Thread: The definitive Barber's Hone grit answer..

Ok, now that I have your attention... this is definitely NOT the definitive answer, but my observations.
I own a Norton 220/1K, and a 4k/8k.
In addition I have 2 Barber's hones, one reknown Swaty, and one Edlis Special. The Edlis appears to be a bit softer than the Swaty, as I can raise a slurry with a DMT on it, whereas the Swaty just destroyed my DMT's grit. I have read in other threads that these and other Barber's hones are no finer than a Norton 8k, while others contend they are along the lines of a 12k. So I decided to do a little experiment with a recent honed Dubl Duck. This was honed with 0ne piece of tape, bevel set on a 1K popping arm hairs, then refined on the 4k and 8k. Shaved with it and got a DFS. I use a 60x loupe to inspect my edges.
I did one side with the Swaty, and the other with the Edlis.
There were defined hone lines from the previous stones, primarily in angled direction, due to me using a toe leading stroke.
I did primarily circle strokes with the Barber's hones to make it easier to see any change in pattern.
What I observed was a significant decrease in the number of angled scratch marks, with no indication of circular scratches.
This was after approximately 1500 strokes! 100 at a time.
My conclusion is that the Barber's hones I have are a finer grit than the Norton 8k, and are significantly slower. So I will continue to used them as my finishing hones, With the Edlis first, with a slurry, then onto the Swaty.

YMMV.

P.S. Three pieces of scotch tape= 1 piece of electrical

I use an "Apart" barber hone after my 8k now and notice a definite improvement. I have heard it speculated that the Apart hone is 12 to 15k grit. Was a good $20 spent

I have a (you guessed it) NOS DD barbers hone that I swore I would never use. ( Your twisting my arm here) It has 2 sides and the finishing side feels a lot softer than my 12k Nani. More like some fine naturals Wolf has given me the opportunity to hold. Any barbers hone must have done the trick because that's all they had :<0) .

One thing I found fascinating is that 1500 swipes didn't get rid of all the scratches. So that tells me not alot of metal is being removed. This makes me rethink how all those razors got so worn down by Barber's Hones.

Originally Posted by souschefdude

One thing I found fascinating is that 1500 swipes didn't get rid of all the scratches. So that tells me not alot of metal is being removed. This makes me rethink how all those razors got so worn down by Barber's Hones.

Would more pressure do it? If they are pretty slow, people might have been tempted to push the razor onto the stone harder.

As an aside, before all the synthetics were easily available, what did people do once the barbers hone stopped being effective, if they left it too long before maintaining it? i realise that naturals would have been around, but I am sure folks didnt have the cash for a pipe of hones.
And what about lapping in the old days too?
This is a genuine question, I am not just following you round being argumentative today

Seems to be that while barbers hones can Definatly refine an edge, the ones I have played with are aggressive (as far as how fast they remove metal). I only do about 10 laps on my Apart hone.

Modine has been doing a lot of testing of barber hones. There is quite a variance for the fine and coarse and aggressive. They can be anywhere from 4k to 15k if my memory is correct. I also have several and do finish with them too. I'm not sure if I am experimenting or just collecting stuff, but I believe I am on a quest for the perfect edge like so many others. I've gotten some nice edges with this way.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Would more pressure do it? If they are pretty slow, people might have been tempted to push the razor onto the stone harder.

As an aside, before all the synthetics were easily available, what did people do once the barbers hone stopped being effective, if they left it too long before maintaining it? i realise that naturals would have been around, but I am sure folks didnt have the cash for a pipe of hones.
And what about lapping in the old days too?
This is a genuine question, I am not just following you round being argumentative today

Pushing down on the razor, IMO, flexes the blade and results in honing the shoulder of the bevel, especially on the hollow grounds, not so much on wedges.
Ed, not sure what they would have done. I know back in the day every town would have a dude who would sharpen your knives, not sure about the razors.

Originally Posted by MattCB

Seems to be that while barbers hones can Definatly refine an edge, the ones I have played with are aggressive (as far as how fast they remove metal). I only do about 10 laps on my Apart hone.

Which hones are those? Cause these 2 I would not call aggressive. I was always tentative about doing more than 10 laps before, for fear of wearing my blades down prematurely, but now I don't think I will.

We still have a dude that sharpens our saws and drills...

Now i'm going back to buy that barber hone in the junk store. There's a celluloid-scaled razor with it, but it's 5/8 and rusty as wallace and 'em. I'll leave it for some "lucky chap". I got my eyes on a fat one, will report later.