Thread: please tell me the hype on natural stones

Natural stones create a smoothness that cant be gotten from a synthetic. I don't know why and don't care why though. I have the suehiro 20k and its a great stone, but any one of my jnats can deliver sharper and smoother. Any of them. ANd I don't use pastes after them either. That spoils the smoothness.

The depth of your pockets has been mentioned. As has the general view that it is probably better to learn on synthetics. The natural hone fits the retro ethic of this corner of the world. I've used 3, 2 I liked, one, an Escher I liked a lot....but guess what, checked recently what they are selling for on Ebay? So I can torment myself or get a perfectly comfortable shaving edge from my 20k, but I do it in shame, alone in my bathroom, hoping none of the natural hone users find out.
So OutlawSkinnyD unless money is no object: start synthetic and read everything possible about natural hones, save your pieces of eight and ask a lot of questions before you buy a natural, regardless of the flavor.

Originally Posted by bill3152

Natural stones create a smoothness that cant be gotten from a synthetic. I don't know why and don't care why though. I have the suehiro 20k and its a great stone, but any one of my jnats can deliver sharper and smoother. Any of them. ANd I don't use pastes after them either. That spoils the smoothness.

My point is that since the efficacy of synthentics/pastes/sprays and natural finishing stones are very different there might be some incompatibility. Following a jnat with paste seems unadvised.. The paste is moving toward a mirror finish which would mess up the beaded finish of the natural. Following a jnat with a 20k synthetic would also not make sense. Knowing why helps determine choices.

2009... What a crazy year.

Oh wow, just saw the thread was started in 2009. I hope the OP got it figured out by now.

Because they are there.

I take it that you fellows really like to hone. Am I getting this right? Just checking!

Is there some other reason to participate on a forum focused on hones for straight razors and embracing the sport of putting an edge on a piece of steel and then putting that edge on your face? For me the shave has simply become a test/dev environment for my stone selection and honing skills(or lack of). I shave to test. Otherwise I would no longer shave at all.

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Shaving can be a hobby, honing can be a hobby, lathering can be a hobby, smells can be a hobby, stropping can be a hobby, building collections of razors or hones or brushes, or soaps, or any kind or paraphernalia can be a hobby, or all kinds of mixes of the above.

Some people participate in this section because they prefer to post their questions instead of lookup the answers of when these questions have been asked over and over in the past. Others are simply confused from all those answers and want to get a personal response which they hope may be less diverse and make their choice easier....

Many reasons, so best to appreciate the good diversity we have (there is also a bad kind of diversity which is not welcome here).

Originally Posted by WW243

The depth of your pockets has been mentioned.

It really depends what naturals you are talking about. The Guangxi hone is available for what, $35? You may not hit a home run with the first, though. A decent sized coticule (4x15 cm) is around $100. How much did that Gokumyo 20,000 set you back? How much is a full set of Shaptons GS? Even a set of Naniwa Super Stones (1000, 3000, 5000, 8000 and 12,000) will set you back around $250, right?

Then again, a very fancy natural Japanese hone will possibly cost an astronomical sum of money and a Norton 4000/8000 combination stone is about $80.

It's all relative, you can spend a lot or a little on both natural and synthetic hones.