Originally Posted by
minstrel
Interesting replies. Thank you gentlemen.
The reason I went with the barber hones is that 1, I can't really justify the expenditure of upwards of $100 on a Norton 4000/8000 hone (which it will be by the time I pay for the hone, shipping and currency conversion) at the moment, since I'm unemployed, and 2, I understand that the barber hones are generally considered slower cutting than a Norton, which I thought would be good - less chance of overhoning.
Those are reason enough to go with barber hones
As for the amount of magnification you need - yes, yes, the more the better, but you have to make do with what you have some times. And even at that low magnification I did get some valuable clues as to what was going on with the edge.
My reason for omitting the water on the finest stone was that the hones can be used dry, as well as lubricated with water or lather, or with a slurry. Since I was getting suboptimal results using both water and a slurry on the hone, I thought I'd give it a go dry, and my gamble paid off, so don't knock it! :D
You have made the wrong assumption about barber hones here. Not all can be used dry and none I know of are used with a slurry. Most are used with water or lather and some can be used with oil. I would suggest you try lather next time on the fine hone, it is less painful for the edge :)
I guess I will have to keep experimenting with the hones and inspect the edge with the loupe to find what seems to work best for me.
/Nicholas