Thread: Hone purchase advice

I am looking into buying a Shapton GS 8K or 16K. At this moment, I cannot justify buying the 4K/8K/16K lot that eventually I will own, so I ask your advice on which of these to choose.

I have a few medium grit hones (BBW, Dick.biz's cheap Honyama Quarry Hone with unknown but well-working Nagura) and pastes (red Puma, black Dovo), so I think I got the lower-range sharpening covered. A friend of mine judged one of my edges slightly below 8K, which seems to be the magic number.
I have the feeling I improved my edges since then, if only a little bit. With the grain, I feel very little tug. Against the grain, there's still some, but I'm thinking that may be due to technique.

Now I know that Shaptons perform best as a set, 8K is the magic number and the Shapton GS 16K gives epic edges. Hence, I do not know what is my best option: should I go for the 16K and see if, with a few extra laps, I can still get the best out of it? Or should I play safe and go for the 8K, unsure if it will improve anything?
Myself, I'm thinking of buying the (very cheap) Rozsutec 8K and Shapton 16K. Little info is found on the Rozsutec, other than that it seems to perform quite well.


Any thoughts are well appreciated.

Are you primarily maintaining or sharpening?

Going from an 8k to the 16k is what you are planning on doing long term and if your edges are close to 8k now I would venture to the 16k.

Just my thought pattern here.

A little of both. Once in a while, I enjoy making a rusty blade pretty and giving it new scales. I then go through DMT 325, Shapton GS 1K, BBW or Jnat and then shave. Of course, I will also want to keep all my razors performing well.

Only you really know what you need. If your edges are stellar now, and your getting good to great shaves then get the 16k, if they're not so great, I'd get the 8k now, and get the 16k next go around. If I'm reading correctly, I'd go for the 8k. FWIW, I use the set of GS stones, and I'm very happy with the results. I haven't had any complaints from people I've honed razors for.

IME, Your edges really have to be at the 8k level before you hit the 16k. If your still getting some pulling and tugging. The 16k isn't going to do anything. I'm not familiar with the Rozsutec hone, so I can't comment about going from that to the Shapton 16k. Normally, I like to stay with a set of hones, I.E. Norton, Shapton, Naniwa, etc...from start to finish, but that's me. You can most definitely mix it up. Many times I'll throw in an Escher or Nakayama at the end.

IME, Your edges really have to be at the 8k level before you hit the 16k

That is a good thing to know, thank you. I think it is safe for me to say that I am at least at the 6K level, perhaps 8K.

FWIW, here are some pictures comparing the Rozsutec, Charnley Forest and Thuringen: http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...ing-stone.html.

Rozsutec are good stones generally. But extremely hard and usually you'll have to flatten them.
After a 4k or 8k or 10k, a 16k will easily remove the scratches of the previous stone, so, go for the Rozsutec if you would like to, and a finisher. Also, the sigma select 13k is as good as the 16k Shapton, if not finer, so, give it a thought. After that, it's your choice.
And, don't forget, in most cases, money can't substitute practice.

I would consider 1 micron lapping film. I stopped using my naniwa 12 and finish on 1 micron al/ox film on a granite surface plate with a piece of wet paper underneath. The finish is incredible and theres no danger of micro chipping as there is with any hone finisher(naniwa 12, shapton 16 and 30) and Im sure there are others. And for under 75 you have alot of film and a surface plate.

I also like lapping film. Very much. So much, most of the razors I hone for friends are finished on AlOx 1 mic green lapping film, dry. It offers the most consistent results. And, I use my mousepad underneath it. But in the end, you finish your razors on stones, or you don't. Lapping film feels like cheating.

Originally Posted by Laurens

I am looking into buying a Shapton GS 8K or 16K. At this moment, I cannot justify buying the 4K/8K/16K lot that eventually I will own, so I ask your advice on which of these to choose.

I have a few medium grit hones (BBW, Dick.biz's cheap Honyama Quarry Hone with unknown but well-working Nagura) and pastes (red Puma, black Dovo), so I think I got the lower-range sharpening covered. A friend of mine judged one of my edges slightly below 8K, which seems to be the magic number.
I have the feeling I improved my edges since then, if only a little bit. With the grain, I feel very little tug. Against the grain, there's still some, but I'm thinking that may be due to technique.

Now I know that Shaptons perform best as a set, 8K is the magic number and the Shapton GS 16K gives epic edges. Hence, I do not know what is my best option: should I go for the 16K and see if, with a few extra laps, I can still get the best out of it? Or should I play safe and go for the 8K, unsure if it will improve anything?
Myself, I'm thinking of buying the (very cheap) Rozsutec 8K and Shapton 16K. Little info is found on the Rozsutec, other than that it seems to perform quite well.


Any thoughts are well appreciated.

I am a BIG fan of the Shaptons. If your razors are shave ready and just need maintenance, I'd get the 8K and 16K without hesitation.

If you plan to set bevels to razors and initially establish them to shave ready status I'd add the Shapton 1K and 4K.

I have a 325 DMT lapping plate that I like. Those are my preferences.

Ive always used water and a tiny bit of dish soap. I definitely have to try it dry then. I just started using film last month or so. I even set my bevels with 1200 dmt. I have norton 220/1k, 4/8k and naniwa 12k. I like the finish off the film the best though, not that a 12k is not a good edge. I dont think its cheating! If they invent a diamond tipped razor that is sharp and smooth as honed blades but doesnt wear out, I would buy it, although I would have too much time on my hands.