Thread: Need a set of stones for a beginner. Restoring blades.

A chipped wedge on a 1k might take hours. And lapping every 15-20 minutes. Just be prepared for that. You wont know til you try. Maybe not but that's what Im thinking. Good luck.

Originally Posted by bill3152

A chipped wedge on a 1k might take hours. And lapping every 15-20 minutes. Just be prepared for that. You wont know til you try. Maybe not but that's what Im thinking. Good luck.

Yes, Bill! The DMT 325 will help with those chipped wedges as well as flattening the stones!

If you want to drop the spending price a bit go for the 1k/3k comination working stone. And then up to the 8k superstone , works great for me.

Well, I'm glad I grabbed the nani 12k. I didn't know it had such a strong reputation and only bought it because it was cheaper than the shapton glass 16.

As a result of this thread i've been looking at hones on chefknivestogo.com. My only concern now is mixing and matching different stones and hoping they work well together. At the moment I'm eying up the Bester 1200x. I guess an easy path out would be that Bester and a Norton 4/8. I'd rather seperates but this would be an easy three stone setup that's pretty cheap. Plus these two could live in water.

Can anyone recommend seperates? I'm also looking at Nubatama Bamboo stones and the Kitayama 8k but I've heard that the Kitayama isn't a true 8k and can be more of a finisher than a Norton 8k.

What about a DMT Dia-Sharp 1200? SRD has them for less than that Bester. Presumably I could lap the other hones with that as well as use it as a bevel setter. Nice toofer there.

I don't know the Bester, but I would stay on Norton 1k, 4k and 8k. If you stay on the same brand you are sure that the grit progression is as stated by labels, otherwise there could be big differences between two brands with the same nominal grit.
Norton 8k performance is very close to naniwa 8k, but Norton set is harder and asks for less frequent lapping.

The DMT-1200 stays always flat and is fast, an excellent bevel setter, but it leaves deep scratches on the steel that you need to make more uniform with the Norton 1k (read above, different brand different consistency) before going to the 4k.

Originally Posted by RonPopeil

The overall goal is to restore some blades in the collection. At the very least i'd like to restore a W&B the gf got me. It was my first ever straight razor and it's not possible to shave with. Sentimental value I guess you could say. I also have two blades with chipped edges that I would like to bring back from the dead. One is a Case Red Imp that is in pristine condition otherwise and the other is a Genco that I loved shaving with.

The current plan is all Naniwa super stones. I have a 1k, 5k and 8k in the cart at srd right now. I already own a 12k. I'm sure this could get it done but: am I getting done the right way? Is there a better value for money somewhere?

I've never honed a razor other than giving one a ride on the 12k which doesn't really add up to the full experience...

Someone who wanted to try something new sold me his collection of Shaptons at a sacrifice and I just love them.

From what others have posted about the Naniwa stones, you made a choice of equal quality.

The difference between the more expensive stones and the inexpensive ones to me is the feeling of assurance you have finished. Yesterday I had a sub par shave with a vintage razor I bought and that night I started all over and brought it to a magnificent edge. The shave I got this morning with the same blade was really nice. Probably the most fun experience I can have with a razor is to refine the edge and get a great shave from my own efforts.

Originally Posted by bill3152

A chipped wedge on a 1k might take hours. And lapping every 15-20 minutes. Just be prepared for that. You wont know til you try. Maybe not but that's what Im thinking. Good luck.

I have a 500K stone and hone with a tight circular pattern until the chip is gone. That speeds things up when trying to get a visible chip out. Then I do my bevel setting and hone normally. You're right that a 1K can be slower. The 500K can pay off if you have chips you want to get out, but isn't necessary if you don't do restoring.

Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

I have a 500K stone and hone with a tight circular pattern until the chip is gone. That speeds things up when trying to get a visible chip out. Then I do my bevel setting and hone normally. You're right that a 1K can be slower. The 500K can pay off if you have chips you want to get out, but isn't necessary if you don't do restoring.

I got 325 600 and 1200 dmts for that. Micro chips are fairly common though. I dull on glass in between grits to the 4k. The 4k I usually do 50 circles laps and x strokes. Sometimes I have to do another set to get em out. But I would rather spend the time on the 4k than the 1 k. That's just me, YMMV.

Originally Posted by RonPopeil

Well, I'm glad I grabbed the nani 12k. I didn't know it had such a strong reputation and only bought it because it was cheaper than the shapton glass 16.

As a result of this thread i've been looking at hones on chefknivestogo.com. My only concern now is mixing and matching different stones and hoping they work well together. At the moment I'm eying up the Bester 1200x. I guess an easy path out would be that Bester and a Norton 4/8. I'd rather seperates but this would be an easy three stone setup that's pretty cheap. Plus these two could live in water.

Can anyone recommend seperates? I'm also looking at Nubatama Bamboo stones and the Kitayama 8k but I've heard that the Kitayama isn't a true 8k and can be more of a finisher than a Norton 8k.

What about a DMT Dia-Sharp 1200? SRD has them for less than that Bester. Presumably I could lap the other hones with that as well as use it as a bevel setter. Nice toofer there.

You know there's a reason people use the stones they do on razors & that's because they work & lots of help is available when learning.
If you like a challenge or like spending & reselling then mix n match otherwise stick with something known to work. Norton & Naniwa are inexpensive.

Using a 1200 DMT for lapping will turn it into a paperweight in no time. 325 or coarser is the DMT for lapping.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

You know there's a reason people use the stones they do on razors & that's because they work & lots of help is available when learning.
If you like a challenge or like spending & reselling then mix n match otherwise stick with something known to work. Norton & Naniwa are inexpensive.

Using a 1200 DMT for lapping will turn it into a paperweight in no time. 325 or coarser is the DMT for lapping.

Oz speaks the truth. I hesitate to say it, to guys inquiring, that it really is best in getting 2 dmt 325's.
Take a screwdriver shaft to both, but abuse one of them to knives, chisels, getting chips out, breadboarding, flattening barber's hones, and the like, in order to wear it out, so to speak. As a DMT 325 gets worthless for anything else, it is the PERFECT thing to flatten any stone. The other is used best to get chips out and start the bevel a bit before moving on. JMO!