Thread: Touch up hone.

My hone doesn't have any other markings. There could have been a sticker. Thanks everyone for your input.

I know this is a loaded question, but are those Frictionite's OO worth the money? and all the hype. I heard one got talked up to death on another forum and the price went through the roof, someone actually bought it.

Is it good for touch up's only, or can I throw out all my other hones.

Are we talking Jack's beanstalk bean's here or what....?

I guess the question is -- will this make a good touch-up stone? Absolutely, that's a pretty desirable stone.

As for its tendency to want to hang upside-down? Ummmmm -- someone please climb in here with a punch-line, I'm burnt out.

Originally Posted by zib

I know this is a loaded question, but are those Frictionite's OO worth the money? and all the hype. I heard one got talked up to death on another forum and the price went through the roof, someone actually bought it.

Is it good for touch up's only, or can I throw out all my other hones.

Are we talking Jack's beanstalk bean's here or what....?

Nope. Not all that special at all.
It is a good barber hone, and works pretty much as expected.
Much as the Norton barber hone, this one is hyped a lot by axe-men and perhaps others.
The Norton is in my experience the finer of the two.

So if mine is not a 00 frictionite hone, then what grit might it be? 10k or finer maybe?I'm thinking a norton 4k/8k and then this American hone co barbers hone will be plenty for me.

Wyo,
I don't have a frictionite. But I have four barber's hones. A Swatty, a Cattaraugus, a Keen, and...one other I can't remember the name of. They range from 8-10k...maybe 12k. Nothing official mind you, just IMHO. The Keen is the only one that's double sided. I'd put it's coarse side grit in the neighborhood of 5-7k. Definitely coarser than my norton 8k, but finer than my norton 4k.

I can shave happily off the norton 8k. It's certainly not a deluxe edge, but it's comfortable. The Swatty adds a little something to it and is great for touching up when the edge is a couple weeks old (that's 14ish shaves). So far I go 7 x's on the swatty and I'm good for another couple weeks (although I usually go longer as I don't generally use the same razor day in and day out; I go a few months, then touch up 3 or 4 razors and go another few months).

The Cattagaurus is new to me (just picked it up this week) but seems to be finer than the swatty, maybe closer to 12k. I'm very interested to see how it handles but don't think I'll have time for a week or two.

All that to say, you can live just fine with a Norton 4/8, but a barber's hone doesn't require a soaking before use, generally adds a little to the edge, and is fantastic for maintaining your edge. In truth, if you started with a truly shave ready edge, you could go the rest of your life with one blade and one barber's hone. DON'T tell my wife that though!

Peace,
Jim