Thread: Which barber hone?

Looking for a good quality barber hone to help maintain my PRC Hydra, any advice?

Honestly in investing in a 12k Naniwa, Kuromaku, or 15k shapton pro would be money better spent.

Barber hones vary widely in quality. They can be fun to play with but the consensus seems to be that we have access to far superior tools for maintaining razors.


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There are quite a few really great Barber hones. There has been quite a bit of work done in an attempt to classify them over at razor and stone.
There are a few that tend to be rather pricey.
There are others that are very good. Frank Swaty three line, Zennith, Fenslers Ruby, are all top of the line. The trick is to find them in very good condition. If you have to lap them it is a crap shoot as to whether or not they will survive or perform properly after lapping. I used to used them as my finisher after my Norton 8K. I have had many different ones and they can still be had for reasonable money, but condition is everything.

Originally Posted by RezDog

There are quite a few really great Barber hones. There has been quite a bit of work done in an attempt to classify them over at razor and stone.
There are a few that tend to be rather pricey.
There are others that are very good. Frank Swaty three line, Zennith, Fenslers Ruby, are all top of the line. The trick is to find them in very good condition. If you have to lap them it is a crap shoot as to whether or not they will survive or perform properly after lapping. I used to used them as my finisher after my Norton 8K. I have had many different ones and they can still be had for reasonable money, but condition is everything.

Good points Frictionite, Panama, Lakeside are great hones. I didn't mean to dismiss a good barber hone out of hand.


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You can add Celtes barber hones, Raven hones, and Pike hones to the list. I've gotten great shaves off each of them.

Originally Posted by RezDog

The trick is to find them in very good condition. If you have to lap them it is a crap shoot as to whether or not they will survive or perform properly after lapping.

^^^ all of this

If you have to lap them, then the odds are high that it no longer will work as well as it did before the lapping. Barber hones were made with relatively large grit. The smoothness of the surface came from the factory lapping/burnishing. If you lap a barber hone you will be hard-pressed to replicate the original surface, so in effect you will be making your hone more coarse. In general a barber hone with a scratched surface still is preferable to that same hone with the scratches lapped away.

The razor and stone thread on barber's hones is very good - especially identifying those that improve an 8k edge. But how many improve a 12k edge?

I've never owned a barber hone, the ones that I am interested in, Lakeside, Panama, Fernsler's, Frictionite go for more than I'd pay. For Frictionite money, I'd buy a Naniwa 12k and a tile saw and cut 3" off the end of the Naniwa. Then re-tile my foyer.

Cheers, Steve

The majority of the barber hones that I've read about in those evaluations were lapped. However, I do agree with your point. Not many barber hones can beat the edge off a Naniwa 12k.

Originally Posted by Utopian

The majority of the barber hones that I've read about in those evaluations were lapped. However, I do agree with your point. Not many barber hones can beat the edge off a Naniwa 12k.

Yes without the factory surface finish on the stone the edge finishing (touch up) qualities could differ greatly from one that still retains this finish. While one would say it's great another would say it is only ok.

For that reason alone I would suggest OP buys one off someone reliable who has used it instead of taking a chance on eBay especially since he's not familiar with the nuances of what to look for.

A reliable good condition 3 line franz swaty... Like an AK-47. Always works.

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