Thread: Skipping the 4k

Hi there, I'm new to honing straight razors and have a question. Is it possible to skip the 4,000 grit stone and go directly from a 1200 to an 8,000. I have a 1200 grit stone, an 8000 synthetic and currently ordering a chinese 12,000 from woodcraft.

My worry is would there be any problems with the jagged edge produced from the 1200 and "shock" when going directly to the 8,000? How crucial is the 4000 step?

Hello Pflaumesaft, welcome to SRP! Well a 1200 grit stone is more for restoration work i.e. establishing a new bevel or removing large chips. If the razor is in good shape you won't need the 1200. It is possible to go from 1200-8000 but the amount of strokes needed to remove the 1200 striations or scratches would be a lot. the 8000 grit stone is more of a final polish. I'm sure a Honemeister will chime in soon

Good question.

You would probably be just as well off trying 8k alone first and being very patient. You can recover from one or two 1K strokes though if you need it. It shouldn't be too big a deal. Most razors come from the factory with a really good bevel, its the sharpness they don't apply, which you can often put on with 8K alone.

Be careful though if you use a 1K pass. As it cuts fast, it damages fast too. Easy way to screw up a perfectly good bevel.

As mentioned you may need lots o' 8K passes afterward.

To be honest, I would be more worried about your skill level than stone grit. Using a 1K might have some risks involved.

I have to agree with what's been said here. Skipping grits is possible, but it can be frustrating even if you have some experience.

One time I was working on some razors with really bad edge damage, so I used a 600-grit hone to fix the bevels. Then I went to a Belgian blue hone, which is a natural stone in the 4K-6K range. I did a few hundred laps on it, and it hardly dented the 600-grit scratches. Now, this is a slow hone compared to the Norton. But after using a 1200-grit hone, I only have to do 50 laps or so to get rid of the coarser scratches.

Using just the 8K on a new razor sounds like a good place to start.

Josh

alternate honing from 4000 to 8000 and from 8000 to 4000 or from blue belgian to yellow, prevents the formation of a wire edge so I believe that the pyramid method is ideal for straight razor honing.
With too many pases in 8000 it is very easy to overhone a razor!

I agree on the Norton, but I've yet to come across anyone who says they've gotten a wire edge on the blue Belgian and yellow coticule. They seem to cut slowly enough that wire edges aren't a problem.

Josh

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

I agree on the Norton, but I've yet to come across anyone who says they've gotten a wire edge on the blue Belgian and yellow coticule. They seem to cut slowly enough that wire edges aren't a problem.

Josh

I agree with JoshEarl but for one that starts honing it is easy to overhone moreover (I dont know if this is the correct world) and with a Belgian

Sure, you can skip the 4000 but you better have the patience of a Saint!!! Go find a inexpensive Japanese 4000 waterstone. It will save you a ton of frustration.