Thread: Simplifying Honing

Hi All,
i need help simplifying honing please. i have very limited cash resources and limited time. i am experienced sharpening knives and swords, but new to straight razors. Much of what is discussed here seems overkill { i could be wrong } and some of the resources i am having trouble finding. ie; 12K yellow coticule. The ones at perfect edge are described as 8K on the site. Is there a real difference between that and a Norton 8K ?
My plan is to buy a honed razor from Tony Miller { then i expect i will have a benchmark to understand "sharp" } and a 4 sided Heirloom strop. Treat 3 sides with diamond paste in 1, 0.5 & 0.25 micron. Then pyramid on a Norton 4K/8K with slurry from Nagura stone, followed by stropping on successive pastes and finish on the plain polished leather of the strop. This is still a stretch in my budget, but i hope is worth it. Then i can sharpen a few razors i have properly. {if any are too worn i have a some King brand Japanese waterstones in 2000 & 6000K that i use for knives and swords}
Given there is an unlimited number of ways to do things, does anyone see this method as faulty ? Should i end with true "shave ready" razors ?

Adam,

First off welcome to the forum. I think you'll find everyone here will be a valuable resource as you learn the honing skill. You're right that a norton 4k/8k and one of Tony's pasted paddles are all you need to get shave ready. But on the other hand there is really no way to simplify honing. You'll need to develop your own style and I think Lynn's DVD is a great resource for starting.

In answer to your question...the 8k grit yellow coticule is the equivilant of a 10-12k grit waterstone. So it is much finer than the norton 8k and used a finishing/polishing stone (similar to the paddle strop you're getting).

Good luck!

JR

You don't need slurry on a the norton.

A 4 sided paddle and a norton 4/8 should be sufficient for most of your honing.
There are other ways as well. LX_Emergency only uses a yellow coticule bout, others use other waterstones for finishing, or use only blue and yellow belgian stones.

My usual progression is first the norton 4/8, and when it is sharp enough I finish on a yellow coticule. I don't use or have pasted paddles.
Unless you are planning to do a lot of restoration work, a norton 4/8 and something to finish on is all you need.

If you can spend 25$ extra, I recommend you buy the norton flattening stone as well. They work great for lapping your norton every so often.
After some use the nortons tend to get hollowed out surfaces (even though you can't really see it with the naked eye) and this can mess up your edges.

You can also lap on wet-dry sandpaper on a glass plate or so, but that is messier and takes longer. I think the flattening stone is worth the extra cash, but I also hone a lot of razors so for me it saves a lot of time.

Adam,

Norton 4/8. I get shave-sharp razors off that, and sometimes a couple of swipes on a pasted strop.

James.

Hi Adam, and welcome to the world of straight razors...

All I use is the Norton 4K/8K combo stone. It gets my razor sharp and comfortable to shave with.

Lately, I have replaced the 4K side of my hone with the Lithide barber hone. I find it easier to use, due to the lack of soaking, and faster than the Norton 4000.

Since you already have the 6000 King hone, I can recommend that you lap the hone good, straightening its surface, and try honing your razor using only that. Many of the old days barber hones were in that grit range. Later on, you can try using some Chromium Oxide mix on a letter or balsa surface, but you will be fine without it. If you like to use stone for the finishing touch, try the Chinese water stone from Woodcraft, marked 12000 grit (30$)

That would be honing on a budget...


Nenad

I've tried diamond paste and chromium oxide and the norton 4k/8k. All I use now is the Norton and since I have it shave ready, I just need to use the the 8k side for touch ups. I get very good shaves just from the Norton.

I like your plan. The only wrinkle I can see is that the three grits of paste you suggest are all pretty fine. you might want to ask some of the regular pasted paddle users about trading one for something a little coarser.

Please keep us posted as to your progress. your experience sharpening blades will be very interesting to many here.

X

Your responses have been very encouraging and much appreciated. Probably take a couple of weeks for the supplies to arrive down here, but please rest assured that i will let you know of my results.
Thanks.