Thread: If you had it to do over again...

Hello all,
As many of you know, there is quite a wealth of information for the new guy to review concerning the matter of honing on this site. Many thanks to those who have contributed for the benefit of newbies like myself - it has been a long and interesting study (and I haven't even done hands on...yet! ) I would like to purchase a set of hones (with a preference to staying with the same system throughout) for the purpose of maintaining my razors (two thus far - one honed by Lynn and another antique store find) and for restoring old razors I find. After my research here and abroad, I have formulated the following options for my starting set of hones and would like your advice on which one you would choose if, as the title states, you could start from scratch again. Please keep in mind the following stipulations: I travel (by van) most of the year (330 days) with my family (wife and son) in what can easily become a packed van (Grand Caravan). Also, the places I stay range from a room in a house shared with another family, to hotel rooms, to guest houses - so a dedicated sink or other area conducive to wet operations is not always easily accessible. Also, as I'll be leaving the country in about a year for a long duration, I would like something I can take with me without having to worry about replacements. Given the above information, which of the following options (with pros / cons listed) would you choose. As always, any other thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated.

Option #1
D8C (lapping), Norton 4k/8k, Chinese 12K

Pros: Relatively low startup costs, wealth of experience available from other users, well reputed equipment.

Cons: Requires soaking (necessitates a sink or other dish for that purpose), hones wear moderately fast with use (Norton), requires frequent lapping

Option#2
Norton Portable Waterstone system with Chinese 12K: Norton Portable Waterstone Sharpening System

Pros: Almost fully self contained system (the Chinese 12K might fit in there as well), 1" thick stones will last longer and can replace a single grit as needed, experience from others, well reputed.

Cons: Soaking time, storage space?, a little more expensive in startup costs.

Option #3
D8C (lapping), Shapton Glass 1K, 4K, 8K, 16K

Pros: Faster performance, longer lasting, requires no soaking, possibly more portable.

Cons: Higher startup, less experience available on tap.

Option #4
Other...

Thanks for your time and advice.

BJ

The full Norton start up set Lapping Plate 220/1000 and the 4/8 all in one kit for about $99-$120 depending on where you find it
A Shapton 16k as a final polisher $99

The Shapton is going to be the goto stone for most touch-ups and re-touches....
The Norton set only comes out when needed for Restores and such where you would be set up for that session....

BTW the title of the thread is misleading I would not do my hone setup over again but my hone needs are different then yours....

If I would leave my country for a year I would take shave-ready razors with me with a vintage Thruingian (small and light weight) and my Nakayama. If you want to restore razors during that period I would take my 1.5K and 5 K Shapton with me as well.
For lapping I would by some sandpaper locally.

I would vote for #3 choice. I believe you could do it a little bit cheaper by leaving out the 1K.

If I anticipated honing a lot, I'd go for
DMTD8C, Norton 4K/8K, coticule
which is a combination that can tackle most razors as long as they don't have significant nicks in the edge.

If I only anticipated maintenance for my daily razor, I'd go for just a good coticule from Ardennes coticule or Howard.

+1 on the Coticule. Or an Escher. Maybe it is just me, but I like old things.

I voted for "Other".

If I had to do it all over again, starting out, I would incorporate some pastes into the mix. You need no water and on a 4 sided paddle strop which is sufficiently small, you can have most anything you'd need to maintain edges well. Good for travel. 1 and .5 micron diamond pastes, chromium oxide and plain leather and you're good to go.

For more significant work or a home system, I would go with option #3 since I own and use every pieces you've mentioned there.

Chris L

If I had it to do over, I'd buy two prehoned razors, a japanese natural hone, and a strop

There really are many many ways to shave, er I mean skin this cat, aren't there? I'm sure we'll hear a whole slew of additional options on this post soon.

Chris L

Chris is right lots of different opinions. i have tried all the hones you have listed except the Chinese 12k.

if i needed to select a "light and portable" honing set it would be a d8c, a Belgium blue and a coticule. the only time you would need more than a few drops of water would be for the occasional lapping session. for years i maintained my razors with a few barber's hones and a natural Belgium combo. worked very well but not really ideal for any real restoration work.