Thread: Hit the 1 year mark with my Gokumyo 20K

While I am by no stretch of any sane persons imagination skilled at honing. This for me has proven to be an excellent purchase. I have zeroed in on what for me is my favorite razor. My 7/8 NOS Otto Busch Worldmaster. Having used it(Otto) 98% for the past two months. It seems that 25-30 comfortable shaves is the norm for me. It and others are still shaving. Just not as smoothly as I would like.
After that amount of shaves a touch up is needed. And this is where the G20K is a great thing to pull out of the china cabinet. A splash of water and 20-30 strokes brings Otto or any of my other razors right back to where I like them.
I have finished all of my razors with it and it seems to do a good job on all of them. Vintage American , English , German , Japanese and Russian razors. One stainless. So far no new production ones.
For me this is a great stone. It just works. No magic or tricks needed. Just careful deliberate strokes are able to give great results.
I'll admit that I am intrigued to learn about other types of stones. But that would just be curiosity to try them. Not a need. As my Norton combos and G20K are able to get and keep my razors doing fine.
There are lots of threads on here about this stone. And what I am saying is nothing new. But I just thought I would share my experience. In that it may help anyone considering pulling the trigger on one.
Hope everone has a good New Year. Ken

Have you ever tried reducing the number of strokes? For its grit rating, it is a fairly aggressive hone and I feel that 10, sometimes 15, usually is sufficient for me. I'm not suggesting that you change what you are doing if it works, just wondering how you arrived at 20-30. Sometimes it's hard to stop so soon!

My friend is trying to talk me into using one of those, but it is hard for me to give up my Naniwa 12k. I, like you, a have discovered that frequent maintainence is easier that than re-honing. Glad that stone is working for you!

Next time I will try fewer strokes. And test the results. The number is not usually exact. I do 10 check it on my leg hair. Then do some more. And have even used very light thumb pressure on part of a blade if it was popping nicely everywhere else but one section. Such as the toe or heel. Always appreciate tips and feedback. Thanks. Ken

Originally Posted by Ernie1980

My friend is trying to talk me into using one of those, but it is hard for me to give up my Naniwa 12k. I, like you, a have discovered that frequent maintainence is easier that than re-honing. Glad that stone is working for you!

By all means don't give up the 12K Naniwa. just add a few strokes with the Suehiro 20K and notice the difference. I did and was very pleased with the results. The 20K Suehiro is just a finisher for the finisher.

The GMN-200 is hands down the best hone I ever bought 2nd place would be the Chosera 1k. The Suehiro produces edges that make me happy and for me that was a big deal. This stone compensates for whatever I may lack in skill or patience 10,20 or 30 strokes I usually get what I'm after a great shave. Happy honing and new year to you all.

I send all of my razors to a pro for honing, and have focussed on touching them up when they start to tug. This stone has also worked extremely well for me and has been all that I've needed the past couple of years.

Yup, as all said its a great hone. I use for maintenance and
after a naniwa 10k test shave, If alls good 10 or so laps just takes my razors to another level. Any more than 20 and i find the edge a little harsh for my face.