Thread: How many hones do I need to sharpen a straight razor?

I know that there are different hones to use- like 400 grit, 1,000 grit, 3,000 grit, 5,000, 8,000, 10,000, and 12,000. Do I need all those to sharpen my razor?

Thanks!

P.S. This site is really great. I've learned so much about straight razor shaving since when I joined back in December.

SRP founder Lynn Abrams honed thousands of razors with the Norton 220/1k, 4k/8k combo before he branched out with other hones. He wore more than one 4/8 completely out. Norton, Naniwa, Shapton .... any of the synthetics in the above grit ranges will be enough to hone your razors for many years to come. If you want to refine the edge further 12k, 16k or above is optional. You could also go with natural hones but that is another kettle of fish.

It depends...

on what type of honing will you be doing. Restorations such as antique shop, flea market and EBay finds, new razors being honed for the first time or just refreshing the edge.

Then comes what type of steel, carbon or SS, how hard is the steel (country of origin works sometimes here) and how many and how often.

Then comes what is more available to you, money or time?

The short answer is, you can get away with only one but it will cost in time and/or quality.

How many do you need? None.

But i'm guessing , you want to hone some razors...
First you need to decide what your goal is.

Just maintaining blades? Basic Honing? Ebay Honing(aka restoration...)?

Below answers better than I. I would start out with a barber hone for touchups and go from there.....

What hone(s) do I need? - Straight Razor Place Wiki

What hone(s) do I need?

The choice of which hones to use, and even the use of them in general as it pertains to refreshing a blade, is considered one of the most personal issues in straight razor shaving. There is a saying: "There are 5,000 ways to cook a chicken. You know 5." The same idea may well be true when it comes to honing a razor. Therefore, we have compiled a number of thoughts on the subject to help you begin thinking about what will be best for you. The below list is neither authoritative, nor is it complete. It is intended to indicate what choices are available. The method or methods that will work for you is ultimately down to your own personal experience, skill, and the combination of razors and hones used.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Before you begin
* 2 Refreshing vs. Starting from Scratch
o 2.1 Hones needed for refreshing a dull blade
o 2.2 Hones needed for restoring razors
* 3 A full honing setup
* 4 Why choice is important
* 5 See also
* 6 References

Before you begin

Aspiring honers are often not clear about what they are trying to accomplish when it comes to honing razors. In particular, they are often unsure of what they are doing and how often they should be doing it. Some questions you might want to answer for yourself before you start buying hones:

* Are you an "end-user"; someone who only hones a previously shave-ready blade back to shave-ready?
* Are you a hobbyist who is chasing the absolute finest edge that may be obtained where money is no object?
* Are you a frugal shaver who is after the cheapest way to complete your morning shave?
* Are you a collector who needs to take E-bay specials from butt-ugly to shave-ready?
* Are you a Honemeister; someone who gets paid to do all of these things for others?
* Are you a razor restorer who needs to take damaged blades and bring them back to life and shave-readiness?

Each of these types of honer profiles have different requirements for the stones they will own. Theoretically, you can survive using the "one stone" approach, but each razor does have an optimum stone set - and more importantly, a technique for using the required hones. So generally, when somebody asks what stone or how to use what stone, the question to ask them is: "What are you trying to accomplish with the stone?"[1]
Refreshing vs. Starting from Scratch

The types of hones required depends first and foremost on the type of honing you want to do.
Hones needed for refreshing a dull blade

If the only task you want to perform is refreshing edges that have previously been established by a Honemeister (the process is often referred to as "touching up" on SRP), you need only get a fine grit finishing stone or a barber's hone for this. Either of these hones can be used to keep your razor(s) shave-ready for years.
Hones needed for restoring razors

If you want to set a bevel, or have many different types of razors, you will need a full set of hones. When compiling the list below we tried not to mention brand names mainly because there are simply too many different hones. (and a corresponding number of opinions about each)
A full honing setup

A full set of hones will include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following hones: [2] :

A bevel setting stone approximately 1k
DMT's 325 600 1200, Shapton 1K and 2K, Coticules with slurry, Norton 1k, Naniwa 1k
A sharpening stone approximately 4k
Norton 4K, Shapton 4K Naniwa 3k or 5k, Belgian Blue with slurry
A polishing stone approximately 8k
Norton 8k, Shapton 8k, Naniwa 8k, Yellow Coticule
A finishing stone 10k and above (this is often subject to debate, however)
Chinese 12K, Shapton 16K and 30K, Nakayama, Coticule with water, Naniwa 10k or 12k, Escher, Charnley Forest, Thurigian, and many others [3]

You have several choices of how to accomplish this setup whether you use natural, man-made stone, or a Diamond-style stone, but you are going to have to be able to cover those 4 grit ranges. There really is no true shortcut here if you expect to take razors acquired in need of restoration from butter knife dull (or damaged) to shaving sharp: You are going to end up needing these types of stones.
Why choice is important

Some people get different results with the same hone. A Norton 4k/8k vs. a DMT D8EE will get you to the same relative place; but most people will have a distinct preference in the use of one or the other. The point to keep in mind is that one of these hones will likely fit a person's individual honing style in a way that simply gives them better results.

Barber hones, such as Swatys, are often times used to do quick touch-ups of an already sharp razor. Some of the barber hones are of a finer grit than other stones which is why different people have preferences for different brands.

Coticules are a natural stone cut from sedimentary rock. They were the mainstay of barbers for many years, and are still favored by some. These stones are versatile in that you can create slurry by rubbing them with another stone causing them to cut faster, or you can use them with water only and they can be used as more of a finisher stone. Some old barbers would even use the lather from their hot lather machines in combination with these hones to achieve their own particular honing "perfection."[4]

The water stone category is a large category of hones which include the previously mentioned stones as well as other naturals such as the Escher and Thuringan family and the many synthetic hones. The Norton 4/8 used to be the recommended hone for beginning straight razor users until the Shapton Glass Stones and the Naniwa Super Stones came along. The Norton 4/8 Combo is still a good tool for a new person to learn to hone with, but the Naniwa Super Stones really seem made for straight razors and a set of 1K, 5K, 8K and 12K should provide a lifetime of great results. The Shapton Glass stones are certainly a good alternative to the Naniwa Super Stones as well.[5]

There are variations in the characteristics of natural stones since they are composed of whatever sedimentary material that time and weather dictated at the time of the forming of these stones. They will generally be similar, but some will cut faster than others which may be more suited to finishing. The synthetics are more uniform in composition, and are therefore more predictable. Doing the homework to learn which grits to use will get a razor sharp once the honing skills are developed using naturals or synthetics.[6]

In addition, the beginner's no-lapping kit (which is often recommended on SRP) is a DMT D8EE and 0.5 chrome oxide on a paddle. This will work for many people, but some folks simply do not like the feedback that they get from a diamond hone. Others, with coarser beards, do not like pastes because the edge they get will not last as long as a honed edge.
See also

* Norton Pyramid Honing Guide
* One way to hone an eBay or damaged blade

References

1. ↑ gssixgun in http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...tml#post368819
2. ↑ gssixgun in http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...do-i-need.html
3. ↑ http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...tml#post283833
4. ↑ http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...tml#post317081
5. ↑ http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...tml#post317081
6. ↑ http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...tml#post317081

Definitely read the wiki.

I'm still learning the ropes and I have the Woodcraft DMT anniversary set which I use for severe damage (e.g. breadknifing). Otherwise, I use a Naniwa 1k to set my bevel, a Norton 4k/8k that I use the pyramid on, then I finish with a Naniwa 12k followed by a strop with CrO.

I have a DMT D8C to lap the Naniwas and Norton. I went this way because it was relatively affordable and has worked on the few razors I've honed myself.

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

How many do you need? None.

But i'm guessing , you want to hone some razors...
First you need to decide what your goal is.

Just maintaining blades? Basic Honing? Ebay Honing(aka restoration...)?

Below answers better than I. I would start out with a barber hone for touchups and go from there.....

What hone(s) do I need? - Straight Razor Place Wiki

OOOOO! I didn't see that page before. Thanks for pointing that out for me!

(a few minutes after I posted this)
I just read the page and my question is answered. I need a finishing stone to restore a dull edge after it was originally formed by a honemeister. Cool page.

Although the Wiki is a great resource it is still a condensed version, one of the original threads has so much info in there it is scary...


A really good read
http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...tml#post368819

Another great thread is: http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...do-i-need.html

If it's a already sharp razor, you technically need only one hone to keep it in shaving sharp condition, with around 8000 grit. I would recomend the Norton 4K/8K combo stone for regular razor honing, and light restoring...

cheers,
Nenad

According to my "to buy" list, the correct answer is: ALL OF THEM.

But then, that could just be me...