Cheaper alternative to Norton?

Hi everybody. I'm looking for an alternative to 4000/8000 Norton. Lower grit stones are not that expensive, but I have problem with finding something cheap with 8000 grit. However I've that:
Jap.DS Schleifstein Wasserstein K#8000 Extra Fein XXL - eBay (item 310093373729 end time Mar-18-09 09:54:19 PDT)
What do you think about it? Has anybody used it yet? It is suspicious cheap.

Do you have any other propositions? Also, if anybody would be some kind and refer me some good online-shops in Europe.
Best Regards.

I'm not familiar with that stone. My gut feeling is it might be worth a try, but don't read too much into that.

There are DMT and Shapton plates at the 8K level I believe, you might find one of those at a good price.

Might be worth getting a Chinese 12K too. I haven't seen that seller do anything in the 8K range, but keep an eye on his auctions just in case?

the norton 4k/8k combo is around $70 shipped i think.

The stone in the auction is $36 + Shipping? So buy the time you add two stones is it much cheaper?

imho. save your money and get a "not norton"ceramic or naturals

A little unorthodox but there was much debate regarding the welsh slate 'Dragon's Tongue' hone from near Caernarfon. Cheap as cheap and apparently quite tidy reviews. Delivers an 8k+ finishing effect. I spoke to the Works owner yesterday coincidentally and he was quite bemused by the attention. At 8GBP, I've ordered one because it would be daft not to and my colleague is picking it up from the Works today as my job takes us to those parts. I should say also that I am the proud owner of 3 Shaptons, courtesy of Howard.

The guy at Inigo Jones (the works) said that we should remember that they are a 'finishing' stone. It's apparent that he doesn't have a complete grasp of the fine grits that we use! I said that the hones had been useful for some of the guys here after 'lapping' and he asked me what lapping was! He reassured me that they were 'flat' out of the box. Nice.

Search for Inigo Jones on the wibbly wobbly web.

Thanks for replies, guys.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rajagra

Might be worth getting a Chinese 12K too. I haven't seen that seller do anything in the 8K range, but keep an eye on his auctions just in case?

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Yep, I've forgot to mention that I've already bought it.

The thing is, that I bought a new razor which is near shave-ready (I think). I've honed it on 12k Chinese, but it need something more coarse. So now I'm looking for something like 8000 grit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

the norton 4k/8k combo is around $70 shipped i think.

The stone in the auction is $36 + Shipping? So buy the time you add two stones is it much cheaper?

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Yeah, but you think about US now. The problem is that I live in Poland. The cheapest option is buying on UK ebay and with shipping it's still about 95$. That wouldn't be much 3-4 month ago, but in few last months polish currency went down and it's like 30-40 per cent more expensive now. Sometimes I hate economy... :D
Anyway, I'm looking for something from Europe now (UK or Germany), because shipping costs make shopping in USA horrible expensive.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moggs

A little unorthodox but there was much debate regarding the welsh slate 'Dragon's Tongue' hone from near Caernarfon. Cheap as cheap and apparently quite tidy reviews. Delivers an 8k+ finishing effect. I spoke to the Works owner yesterday coincidentally and he was quite bemused by the attention. At 8GBP, I've ordered one because it would be daft not to and my colleague is picking it up from the Works today as my job takes us to those parts. I should say also that I am the proud owner of 3 Shaptons, courtesy of Howard.

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Thanks, I will inquire more about it. Could it be used insted of Norton 8000?

One more question, what is grit range of barberstones?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kynio

Thanks for replies, guys.


Yep, I've forgot to mention that I've already bought it.

The thing is, that I bought a new razor which is near shave-ready (I think). I've honed it on 12k Chinese, but it need something more coarse. So now I'm looking for something like 8000 grit.


Yeah, but you think about US now. The problem is that I live in Poland. The cheapest option is buying on UK ebay and with shipping it's still about 95$. That wouldn't be much 3-4 month ago, but in few last months polish currency went down and it's like 30-40 per cent more expensive now. Sometimes I hate economy... :D
Anyway, I'm looking for something from Europe now (UK or Germany), because shipping costs make shopping in USA horrible expensive.

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Didnt notice you were not in the US. sorry about that.

Well, I suppose that 8k is 8k and if it's uniform grit..... I'm sure a search of the forums for 'dragon' or similar will bring up all that you need. At this cost, you might find that the postage comes in at about the same as the hone :(

Good luck!

What about a yellow belgian coticule? If you ask for a fast cutter you will get one on the soft side, use it with a thick slurry and you will be amazed. Thinning the slurry with water effectively raises the grit size, and you can still finish with the chinese stone.

Regards,
Neil.

you can get a King waterstone in 8k for less if you don't need the 4k side. i already had a mid-grit stone, so i just bought the king as it was cheaper than a norton 8k.
Buy Combination Waterstone, 7-1/4" x 2-1/2" x 1" 1200/8000, Fast Cutting

the flip side is also good for bevel work. follow the link in my sig to see it in action.


disclaimer: the king stone was cheaper but it was NOT flat. i had to lap the hell out of it. if you want a cheap stone that is flat and works well, check out the spyderco ultrafine ceramic

Anyone else has bad experience with the orange/brown dyed synthetic japanese hones? Mine stains black scales badly.

I use the King 1000/6000 and think it is a great synthetic stone. Haven't noticed the staining issue that you have, Sparq. I rate the King 1000 better than the Norton 1000, too, by the way - although I'm sure that many others will have an opposite opinion.

Regards,
Neil

This isn't in EU, but they have a pocket-sized 8k for U.S.$25. I've used it and it works ok on razors once you break it in. It's the tan polka-dot hone in my avatar. There is also a 1200 in the same size (the green one in my avatar). I did a review on the W4EE 8k recently.

EDIT: From Woodcraft there is this set of 3 in 2"x6" for U.S. $60, on clearance sale; 600, 1200, and 8k.

I was looking around a bit ago.. doing the exact same thing, looking for a cheap alternative to a Norton... and I think that I ran across mention of that brand in a culinary forum. They were mainly mentioning a couple of the stones as a part of a grit progression--not saying anything other about them, bad or good-- so I'd think that it is an ok stone.