Thread: Gents I need a finishing hone! Which one?

Looking for a finishing hone. I would like to get your recommendations for something other than a Chinese 12K. I had one and it just cuts too slow.

If you could not only give me your rec.'s but also any links to websites you recommend I would appreciate it.
thanks again

Naniwa superstone 12K, Shapton 16K. Both available from Don and Lynn at SRD. Crafstmanstudio sells the Shaptons too but not the naniwas.
I easily finish most of my razors with the naniwa superstone 12K. Sometimes followed with a few laps on cro-ox. The Shapton 16K is a great finisher. Any of those two will serve you well or get both.

How much are you willing to spend, what results are you looking for, and are you willing to wait or do you want something that is available right now, from a vendor?

Readily available from a vendor, I've heard great things about the naniwa 12k but I've not tried one myself. It does sound like a great alternative to the chinese 12k, and is supposedly a pretty fast cutter and very consistent. Also as max said, a lot of people seem to like the shapton 16k as well, but I've not tried it either.

I happen to really like vintage thuringians, but they are not as readily available. You might PM kees to see if he has any left if you go this route. Lately I've only been using my nakayama, and man is it a nice finisher, but in general, they are very expensive. If you'd like to grab a nakayama, or look into them further, shoot a PM to OLD_SCHOOL.

I really like my yellow coticule. I have not used other hones so it is hard for me to compare, but I get nice comfortable shaves with the thing and have not felt the need to seek a "sharper" edge.

Some would probably classify this as a "polisher" vs. "finisher", but I'm not sure I understand the difference.

-Chief

This depends on your preference really. I have a couple of coticules and vintage thuringians for that purpose, and they leave me with a slightly different feel when I shave. The coticule is a great finisher IMO, but I admit that the edge off the coticule isn't quite as sharp as the edge off the vintage thuringian. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing at all, it's plenty sharp for me, and it's nice and smooth. If you want a coticule get one through Howard at theperfectedge.com, he'll for sure help you out. If you want to go the vintage thuringian route, there's actually a nice good sized escher in the classifieds right now, or you could PM Kees as he sells thuringians also. If money isn't an issue, you can always get a nice and fancy Japanese natural from Old_School, that's what I want to do someday when I can afford it.

As you can tell, I like using natural stones for the finishing touches on my razors. If you want to go synthetic I would vote for either the naniwa 12k or shapton 16k. I have used neither, but has read great things about them.

Everyone has their own preference, so it'll really come down to what you like to hone with and what your face prefers. Some like natural, some like synthetic. Is one better than the other? No, but they are for some people and what they like. But you won't know until you try!

I love the coticule as a finishing hone. I have three, including a 1" x 5" yellow coticule/BBW combination hone that is small enough to fit conveniently in my dopp kit so I always have a hone when I travel. You can't do that with any of the synthetic stones mentioned (unless you cut one up yourself).

I guess you should define a finisher, IMO that is 10k and higher, and I would agree with Max on the Shapton Sweet 16.... I have heard good things about the Naniwa SS 12k I plan on trying one next week in NC...

I have a extra fine vintage Coticule in prime shape but would never consider it a finisher myself....

Escher's and the Thuringians would be an option as would the Japanese finishers but would be a bit more money also...

Keep in mind a finisher is just that, it makes edge smoother it doesn't really add to the sharpness... (technically you might get a couple of extra microns from it) If you want a true difference from the C12k I would go with the Shapton or Naniwa as these are speed demons in comparison to the sloooooooooooooooooooooooooow C12k Most of us do 10-20 laps on these and are done.... YMMV (but not much)

Originally Posted by Maximilian

Naniwa superstone 12K, Shapton 16K. Both available from Don and Lynn at SRD. Crafstmanstudio sells the Shaptons too but not the naniwas.
I easily finish most of my razors with the naniwa superstone 12K. Sometimes followed with a few laps on cro-ox. The Shapton 16K is a great finisher. Any of those two will serve you well or get both.

+++1, I use the same hones, They're awesome..I have both, After the Naniwa 12k, I'll do like 15 laps on the shapton and the edge is awesome....
Either of these would fit the bill and you can get away with 15 laps....

+1 to Max about the Shapton 16k, I love that stone as a finisher

Thanks to all for the opinions. I feel it certainly gives me a great deal to consider. For the record, my razors need to be very sharp in order for me to get a comfortable shave. So my thought process is that maybe a polisher would aid me in my pursuit of BBS shave. Far away from it at the moment, but HAD is so much fun as is the rest of the AD's