Thread: Honing Virgin Needs Advice on Stones

As I mentioned in my intro post, I'm looking to buy a couple of stones and learn to hone.

After receiving some great help, I've searched about and narrowed down my choices -- although a 1k/6k King stone was recommended, I'm considering getting a Norton 4k/8k from amazon because everyone generally seems to rave about it. Right choice or not?

Secondly, and more importantly, I'm stuck between a 12k-15k welsh slate hone, for about £20, of which there are a couple on eBay, or shelling out £70 for a 12k naniwa stone. That's a massive price difference. What differences will I see between the two; what am I better off with and why?

Cheers!

You will need a 1k stone for bevel setting more than a finisher. The norton 4/8K or naniwa 3/8K are highly recommended stones, you can't go wrong with either.

Personally, I feel that you shouldn't mess with a finisher until you learn to get a good shave out of an 8K. This is why many will test shave a razor that they have been honing at 8K to ensure it's "just right" before they even apply the razor to a finisher.

I gotta agree with Scott,,,

a 1-3-8 or 1-4-8 combo is the backbone of a great honing station,, the finisher is only as good as the backbone

look through this thread when you get time

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...on-2012-a.html


ps: I most admit to being a Nitpicky SOB sometimes but it drives me bonkers when I see the 12k and 15k grit ratings on those Welsh hones

They are really nice finishers either the Greenish one or the Purplish one but assigning outlandish Grits comparisons to natural stones has become epidemic...

It is really difficult to agree with the natural stones ratings. They are often just a guess by the seller, and they admit as much, it really irritates me when they have 50 stones for sale and say they are all the same grit (anyway). Personally I think that you are going to get differing opinions on which finisher to get. I love honing on natural stones, I feel the edges are superior and I actually prefer the feedback I get through the razor whilst honing. I enjoy the natural hones feel in my hands too! The problem with buying a natural stone is the lack of consistency you are going to find. When you buy man-made stones you know it's pretty close to the grit advertised.

There is a website/company called "epicurean edge" that have an extensive inventory of (IMHO) well priced stones. The guys in the store are also quite friendly and know their stones
They deliver internationally too.

That being said ... my first finisher was a Ohishi #10000 man made water-stone I bought from the guys at epicurean edge. It was a little easier (IMO) to learn honing on because of it's size, the ease of making a slurry, and the stones feel. While I haven't ever used the naniwa stones they have a great reputation and I am sure it will be just great! As Shooter said ... finishing is less important in the learning/honing process than getting the initial bevel setting, and then the simple edge finishing right.

Good luck!!

Hmm. It seems like a lot of it is purely personal preference, right?

What if I start with the King 1/6 and a slate, as originally suggested -- and they're both readily available to me and inexpensive -- then maybe I'll get a Norton 4/8 at a later date when I have a bit of experience, to fill in the gaps?

That thread looks interesting, too. I'll have a read later.

The jump from 1-6 is a large one. That's not to say it can't be done, but you are learning to hone and that could be making it hard on yourself. The jump from 6-slate is also a large one. If you did choose to go that way, and your edge isn't working right it would be more difficult for you to understand what went wrong, than if you used the "standard" / more common honing progression.

Understand that you're unlikely to pick up some stones, hone your razor and find it real easy. You could find it easy ... but ... it would be a whole lot easier to learn if you picked up the "backbone" as Glen and Shooter talked about. Setting a bevel is much easier on a 1K hone. It is easier because the hone tears away steel, and leaves the razor with a relatively deep scratch pattern. If you make a large jump from 1k-6k ... you may find it takes a long while to get rid of those scratches, which can also mean it's more likely that you make a mistake along the way.

watch videos ... read posts ... ask friends ... then practice, practice, practice

Originally Posted by PigHog

Hmm. It seems like a lot of it is purely personal preference, right?

What if I start with the King 1/6 and a slate, as originally suggested -- and they're both readily available to me and inexpensive -- then maybe I'll get a Norton 4/8 at a later date when I have a bit of experience, to fill in the gaps?

That thread looks interesting, too. I'll have a read later.

Sounds like you have made up your mind...I hope not.

I only have one king stone now, gave the other to a friend...we both use them on knives & not razors.

King stones will get you by, but I have yet to hear a king stone is superior to a naniwa, norton, or shapton (what I call the big three). You will not hear it from me I promise you.

Your journey to learn to hone from the king 1/6k & slate will be a much longer one. If you stick with honing after your frustrations, you will end up with one or more of the big three anyways...asking yourself "why didn't I listen to the advice offered".

Once you have a valid foundation/backbone on honing from synthetics, then and only then do most of us recommend naturals. Even vintage thuringian/Escher finishers take a bit to learn and they are one of the most consistent finishers I have laid my hands on.

Quality stones are not cheap, but a good investment.

"then and only then do most of us recommend naturals. "

Yes I hope what I said wasn't misconstrued. I don't recommend naturals when learning to hone, I realize I didn't actually say that ... I was trying to hint towards their foibles, which make learning difficult.

Not made up my mind yet!

I've just seen a Toishi-Ohishi 3000/8000...? It's about £60 from a UK site, which I'm trying to stick to if I can, so I don't have to pay tons on shipping. (Having thought about it, that's just as big a jump as a 1000/6000 stone.) Failing that, you're slowly convincing me to get the Norton 4/8...are you encouraging me to buy a single, lower grit stone for setting bevels as well, though?

With regards to a finishing stone, you're saying that man-made is better than natural to learn on but if I choose the right stone for sharpening, I probably don't need one straight away, anyway, and should hold off for a bit?

Is something like the Norton 4k/8k going to be sufficient for keeping a blade in shave-ready condition on its own or will I definitely be needing a higher grit stone for that? I'd like to start by being able to keep my razors sharp and then work on sharpening them from dull as it seems like it suits my needs better...although if that's a silly way of doing things, I'll just be quiet and listen to the people with experience!

Read the JaNorton thread LOL

Honest 5 years ago on this site very few had more than just that hone, only the cool kids had stuff like an Escher or a Coticule

Nothing against a King, in fact I specifically used the King 1k in many of my Vids to show that an inexpensive and easily available hone works fine too the difference is that a King 1/6 is not enough you will NEED more (don't we all) but honestly I could shave comfortably from a 3/8 or a 4/8 forever and a day and never NEED more...

I could very well have a good setup with a 1/6 and one of the Welsh hones too, it can be done but is a steeper path to climb, for a new honer...

In the end you have to follow your wallet too