Thread: if you had to keep it down to... 3...

Hi there!

I am looking to make an entry into the basic and perhaps a bit more advanced honing fields and I was wondering... maybe I should have undergone a thourough research, but... I'll ask anyway.

Like most of us, I have a hard time controling my fascination for this whole stright razor thing and keeping in mind that I don't have too much to spend on stuff... but we all have in the back of our heads that our purchases are investments, I mean, the stuff we buy, unless we ruin them or sell them, will have a long time to be used. And that means razors, strops and, of course, hones.

So here it goes: If you had to choose a basic set of hones for maintenance honing and some ocasional honing that is beyond maintaining a keen edge on the razor, what would you buy? I was thinking a purchase within a reasonable budged (Note: reasonable = wife not cutting of the pea**** afterwards... )... that meaning a set of maybe 3 hones. Or even one for that matter!
I've been thinking of purchasing a belgian coticule... but the one I saw is around 8K grit. Maybe I need something with a finer grit... and something with a coarser grit... What would you suggest?

Thanks! But beware: budget - small kit! something to put an end to HAD before it starts...

4/8K Norton

12K Chinese

.5/.25 pastes on balsa wood


= $110.00

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

4/8K Norton

12K Chinese

.5/.25 pastes on balsa wood


= $110.00

Boy oh boy! You sure are fast! thanks! mind if I ask why?

Thanks!

I'm fast because I'm a Mod, I have to watch you guys like a hawk!

4K will take care of most edges, with a little patience

8K will get you a good edge

12K Chinese is cheap and puts a nice butter edge on a razor

.5 or .25 paste can take your edges into really sharp smooth polished edges and will let you play with pastes, which everybody wants to do at some point.

Putting the paste in balsa wood is cheaper than a strop and sits deeper into the wood, keeping the edge smoother.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

I'm fast because I'm a Mod, I have to watch you guys like a hawk!

Great job, Mister Moderator! And little old me thinking that you were very very keen on answering my questions... I'm being baby-sitted! Or in a more Orwellian discourse: "AFDavis11 is watching you..."

Thanks for the explanation!

You'll get other opinions too. I bought a 1K Norton and use it on occasion. Those are nice too.


I'm sure someone will come along soon and talk about other hones.

I basically agree with Alan, here, his suggestions sound good, although my own favorite kit is a little different. I have a small yellow coticule and a smaller still piece to raise a slurry, this size stone is not particularly expensive compared to the larger ones- and I have an old barber hone for the finer work. I really believe grit sizes with regard to natural stones such as the coticule are subjective at best and cannot be compared directly to synthetic stones in which grit of a certain size is added to a binding agent...
Still both of my favorite hones can be stacked up and fit into a space in my shave kit for the road smaller than some deodorants are....and do not require soaking, like the Norton does.
The Norton is, however, obscenely easy to use.

John P.

1k Naniwa Lobster. Cheap, yet very effective
4k King - cheap, yet providing a great edge
Fine Thuringian or Escher - not cheap, but it puts a nice finish to all kinds of steel, from stainless to carbon and other alloys in between

The chromium oxide strop doesn't count, right?

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

4/8K Norton

12K Chinese

.5/.25 pastes on balsa wood


= $110.00

I totally agree. Great setup for a minimal price. Those hones will last a guy a lifetime and then some.