and good leather strop you can keep a single razor shaving super sharp and comfortable, as keen and comfortable as possible today.

The Naniawa 12K Super Stone is the Honda Accord of finish stones, Consistent, Dependable, Fool Proof. It is still the stone I go to when I want a quick keen edge, then to paste or natural finishers. I have had mine for years, it is one of the old pink ones.

Even without the CBN the Naniwa 12K and good stropping technique will do you well and keep you shaving for some time. A stick of Chrome Oxide on a Craft Foam paddle will make it a tad more comfortable for minimal investment.

I think you need a bevel setter (1K or if you are a patient man, a 4K), an intermediate grit like a 4-8K, and then a finisher in the 8K and up range as a minimum for stones. After that you can paste strops or balsa or whatever if you like.

So really, something like a Norton 4/8 is a very good start. People say the 4K side is not a bevel setter and I understand what they mean - certainly it is not the most efficient way to remove a lot of metal - but it can be used to set bevels, particularly on full hollows where there is generally not a tonne of metal to remove. I used a Norton 4/8 for quite some time before branching out into other stones - and in fact I only really bought my first "bevel setting" 1K stone less than 18 months ago.

So really you could get away with 1 combination stone to start with as bare minimum. Get the knack, and move out from there. The added benefit of that approach is that you get to know your stones progressively, rather than grabbing 4 or 5 to start and having to learn how they all work in a big rush (never works out well initially from what I have seen, unless they are 4 or 5 from the same series, like the shaptons on glass, but even then...)

Good luck.

James.

Just a comment for whatever stone/s you decide upon.
First find yourself a honing mentor in your area or drive to the nearest one available. Then learn to to use the hone/s they recommend. Whatever hone/s you decide upon, and then take the time to learn, will profit you well over the coming years!
~Richard

Just one thought: I had my Dovo carbon steel razor honed by SRD a couple of years ago, and since then I have kept it going (using it frequently) with the following equipment: a very fine Chinese water stone (finishing stone), a clean leather strop, a canvas strop, and a leather strop to which I apply some slurry from my Chinese stone (as a fine abrasive paste). That razor is actually even better now than when it arrived from SRD, but I have to admit that I am no good at setting bevels, so I'll leave that to the pros. But barring any accidents my razor seems to be able to go on indefinitely without any bevel setting.

Find a honing mentor and visit them. Words on this screen can be full of advice, but there is nothing like visiting someone and really learning. Chances are that if they have been honing for a while, they will have quite a few stones. Anyone can "read" how to hone and give advice on what they have read and interpreted, but a honing mentor can "show you the money".

With that being said, why don't you have your location in your general information? You can use a small town nearby if you are worried about identity theifs. If you are in the NE Texas/SE Oklahoma region, COME ON OVER!

Thanks for the replies

I narrowed it down to the Naniwa 3000/8000 combo vs the Norton 4000/8000 along with their respective lapping plates. I read the thread about shaving off a 1k so I assume either of my choices will leave a blade shave ready. From these two choices, which would you guys suggest? I am kind of leaning towards the Naniwa because of the 3k which will make beveling somewhat easier and it seems like a better grit combo but as a total novice to honing, I don't really know .

One more thing, kind of off topic, and I don't want to start another thread. I have a hanging Illinois leather/linen combo strop that is about 4 years old (back when I bought my razor) and was used for a few months and was stored for about 3 years without conditioning being applied . I don't remember its original condition but it seems kind of stiff with very very slight warping which causes the blade to get more contact in the middle. Middle of strop has more wear as well. Leather is not cracked though. Is this normal? Figured an X pattern will take care of that. The linen has a little more warping in the middle which kind of scares me to use because I have a feeling if I'm not stropping perfectly, the paste will round my edge.

The more hones the better, in my case at least. I like to experiment, and I enjoy honing and sharpening all kinds of stuff.so if the rock doesn't work too well on razors, it will work on something I need it for!