Quote Originally Posted by Brent375HH View Post
I wish I could answer your question better, but I am only 6 weeks into honing and have no "Snob Rocks" to compare it to. I lapped them on 600 wet or dry (wet) on my granite island counter top. Both of my hones are 7" x 2.5". Both came off ebay and were $20 shipped each. I am a veteran DE shaver and can get my straight blades sharp enough for a close shave off them. I will NOT say that I think I can get an edge as sharp as a good DE blade, but sharp enough to get a good shave in 3 passes. It might be superfluous but I have been putting glycerin on the 8 & 10 hoping to get a finer finish. Are they really the grits that they claim? I don't know. The combo stone sure has a lot of bubbles pouring out at the point of gluing when first soaked, but has not come apart.

Sorry I don't have a Norton or Naniwa to compare them to. Sooner or later my curiosity will lead me to purchase them, and for no other reason than support this fine website if they don't turn out to produce a better edge.
Haha, "Snob Rocks." Amusing way to put it. I don't have any of those either, unless maybe my Norton 1K, 4K, and 8K hones count? All my other hones are naturals, and I don't think I've spent more than 30 to 35 bucks (including shipping) on any one of them.

Well, it seems to me between your hones and pastes you should* have the tools necessary to put as good an edge on your razors as a DE. This is assuming of course, that your hones are at/near the 8-10K level. And there is a purpose to vinyl without paste. Straightens the edge if it somehow forms a little wave and it abrades away any filings left over from the hone. It also has an effect on the edge, but you're not going to see it without a scanning electron microscope.

Here's a neat little resource that gets shared from time to time where the author has done just that:

https://scienceofsharp.wordpress.com...-stropping-do/

If you haven't seen it, the site really helps you get an idea what's going on at the smallest level possible.