Thread: Hi Guys, Ice bear King waterstone?

Hi All,

Sorry I'm just a newbie looking at hones on ebay, seen some of these Ice Bear King 1000/6000 Combo stones, was wondering if their the right stone for a beginner?

It MAY get you by, but most will recommend a Naniwa 3/8K combo or Norton 4/8K combo, not necessarily in that order.

Nothing wrong with that combo stone & the internet prices are great for that stone, but as you know, it's the person behind the stone that makes all the difference.

As Shooter stated, many opt for the Norton 4/8.

One thing to keep in mind is the King also makes 4k and 8k stones ie: it isn't that I think King makes a bad stone, it is the Grit level of that combo stone I think will leave you a little low

I have never been a fan of King's but they will work. I find that having a bevel setter at the 1K level and honing stones at the 4K and 8K levels produce more consistent and better shaving results than just having a 6K stone. YMMV, but not if you do any amount of honing.

Have fun.

I use a 1K/6K King hone to start my progression, but I follow it up with a barber hone that is somewhere around 8K before the finisher.

My Norton has been sat there collecting dust for ages. None of my four razors require regular honing, so long as I put them to the pasted strops once every 4 months (approx). Wondering if I should sell mine on but to be honest, I have managed to hone a couple of NOS razors that I got a while ago now.

If I can't get it right, the razors usually get sent to someone in the UK who knows what he is doing! What I'm saying is, you don't need to worry about getting a stone unless absolutely necessary. You can easily get away with the cotticules.

Like everyone else says, I agree that you should look higher, with 8k stones being the minimum.

You could use the 1/6k if you had something to step it up (loaded strop or whatever), but this is an issue of using something that's good and not spending some fraction to get something that leaves a bit to be desired, even if you can make it work.

I personally was never a fan of the 6k mix that the king stones have. They used to be the standard woodworking stone (the 8k was, at least), and I made the mistake of trying to save 20 bucks and got the 6k instead of the king 8k. The 8k seems to be more abrasive dense and faster, as well as finer.

I occasionally shave off the 6k to test the edge but as mentioned above for a smooth shave you really want a little more.

Depends on what you are planning to hone. If you want to keep shave ready razors in tip top condition I wouldn't bother with it but if you want to revive rather sad looking blades on the cheap and aren't in a rush it does the job. If you're hunting the bay for a cheap honing solution a King combo along with a natural finisher like the Chinese 12k should provide a decent edge, maybe a touch of chromium oxide on a strop for a little extra zing.

It's a cheap work horse that keeps everything in the house sharp. For the price I look upon it as a 1K stone with a freebie on the back - a bit like buying a coticule with a belgian blue on the back.