Thread: Improving my progression

Originally Posted by Pyment

OTOH, I suppose I could make the case that buying the best saves me money in the long run.

Hmmm.

Trust me, that argument only works for so long until you want ANOTHER best stone.

Well, I don't know if I will ever want to move up to one of the $300+ Japanese polishing stones. (This from a guy who has a 1Kg commercial style roaster for his own personal use).

I did manage to pick up an "Apart" barber hone off Ebay. I missed out on a couple of Thuringians and a couple Coticule combo's. I do wonder where the Apart would fit into the line up.

I have decided the Spyderco may just be too different an animal for a newbie to invest in right now.

Here are my proposed choices.

For the stone between the DMT 1200 and the DMT 8000, I am looking at a King 4000, Ice bear 4000 (both around $25), Naniwa super 3K, and Naniwa Super 5K. Observations?

For finishing I am considering the Naniwa 12K, Kitayama 8-12K, and a Honyama 10K. The Epicurean Edge: Japanese and European professional chefs knives

Of course if I luck into an Escher, Thuringian, or Coticule things change

I have been using the Naniwa Super Stones at 1K, 5K, 8K and 12K exclusively for the past 4 months or so and I swear these stones must have been created for straight razors. I am getting as good or better results than ever. Still follow the 12K with either .5 diamond spray on felt or some chromium oxide on felt. For the money I really like these stones. They are a resin bond and have a different feel, but they cut and polish very very well.

There are razors that I use the Naniwa 220 on and the Norton 220 on and I sometimes will use the Naniwa 3K as well.

Have fun,

Lynn

Originally Posted by Pyment

..I can then see about hones (eg Thuringian, Japanese, coticule, etc) later.

OTOH, I suppose I could make the case that buying the best saves me money in the long run.

Hmmm.

Yes, it will save you money in the long run. Until you get the HAD bug and buy em all anyhow.

It sounds like I will go with the Naniwa 5000 and 12000. If I like them, I will probably sell my DMT 8EE and get the 8000

Originally Posted by Pyment

...
I did manage to pick up an "Apart" barber hone off Ebay. I missed out on a couple of Thuringians and a couple Coticule combo's. I do wonder where the Apart would fit into the line up.
...

IMO, the Apart is finer than a Swaty, by up to 2k (or more). Nice grab. Mine is an excellent finishing hone. If you decide to sell it in favor of a more expensive finisher, drop me a P.M.

One of the reasons I went and got it is I saw several of your posts mentioning it.

I did get a chance to try out the Apart hone. I think its going to be a good addition to my honing process.

I did purchase a BBW and coticule from our classifieds. When they arrive, I will probably use the BBW between the 1200 and 8000. I will have a choice of the Chinese 12K, coticule, Chrome oxide and Apart hone for finishing.

That ought to keep me busy for a while....