Thread: Shave off of an 8k

Hey all,

So after reading suggestions to try and just shave off of the Norton 8k before trying to use anything higher, I decided to try it out. I haven't just shaved off of the 8k since I first got the nortons, at which point I didn't really know how to use them properly! It is an excellent suggestion, as if the edge isn't ready after the 8k, everything else is just pointless.

So I took out my small Wade and Butcher, whom I have pretty much dedicated to experimentation , and lightly ran the edge over the rim of a glass. I ran it over to arm, and lo and behold, it cut absolutely nothing and was dull as a kitchen knife. I just wanted to start from scratch for fun and to practice. So I set the bevel on my DMT 1200 which didn't take too long at all since it was fine before I lightly dulled it with the glass. I then used my 4k/8k norton, first 20-30 laps on the 4k side, then I did a little pyramid, finishing with a few extra laps on the 8k side. I then did nothing else but stropped, showered, and shaved. I got a surprisingly great shave out of it!! It wasn't as effortless as if I finished it on something higher, but it was surely sharp and smooth enough to get the job done comfortably with no cuts or irritation.

So now everytime I'm going to hone a razor I will strop at 8k and shave with it. If it's ready for higher grit, it will still give a great shave just off of the 8k side. It surprised me to be honest, but I'm pleased to say that I didn't need pastes or fancy stones (not that I don't like to use them....) to get a great shave.

I know this has all been mentioned before, but I just wanted to share this experience to emphasize the fact that 8k is all that you really need.

Originally Posted by StraightRazorDave

dull as a kitchen knife. .

HEY!!! I have shaved with mine

For the first year of straight shaving I ended with the 8k Norton. Not a bad shave

Always good to try new things, thanks for posting your experience (except for that crack about kitchen knives ).

Many of us in this forum try to reach the ultimate shave quality with a vast arsenal of honing tools, yet I got along for 4 years with nothing but a Swaty. Many on this forum get by with nothing more than the Norton 4/8k.

It doesn't have to be complicated!

I love it...

Absolutely. I can shave right off an 8K no problem.

We on this forum are probably an obsessed minority. In the old days, I'll bet people shaved off lower grit stones all the time, and thought nothing about it. They'd probably be amused at some of the threads here.

I think there is always a minimum standard of what is "good enough", and everything else is dessert. For example, even though I have access to 30K, I usually only sharpen good quality chef knives to 5K-6K, and low level ones to 1K + a quick CrO2 buffing.

Another issue is maintainability. Again I have access to 30K, but if a customer only has 4K or 8K, then it is unnecessary to sharpen to such a refined level (unless they request it) or to expect them to purchase the equivalent stone.

8K leaves a pretty smooth edge. Everything else is because we can!

Originally Posted by RetroGrouch

Absolutely. I can shave right off an 8K no problem.

We on this forum are probably an obsessed minority. In the old days, I'll bet people shaved off lower grit stones all the time, and thought nothing about it. They'd probably be amused at some of the threads here.

Too true. It really can become an obsession looking for the perfect edge, can't it?? I'm not one of those obsessed minority....I don't have a couple of coticules, thuringians, and a nakayama maruichi in the quest for the perfect edge....not me....

Originally Posted by jendeindustries

8K leaves a pretty smooth edge. Everything else is because we can!

That sums it all up very nicely!

Originally Posted by StraightRazorDave

Too true. It really can become an obsession looking for the perfect edge, can't it?? I'm not one of those obsessed minority....I don't have a couple of coticules, thuringians, and a nakayama maruichi in the quest for the perfect edge....not me....

Obsessed? Who's obsessed here on the SRP? I thought the SRP was a 12 step program that stopped that sort of thing!

was dull as a kitchen knife.

Me shaving with a kitchen knife (Old Hickory 3" paring knife):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVyEL...er_profilepage