Thread: Shapton Glass 30K or Suehiro 20K ?

Am definitely interested in your shave off the 20K

I have both the 30K and the 20K.

Honestly I have never gotten good results off the 30K and almost never use it. It's the only stone I have ever used where I'm just not happy with it. On the other hand the 20K works flawlessly, is fast and easy to use and gives fantastic edges. I can't imagine a razor being sharper or maybe I should say being able to discern a difference in shaving past the 20K. I mean why stop, maybe a 60K stone or a 100K stone. It gets to be a cost benefit type of thing.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I have both the 30K and the 20K.

Honestly I have never gotten good results off the 30K and almost never use it. It's the only stone I have ever used where I'm just not happy with it. On the other hand the 20K works flawlessly, is fast and easy to use and gives fantastic edges. I can't imagine a razor being sharper or maybe I should say being able to discern a difference in shaving past the 20K. I mean why stop, maybe a 60K stone or a 100K stone. It gets to be a cost benefit type of thing.

Interesting. The Suhehiro is advertised as 0.50 microns the Shapton Pro/Glass at 0.49 microns. Grit-wise, they are the same, so the difference in the edge feel has to be the binder, right?

Or maybe the shape of the grit particles?

Cheers, Steve

Off the Naniwa 12k go with the 20k

The Shapton works best off the Shapton 16k it works best as a system

The 20K works better off more hones it is more versatile and more friendly with more types of steel


JMHO

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The Shapton works best off the Shapton 16k it works best as a system.

I've got the Shapton Glass system (1,2,4,8,16,30k) and love it.

I've got a Shapton 16k and I've heard great things about the efficiency of the entire line. I was thinking about picking up the rest of them.

gssixgun, if you see this, what types of steel tend to be more compatible with the Shaptons? I'd need to reconsider if that range is too narrow.

I read and researched on this site and elsewhere. About the Gokumyo 20K. After over a year of use to refresh my edges. For myself and a limited amount of others. I have been very satisfied with it's effectiveness and ease of use.
Even a novice honer like myself can achieve very good edges reliably.
Recently I have acquired a Translucent Arkansas stone. So far I have been able to use it to get edges that give comfortable shaves. While not the same level of sharpness IMHO. They are smooth and forgiving. The hair is cut easily and the edge seems to exfoliate less.
I wouldn't say one is "superior" to the other. They are just different. It's too soon for me to say which I prefer. My gut tells me that I may switch back and forth depending on what I feel like.
I will say without a doubt the Gokumyo will get you there much quicker than the Arkie. But if I was really worried about being quick. I would just stick with my Fatboy and Voskhod's. And not have to hone at all.
My $.02 Ken

Originally Posted by sonnythehooligan

I've got a Shapton 16k and I've heard great things about the efficiency of the entire line. I was thinking about picking up the rest of them.

gssixgun, if you see this, what types of steel tend to be more compatible with the Shaptons? I'd need to reconsider if that range is too narrow.

Please understand this is a ton of opinion and mine is shaped by the feedback from my customers

I tend to use the Shaptons on the superfine grained Vintage NY and a few other American made razors and little else.

The Japanese razors also have steel that can handle it and I have coaxed some impressive edges out of Wackers and Revisors with them.

The one thing about the Shapton system and The Naniwa SS for that matter, is they are repeatable and accurate they don't miss if you do your part..





I feel threads like this should come with a warning

Just remember we are talking about the top rung of the honing ladder with the 20k and the 30k, in fact, most finishers, so climbing up the lower rungs is much more important Or read my Sigline twice

We are way off into the minutia of this hobby now

Thank you. That’s the info I was looking for, the best finisher to follow a Nani 12K. About a week ago I tuned up my razors a bit and instead of the usual 10 laps on the 12K I did about 20-25 then went to 20 strokes on fabric with Crx, then 75 laps on English Bridle Leather. It knocked the top off arm hair and all along the edge it quickly popped single hairs without snagging or grabbing and without noise. Under a Loupe the bevel was more polished. The shaves are noticeably better! But like many of us I’m still in search of that perfect edge. I’ve decided that I’m going to take a crack at it with the 20K. Thanks to all for the info!

Well, I shaved with both Gold Dollars, one with the Naniwa 10k edge and one with the Suehiro 20k edge. The 20k edge tested slightly better with HHT than the 10k (the root-in performance was just slightly better with the 20k), but I know from experience that this result by itself doesn't indicate a better/smoother shave.

TBH, in-shave, I really couldn't tell the difference, either WTG or ATG. They were so close that I actually used one razor for 2-4 'strokes' then switched to the other so that I was testing both razors on the same part of my face, trying to ensure that both edges were equally tested. Sometimes I thought that 208-8 was a hint smoother, that was the 10k Naniwa, but it wouldn't be honest to state this as a fact.

Neither was as smooth as a first-class jnat finisher, but the difference wasn't large, and I could shave with the 10k or 20k edge with no worries forever. You can certainly buy a jnat for considerably less than $250 that makes an edge that's very comparable, but like most naturals, you may not get it on the first try. A sure bet is an attractive thing about synths.

Cheers, Steve