Thread: belgian stones or norton?

so i guess i,m going to have to start honing soon so here,s the question..
what stone would be the easiest for a newbie to start honing with? belgian blue and yellow or the norton combi or is there an easier stone ,there seems to be so many options available, barber hones, pasted strops,jap stones ect each have their plus points i would imagine.
so any pointers please gents thanks
tony

Tony

I started on a norton 4/8 2 years ago and it was a great stone to learn on. Pastes and Belgians aside...you should be able to get a razor shave ready on the norton and strop alone. I found that once I came off the 8k side, giving the razor a couple hundred laps on the strop really smooths out the edge.

I recently switched to the belgian stones and am still in the process of experimenting, but I would say if you have the extra cash to pick up a yellow coticule it's worth the money. Its a great polishing stone and made a huge difference in the quality of my edges.

JR

thanks jr, i,m sorry but do you mean pick up a yellow coticule as well as or instead of a norton. thanks

Tony - Sorry, just to clarify...i meant the yellow coticule would be a good finishing stone to use between the norton and the strop. Lynn has a great DVD which demostrates his pyramid method on the norton, followed by 20 laps on the coticule to achieve a very sharp edge. There is really a lot of experimentation out there, but the norton is really all you need.

I'm sure others will chime in here, but most will concur that the norton is a great stone all-in-one for starting out and working on your technique.

I went the belgian route when I started and have come to love them. Thanks to LX_Emergency, Bruno, and now JoshEarl, there's a lot of support and expertise here for how to use them as working stones (many here use them only as finishers, but that's a different thing).

But I think there's something to be said for starting on a Norton; it's still sort of the standard.

tonyspurs,

The answer of Norton waterstones to all our questions both personal and scientific is semi adequate for me. When reading the various discussions about what stone to get for sharpening razors, I decided to follow the advice of most and ordered the Norton 220/1K and 4K/8K combos. Recently, I jumped into honing with both feet and took a old razor with a nasty nick and honed it down to where the nick disappeared and then worked up the grit path. I noticed that the appearance of the scratch pattern from both the well lapped 4K and 8K sides of my hone seemed identical through the Radio Shack hand held microscope. Only when I took the razor to my coticule stones could a see a reduction in the apparent scratch depth from the Norton stones. With a very light touch on the dry yellow coticule, I got a smooth appearing bevel - and one that shaved. The Nortons for me have not worked on finishing the edge. But I'm just starting in at this process and know not much of what I speak.

Bruce

I started out with the Jap stones just for the money sake. When talking with FireStart, he told me that if I bought them they take a bit more work on the razor, as they don't cut as well as the Norton Combo.

Once I bought the Norton Combo, I could use the Jap Stones (4K, 8K) for light finishing on the blades edge. This seems to work out very nicely. So, if you are strapped for cash, then the Jap stones will work just fine, though you need to modify the pyramid a bit. It will take a bit longer but give good results after you strop it as well.

Hope that helps.

I'm in the minority here, but I really didn't care for my norton...in fact it bordered on disliking it. I didn't like the combination aspect (which some people love) and found myelf wanting separate stones. I also didn't like that you have to soak it. Last but not least, the thing is huge. As I got better with honing i found myself wanting a narrower stone in the 6"x2" range. (again, another aspect some people like). I ended up returning my stone (the beauty of leevalley). In the lower grits (for honing out nicks and establishing a bevel) the norton would be fine and even recommended, but for finishing work i'd opt for the coticule

so they way i see it is i need a blue and yellow belgian norton from tokyo?

my lynn abrams dvd has just this minute arrived along with a little filly and a nice charge from those lovely people at customs and excise
so i,ll have a look at that soon might have a better idea when i see them in action

Originally Posted by edk442

I'm in the minority here, but I really didn't care for my norton...in fact it bordered on disliking it. I didn't like the combination aspect (which some people love) and found myelf wanting separate stones. I also didn't like that you have to soak it. Last but not least, the thing is huge. As I got better with honing i found myself wanting a narrower stone in the 6"x2" range. (again, another aspect some people like). I ended up returning my stone (the beauty of leevalley). In the lower grits (for honing out nicks and establishing a bevel) the norton would be fine and even recommended, but for finishing work i'd opt for the coticule

As a newbie, I'm not really enjoying the Norton either. The coticule "I get" and am having great results with it. I'm going to keep experimenting with the Nortons as I'm sure it's my technique. Given that the Norton is a workhorse stone, I figure that it's something I should really learn.

When doing pyramids, the flipping the stone and rewetting thing was annoying to me. I have a 1K/4K and 4K/8K. That way the 1K is available for bigger jobs, and then have both stones available to go back and forth between instead of flip flopping. This made pyramids faster and more convenient. Not that I reach for these stones much anymore.