Thread: Honed my first razors!

Originally Posted by RezDog

I hope you spend a lot of time with each new hone and do not just buy hones like crazy and never really learn any of them.

Point well taken, and another one that I learned during this process. That's what I would share with other guys looking to try this--learning and practicing the first steps at the bevel stage are key. I feel no need to go acquiring natural finishing stones at this point. If anything, I think I could benefit most from practice at a 1K level and then on up. I feel very confident that 5 / 8 /12 Naniwa SSs will serve me well for a very long time and will improve through practice, practice, practice.

A lot of folks are quite happy with the Naniwa 12K as their finisher, so I'd agree there's no need to rush and add new hones. Spend time getting reliable, repeatable results off the Naniwa stones. Once you've got a handle on them maybe venture into the wide world of natural hones. There's a lot of fun to be had with both. Right now my biggest issue is figuring out which system I want to play with on any given day.

I use a 1, 5, 8, 12 rotation.

My 1K is the Naniwa professional (chosera).

All the rest are speciality (super) stones.

I have no problems making the jump from 1K to 5K. I don't use any slurry on any of the hones.

I can shave from a 1K edge. It's a bit rough but possible. If you can't get a near perfect 1K edge then you will need the 3K and still might miss the mark.

As for the 12K finish. I've just done 2 of my every day razors on it this week rather than one of my naturals. It's a decent enough edge, and doesn't require any brain power to get it right. The simplest natural that is very similar to the 12K in operation would be a Thuringian. Everything else seems to need slurry dilution, or loads of laps. As a new honer it's best not to have to worry about either as it increases the chances of making that 1 silly mistake that sets your edge back.