Thread: Basic Hone setup: comments & feedback?

Hi everyone,

I am getting ready to order my first set of hones in the next couple of days, and am still wavering between a few different options, so I thought I'd post here and elicit some feedback and comments (I am hoping that this will prove helpful to other newbies as well).

Before I begin, here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

-I buy quite a few razors on ebay, so do want a setup that will allow me to restore an edge from scratch. I won't be buying blades with chunks missing, obviously, but there might be some dings, rust/pitting, etc. You know the type of thing I mean.

-I already have a 4 sided paddle strop from Tony with 3, 1, and .5 diamond pastes, as well as .5 green Chromium. I've used the Chromium a number of times with good results, and have also had success on the one or two occasion when I dropped down to larger grits.

-Based on my experiences with my paddle strop (1") and my hanging strop (3"), I think I'd like to stick with stones that are at least 2" wide for now, as I sometimes have a hard time keeping the blade flat on the paddle.

-Weight should not really be an issue for me, as I intend to place the hones on table when using them. This is what I do with my paddle strop, and it's worked really well so far.

So, with that in mind, here are a few options I'm considering:

1) Norton 4000/8000, DMT 8x3 Coarse, 6x2 yellow Coticule

-I've heard good things about the yellow Coticules, but they are expensive, so...

2) Norton 4000/8000, DMT 8x3 Coarse, Chinese 12000k

-reasonably priced, but not as much feedback as the coticule?

3) Spyderco M/F/UF

-quite cheap, and lots of people seem to like them. I'm a little worried about the lack of concensus regarding lapping, however. In addition, I hear they cut very fast, which might not be a good thing for a newbie...

4) Other options?

Remember that 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper, cut to fit a hone, is very effective at removing minor nicks and old oxidized edges and costs very little.

As long as you have the pastes you really do not need the other finishing hones, just the Norton 4/8.

My two cents,

All you need is the 4/8k Norton... the others are not cost effective.

Not trying to complicate your choices, but I'm getting ready to order the DMT D8EE instead of the Norton 4k/8k. The last time I checked, the D8EE was several bucks less than a Norton 4k/8k (maybe $3?). I have a DMT fine 600 mesh that has seen heavy use and is still going strong, after more than 20 years.

D8EE never needs lapping, +/- .001" flat, reported to cut faster than the 4k, Howard at theperfectedge thinks it gives a finer finish than the 8k, and it should last longer (if that's an issue in a home/personal setting).

I have the 3 Spydercos and they work well, but one side each of the medium and fine needed some lapping. The UF was flat enough on both sides. Others have reported all sides flat enough out-of-box.

Buy the Norton 4/8k and use the pastes for finishing.
To be honest, once you go beyond this level of honing
it's going to be all experimentation and personal
preference.

- Scott

All three choices sound good to me. My choice would be #1 with the Norton 4K/8K, DMT, and Yellow. I like using stones more than pastes so that is all that I use now, but pastes do work very well too. Another great choice would be a DMT-E, 6X2 Belgian Blue, and 6X2 Belgian Yellow.

Maybe if you stopped outbidding me on eBay you could afford more hones!
I'm still trying to find a reasonably priced W&B Special.

Thanks for all the great advice guys!

I think that I am pretty set on the Norton and the DMT Coarse. I know that I could get by with just a norton lapping stone (or even sandpaper), but the DMT strikes me as versatile enough to warrant the extra investment.

I am still thinking about getting a finishing stone, however. I realize that it will overlap with the 3 micron and 1 micron pastes to some extent, but I guess part of me just wants to experiment. Besides, as I already mentioned, I'd love to have a wider surface than the strop to work with. This last point has me a bit worried about the yellow coticule, in fact, since the largest size I could afford (6x2) still seems awfully small. I have a barber hone (Yucatan?) that is 5.5x2, and it feels tiny sitting in my hand.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Maybe if you stopped outbidding me on eBay you could afford more hones!
I'm still trying to find a reasonably priced W&B Special.

My apologies, I fear my RAD has been a little out of control the last week or two. I had this sudden craving for ...Sheffield steel I shall try to restrain myself from now on. Won't be hard, as school starts again for me tomorrow

Originally Posted by tatsuo

Thanks for all the great advice guys!

I think that I am pretty set on the Norton and the DMT Coarse. I know that I could get by with just a norton lapping stone (or even sandpaper), but the DMT strikes me as versatile enough to warrant the extra investment.

I am still thinking about getting a finishing stone, however. I realize that it will overlap with the 3 micron and 1 micron pastes to some extent, but I guess part of me just wants to experiment. Besides, as I already mentioned, I'd love to have a wider surface than the strop to work with. This last point has me a bit worried about the yellow coticule, in fact, since the largest size I could afford (6x2) still seems awfully small. I have a barber hone (Yucatan?) that is 5.5x2, and it feels tiny sitting in my hand.

If you get the Norton then I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing the DMT-C to lap and refresh the surface. It leaves a much smoother surface than the Norton Lapping stone in my experience. If you don't want to spend the big bucks on a large yellow coticule I think that the Chinese 12K is an awsome stone, and it can be purchased from Woodcraft for only $30 plus $10 shipping. You will definately need the DMT-C and a lot of patience to lap it flat though.