Thread: A little word of advice about getting finishers/hones on a budget

Hi Guys,

Just my thoughts on new members/people learning to hone getting the chinese stone and other stones that vary in quality. I myself bought a c12k and an MST Muller waterstone both because they were cheap. So far I have only used synthetic stones + CrOX n FeOx to get shaveworthy edges. I have tried a coticule but I was unsuccessful with it.

I tried my Chinese stone for the first time the other day, and sadly I wasn't able to get a shave ready edge from it. Because of the fact that these stones seem to vary quite a lot in quality, I am inclined to want to blame the stone rather than my honing. But I'm really not experienced enough to be able to test out hones and say whether they are good or not. So I really don't know is it the stone or am I not using it correctly etc.

I think people should consider that when thinking about getting the C12k as a cheaper option for a finisher, if you're still learning then you should deal with a known quality of stone, probably a synthetic would be best to start with. Or just a natural finisher with less tendency to vary in quality or one that has been used by a more experienced member who can tell you what the stone is like and how to use it.

Just my 2 cents, Experienced people feel free to correct me I'm just sharing my experience so far =]


Cheers,

john

Sounds Like Good Advice!

The PHIG definitely has a mind of it's own.

I've decided that instead of going for every damn hone/razor on eBay that seems like it's going for less than it's worth. I'm going to just save my cash for what I REALLY want (eg. a nice JNAT) From the amount of things I've got on eBay "just because" they were going cheap I could've bought a couple of the things at the top of my wish list instead.

I had one years ago but traded it off. Mine was okay but slow and I had better alternatives so I let it go. Here are two old threads with many posts where you may pick up something that will help.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ce-please.html

http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...hlight=Chinese

Thanks Jimmy, I think I'm going to get bored of it as soon as my vintage thuri arrives =] lol. OK this is the last stone I'm buying for a while I SWEAR

My C12k makes a nice base for my smallish coticule and my SUO (slate of unknown origin) finisher. Otherwise -- just not worth the time it takes to use it.

Don't give up after just one day. I think Guangxis are great for the money they cost. You may not know exactly what you're getting but you do know how little you're spending. If they weren't mined in China they would cost a lot more.

want stone are you coming off of to get to the finisher ?

I guess I got lucky with my Chinese 12k hone. It works well at touching up my razors to keep them shave ready, so I tend to recommend it as a cheap hone for beginners just to keep their blade sharp. I can only recommend based off of my limited experience, but perhaps I will need to start adding that others may not get as lucky as I if they do decide to get one.