Thread: New Thuringen stone

Hi Regularjoe, what is the problem with natural stones? I did just place an order for a Norton 4/6K stone.

The more you know, the more you know you need to know, my friend

There's no problem with natural stones. I have several naturals. The problem is with a beginner+naturals.

I'd say the single most prominent reason why I have 12 different natural stones is because I kept trying a different one, hoping I'd get that nice shave I was trying so hard for, and it not happening. Fast forward 8 months. A friend loaned me some synthetics, and my razor magically got sharp in 15 minutes. I didn't do anything differently you see. I was the same honer, with a more effective and user friendly stone.

A beginner has so many things he is trying to learn. If he wants to hone, and ofc he wants to shave, and needs to strop well, and make his lather. Anyhow, using a synthetic stone to learn to hone just removes a variable from your equation, and makes the task more enjoyable. Trust me, no matter how much you love learning, if you've been honing for 8 months and still can't get anyone to "pass" your blade on an eval., you're not having fun, AND you're not making progress.

So, I suggest a synthetic stone for starters. Not because there is something wrong with the alternative. Just because synthetics are dramatically easier to get advice on, learn on, and use. My synthetic stone is exactly the same as YOUR synthetic stone is the same as HIS synthetic stone.