Thread: Narrow hones

Well, I got a pretty full beard. It's like sandpaper when it's just stubble. I bought a razor from a guy here at srp that was sold as shave ready, and it was sharp. I've used feather de blades before, too. I've gotten close, comfortable shaves with both of those. No complaints from me. The blades I hone are not as sharp as a de blade or as sharp as that de-fi blade I bought, but it is sharp enough to get me at least bbs on most of my face after an atg pass. I have an alum block I use sometimes and I hardly get irritation on my cheeks. I'm pretty sure I still have a long way to go with shaving technique.

Those three hones are the ones I use before the 12k. I got a dmt - course? I think it said it was around 600 grit. I got it to lap those 3 in the picture. It did not work as I thought it would and I went for the next dmt, which I think was in the neighborhood of 300 grit. I also got some 3m wet/dry paper and a piece of glass. I got the 40 micron and the .5 micron sheets, but I really don't use them. I also have a norton flattening stone, but I've just about worn it out trying to keep it flat. I think it's around 220? Now, knowing that the norton flattening stone is the grit that it is, I have a hard time beleiving that the course gray stone I got is anywhere near that grit, unless a different type of stone at the same grit makes a considerably different scratch pattern?

Then again, this is all from me looking at it with indoor lighting with the naked eye.

Originally Posted by crazycliff200843

The blades I hone are not as sharp as a de blade or as sharp as that de-fi blade I bought, but it is sharp enough to get me at least bbs on most of my face after an atg pass.

Well if it is good enough for you I guess it is good enough. The way I am wired I want to get to the point where I can get my razor as sharp as the sharpest I have ever gotten from any honemiester.

Originally Posted by crazycliff200843

Those three hones are the ones I use before the 12k. I got a dmt - course? I think it said it was around 600 grit. I got it to lap those 3 in the picture. It did not work as I thought it would and I went for the next dmt, which I think was in the neighborhood of 300 grit. I also got some 3m wet/dry paper and a piece of glass. I got the 40 micron and the .5 micron sheets, but I really don't use them. I also have a norton flattening stone, but I've just about worn it out trying to keep it flat. I think it's around 220? Now, knowing that the norton flattening stone is the grit that it is, I have a hard time beleiving that the course gray stone I got is anywhere near that grit, unless a different type of stone at the same grit makes a considerably different scratch pattern?

I think I see where you are having a hard time here. This might help you out.

A Little Bit About Hone Construction and Grit size

Lets start off with sandpaper as it is the simplest abrasive surface used on razors. Sandpaper is just a grit glued to paper (or plastic film). Almost every grain of grit on the sandpaper will be exactly the same size and that size is most often marked on the back. This grit is also made up of only the kind of particle that does the cutting. This gives us a baseline for looking at stones. This is only so helpful however because sandpaper at more than about 400 grit is just varying degrees of smooth to the touch.

A honing stone is made very differently. They are made up of both cutting particles and other particles that hold them together. These other particles, called the matrix, have nothing to do with the cutting action or grit size of the stone. The Norton Flattening stone for instance is made up of a bunch of cutting particles the same size as on 220 grit sandpaper plus A bunch of larger particles that are to soft to cut but act to hold the stone together. In this case they use such big particles to hold the stone together (the matrix) to allow the mud from the lapped stones to wash into the gaps keeping the cutting particles exposed to the stone being lapped so it isn't just sliding around on its own sludge. Your hone, made for sharpening knives has the same size grit in a much finer matrix. This is because the knife must slide along this matrix while the cutting particles hit the edge, if the matrix were bigger it would bounce rather than slide along the hone.

This is why you can't look at a hone and know for sure its grit. Though with experience you will recognize the different matrices in common usage with different grit stones, and this will allow you to put hones in a certain ballpark at a glance.

Just my 2 cents here:

Those Dovo #105's are capable of a wicked sharp edge, in fact mine is still my sharpest razor, it is not my best shaver, but it is the scariest thing I put on my face.... The edges on the #105 are very, very, thin they basically ding if you look at them wrong, what I am saying here is that if you use those lower grit hones on that razor in particular, you are going to wear it down extremely fast.... besides the fact that your not going to get to the top end of it's performance curve...