Thread: please tell me the hype on natural stones

Originally Posted by gugi

...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...

Amen to that observation, brother!

Regards,
Neil

My sources tell me that there is a vast amount of unpredictability built in to that $100.00 coticule, same for Jnats, not so for Eschers which are said to be more consistent. This is a huge issue for many of us beginning to follow the Yellow Brick Road to shaving paradise. No it is not relative, you can spend a fortune on natural hones and not know what you are getting. You can spend a goodly sum on an acceptable progression of synthetics and know exactly what you are getting.

Originally Posted by Pithor

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.

If you removed duplicate questions the site would shrink to a substantially smaller size. Might as well drop anyone who hasn't posted in the last 2 years also....move everything to a Wiki and clean up this mess.

Originally Posted by gugi

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).

You can hone on expensive or lower priced stones. My least expensive Jnat is a shubo 100. $70. Its a deal. IMO that and a chosera1k and you can hone for many lifetimes. Naguras are great also, although you don't have to. As many use dmt slurry with great results.

Originally Posted by WW243

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..

If I had bought my 20k before my Jnats, I would have stayed put right there. The edge off of the 20K is a really fine edge. And the 20k stone delivers it so easily that unless I'm in the mood to play around with the Jnats, I don't bother using anything else. My naturals can be fun and deliver great edges. But if you want to get a great edge with no fuss, the 20K is the way to go as far as I can see.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

If I had bought my 20k before my Jnats, I would have stayed put right there. The edge off of the 20K is a really fine edge. And the 20k stone delivers it so easily that unless I'm in the mood to play around with the Jnats, I don't bother using anything else. My naturals can be fun and deliver great edges. But if you want to get a great edge with no fuss, the 20K is the way to go as far as I can see.

what is this 20k of which you speak?

Originally Posted by earcutter

what is this 20k of which you speak?

Suehiro Gokumyo #20000 grit (@ 0.5 µm). : Tools from Japan, Japanese woodworking tools direct from Japan.

Originally Posted by SirStropalot

Suehiro Gokumyo #20000 grit (@ 0.5 µm). : Tools from Japan, Japanese woodworking tools direct from Japan.

Yeah thats t he one.

Originally Posted by earcutter

what is this 20k of which you speak?

You haven't heard of it yet? What, have you been under a Jnat?

The one I've been fighting off... the G20.

~$270 before shipping. But it has consistently made people sit up and post about it.

I'm glad this thread was resurrected. I appreciate the old threads.