Thread: Hone of the Day

My Naniwa Hayabusa, I am liking this stone a lot, its been getting some love the last few weeks, very smooth.

Describe this Hayabusa, Alpla? Is it really fast?

Yes its fast to what I have had before, Dalmore blue was my preferred stone for the mid range, or a Suehiro Cerax 3k, thats fast but bevel does not look as refined compared to the Hayabusa to my eyes (which a 3k should not do I suppose)
I also have a Norton 4k which I dont use as its sooooo thirsty (I have a Norton 1k which I wont use for same reason)

I tried a couple of razors last week using Chosera 1k, Hayabusa, Snow White, SG20K, only 4 stones dam quick and a dam good shave!!!


Its a well regarded stone that you dont see being used too much on the forums imho, I suppose Im different to a lot of people as I am not tied into a particular brand or system, I have good hones but from a variety of makes + naturals, its works for and Im happy.

What are you using for the 4k region?

I have always used a 4/8 Norton combo stone. The individual Nortons are indeed thirsty. But the combo, Notsomuch, IMO.
Is this a line of hones, or the name of a 3k hone?


Oh! Those scales are cool!

Yes I have the individual Nortons (I did not know the combi was different thirst wise)

The 3k is a Suehiro Cerax ceramic hone, not bad and not that common on the forums,

Thanks on the scales, its for a friend who is a LSU Tigers fan, I think he will be happy as I got the colours pretty close.

Originally Posted by alpla444

Yes I have the individual Nortons (I did not know the combi was different thirst wise)

The 3k is a Suehiro Cerax ceramic hone, not bad and not that common on the forums,

Thanks on the scales, its for a friend who is a LSU Tigers fan, I think he will be happy as I got the colours pretty close.

You could probably get a good price on them here in Minnesota this week because many people are stupid crazy about the Vikings.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Describe this Hayabusa, Alpla? Is it really fast?

Got about an hour in it. Watched part of a movie while doing it. Fast is a relativity.

Originally Posted by outback

Got about an hour in it. Watched part of a movie while doing it. Fast is a relativity.

I sometimes finish with a Charnley Forrest so speed is not always important, that said the Dalmor Blue is quite quick as a natural mid range but takes a bit longer to remove the marks from it, the Hayabusa leaves less/smaller marks imho which is where you gain the time.

What was the movie?

Forgot to post my Charn Harwood session from last night.

Here's an interesting HOtD, a new to me 133 6/8 Red Imp, the hollow one. It's in very good condition with little wear on it and the bluing and red paint on the tang are intact. Being a hone nerd, of course I wanted my own edge on it.

After inspecting the apex for defects which would dictate what grit I start with (there weren't any to speak of), the next step was to determine if it had been honed with tape. I don't use tape except for wedges, decorated spines, framebacks or shallow bevel angles, and when I do I use DuPont Kapton 1mil which is thinner than Scotch by about half. 20 easy strokes on a Shapton 4k HR Glass Stone and the 7x Hastings Triplet gave me the answer, the hone is cutting at the shoulder of the bevel so tape was used, and I'll have to set a new bevel

My normal progression is a 2k, 5k, 8k Shapton Pro, but I got the Glass 4k because it's fast and can be used for light bevel work especially on thinly ground razors. So after about 40 more strokes, progress is being made but I'm still a long way from the apex. I could have easily dropped down to a 1k or 2k stone, but then I'd also have coarser striae to remove. I'm not in a hurry and this is what the 4k Glass is for, so onward. After 500-600 strokes, checking the bevel every 40-50 strokes, I'm there, the apex is straight, no shiney thingys, and looks good. Why so many strokes? It's a fine hone and a thinly ground razor so you can't push very hard or you'll round the bevels, miss the apex, and hurt the razor. I give it a half stropping (10 canvas and 20 leather) and do a HHT. It always struggles a bit more at 4k than 5k, but the edge cuts hair close to the hold point, and importantly, cuts the same toe, heel, and middle. I know the bevel is perfectly set.

Easy pie from here on, my normal honing sequence of 8k and koma nagura before finishing on the 'sunrise stone', a hard and very fine jnat which yields a super smooth edge. I call it the sunrise stone because Japan is the land of the rising sun and the hones come from a mountain. If you look, you can see a silhouette of a mountain with the sunrise behind it, outlining the mountain. Pictures in stone, cool.

Super smooth butterknife edge, mission accomplished.

Cheers, Steve