Printable View
Hi,Iv'e just started using a straight razor and I'm not doing to bad (I can see improvement).I was given an extra fine diamond stone and I was wondering if I should use a wet stone afterwards if so what grade of stone?Advice would be appreciated Thanks.
What grit is your extra-fine diamond stone? And what type of wet stone are you thinking of?
Most of us use hones in the 4000-12,000 grit range (4k is for rough honing, and 8k-12k is for the final polishing step). The 4k/8k combination waterstone by Norton is pretty popular around here, and some guys use barber hones ($15-30 on ebay) to good effect - they're usually in the 6k-9k range. Also chinese waterstones from your local woodworking store, which are available in the 12k range. There's also more exotic stones like the belgian coticule stones (~$75 from http://www.theperfectedge.com/). You can use really high-grade arkansas stones like white and pink translucents as well though they're a little low grit for optimal performance - you'll probably want to follow it up with some stropping on finer grit abrasive pastes.
Hi,thanks for the reply.I don't know what grit the diamond stone is it just says it's extra fine, also I was thinking of using the norton 4k-8k combination stone seen as it is so popular with a lot of people on this forum.I thought the diamond stone would be a good place to start with followed by the norton which I have yet to purchase then a good strop.
thanks
If it's a knife hone then it may be only 600 grit or so. Knife guys tend to think of hard white arkansas (~800 grit) as "super fine". Razor steel is much harder and more brittle than knife steel, so we generally prefer to use finer grit hones that don't beat up the edge as much. A common set of hones around here is the 4k/8k norton and a 12k belgian coticule.
As with knives, it's far preferable to get it sharp once and then keep it sharp, and this means you'll be getting much more use out of the 8000+ grit hones than you will your coarser hones. Most of the guys that use 1k grit hones only use them to get the edge on those 100+ yr old ebay razors back into some semblance of shape and then quickly move up to the 4k+ hones, and once the razor is shaving sharp they may never use anything but the coticule on it ever again (unless you drop it or accidentally roll the edge on the strop).
You want to keep separate hones for your razor. Knives and chisels really beat up a hone to the point where it won't work for razors without some serious work flattening them again.
I'll keep the diamond stone for those ebay razors i've just bought and i'll purchase a norton combination stone.Thankyou for the help.
This one may be good for knives. I'd rather use the 1k Norton for both knives and rough honing of razors.
The DMT "extra fine" diamond hone is 1200 grit. I like mine but it's only good for removing nicks and chips and reestablishing a bevel on an old razor. Beyond that you'll need something much finer.
It would make a good compliment to a Norton 4/8K, greatly reducing the time it would take you to restore an eBay razor. :)
Josh
Thanks for all the helpful replies.
Hone a razor with the diamond stone and see what the scratches on the edge of the razor look like, then do the same with a Norton or coticule or whatever. You'll definitely see a difference. If it's an extra fine and says that on the side of the diamond hone, it's probably a DMT and best used for really dull razors.