Thread: Testing out a hone

Just curious to what routine you guys go through when testing a new hone out.

Have any specific razor that you use for testing as well?

Bevel setter, mid-range, or finisher? Synthetic or natural?

naturals, I will be testing finisher but just curious what others like to do

If it's a natural finisher some guys will take a known, predictable edge, then max it out on a predictable synthetic, say a Norton 8k or Naniwa 12 k depending on how fine you expect it might be. How does that shave?

Then see how far if any you can improve the edge on that natural. Of course other variables like water only or slurry dilutions, maybe different oils depending on the type of stone, all complicate things.

IIRC Modine aka Mike has a good, repeatable testing regime he puts new hones through. Maybe he will chime in. But as Utopian said, knowing more about the stone will tell you how it might or should perform compared to other similar naturals, but that's the thing with naturals, you never know until you put steel on YOUR stone.

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

If it's a natural finisher some guys will take a known, predictable edge, then max it out on a predictable synthetic, say a Norton 8k or Naniwa 12 k depending on how fine you expect it might be. How does that shave?

Then see how far if any you can improve the edge on that natural. Of course other variables like water only or slurry dilutions, maybe different oils depending on the type of stone, all complicate things.

IIRC Modine aka Mike has a good, repeatable testing regime he puts new hones through. Maybe he will chime in. But as Utopian said, knowing more about the stone will tell you how it might or should perform compared to other similar naturals, but that's the thing with naturals, you never know until you put steel on YOUR stone.

Pretty much this. I hone a blade on the Norton 8K and test it to make sure it shaves. I know the 8K and what an edge honed on it should feel like. Then I'll hone on the new stone and do a test shave. The first thing I want to know is how the stone finishes with pure water. Then I'll check how it shaves when honed with shave lather. If they make it sharper but less comfortable then the experiments might shift to honing dry or with a thin slurry. Or possibly taming the edge with a CrOx strop.

If it doesn't feel sharp enough then I need to evaluate if it's worth putting in time to burnish the stone and try that. If it doesn't work out after a good burnish then I know I (probably) have a paperweight on my hands.

Originally Posted by Marshal

Or possibly taming the edge with a CrOx strop.

I keep lurking on these posts in order to learn more. I haven't taken the plunge with naturals as yet I have enough acquisition disorders raging on at the moment.

I have a Naniwa 12K which I use to refresh razors. When I have finished on the stone I generally use a CrOx paddle strop before hitting the leather and then shaving. Am I potentially dulling the edge from the 12K by doing this.

Really sorry about the

It depends on how intensive the test you want to makeup.
I am lucky enough to have 2 identical old Le Dandy razors.
They were made in a time the french got their heat treatment right and have fine grained steel and no warping issues) so they hone up easy and get a nice edge off all synthetic or naturals I have.

I usualy hone them both on a sinthetic progression of shaptons or chosera up to 5k 8k or 12k depending on what I expect the tested hone to be.
After both are done I inspect the edge under the scope. @300x

And one of them is progressed on the new hone.

I check the edge again and after that I test shave both of them ...one on half a beard and the other one on whats left...

This is not my method...I learned it from a much more experienced user...but it works for me.

It all ends up on the subjective feeling you get from the shave....I have had fine polishers that gave a harsh edge and exceptional shaves of ugly edges....coticules for example dont usualy leave a pritty bevel under magnification but the shaves are smooth and kind to the skin.

It all depends on what stone you have and how well you manage to master it...I have bought stones from friends that told me there is nothing special about them and I found them to be gems....I also bought gems that I could not get a decent edge off

I struggled to get a decent edge of my coticules for about 1 year before making a breaktrough.

Some stones are pritty straight forward like most synthetics...
But natural stones should be tested using multiple techniques.

For example some jnats give a harsh edge on slurry dilution and plain water finish...or running water finish and some of these benefit from finishing on thicher slurry.

Same goes for some Escher stones or slate type hones.

Coticules that exidit slurry dulling usualy have irregular shaped garnets and circle strokes should be avoided....they benefit from x passes and finishing under running water....or oil finish.

Some harder non porous stones benefit from honing oil

And you must also take into consideration that some steels dont get allong naturaly with some stones...
From my experience for example...Filarmonicas love coticule edge and jnat edge...even a sinthetic edge can cut it nicely for a fily....but they dont donso great on eschers....
Actualy most extremly fine ground blades with thin hollows and thickness behind the edge have problems on slate because slate has a somewhat lower cutting power.

Eschers get allong with old sheffield steel and sweedish and german blades that dont have an extremly thin grind or thin bevels.

French hones like the La Lune are also picky on the steel they hone.

The bottom line is that there is no true universaly accepted thest more important then the way you feel it shaves.

And that is highly subjective on yor technique and honing skills...the quality of the stone and your expectations.

I remember first time I honedd my first Iwasaki tamahagane it was so hard and unforgiving on the hones and I had great expectations from it...the first shave I had was ordinary...I had to hone it 3 times until I managed to max the edge out and in the end I got a superb shave...it was my technique and lack of understanding that a hard temper blade is harder to sharpen.

Also I recomend using a quality razor you know well and is easy to sharpen for testing.



Some ppl use gold dolars for testing and that's ok too but that steel is limited in what you can expect for it.

I have tested many natural stones and in my beginings I used to keep all that I bought...last year or so I narrowed the hone setup to a sinthetic progression bevel setter to 12k and ...2jnats ...1 escher ....2 coticules... and honestly it is more then I need...but I kept the hones that fitted my technique and needs...Having fewer stones and spending more time on them lets you get the best out of them faster in my opinion.

Hope the info is helpfull and sorry for straying off the topic's subject.

Originally Posted by Porl

I keep lurking on these posts in order to learn more. I haven't taken the plunge with naturals as yet I have enough acquisition disorders raging on at the moment.

I have a Naniwa 12K which I use to refresh razors. When I have finished on the stone I generally use a CrOx paddle strop before hitting the leather and then shaving. Am I potentially dulling the edge from the 12K by doing this.

Really sorry about the

Nope, .5 CrOx is about equivalent to a 30K hone. But the good stuff made for straight razors creates a comfortable edge if used right.

The only way you'd dull it is to lift the spine and drag the edge over the abrasive.

I'm a fan of doing the same for any natural stone to get a baseline of what it does.

Start with a 12k edge, shave test if I'm not impatient.

Any stone, no slurry and 50 laps with water, feather light strokes. Then inspect with magnification and either go to a shave or work the edge on the stone more.

Ovidiucotiga at least I now know I'm not the only one who has two matching razors, and shaves half with each one when testing a hone. I have two Bismarck Razor Works #406 that always take a good even and sharp edge easily. I found it was the easiest way to see if the edge was improved by a stone.