Thread: Recommend a very fine barber's hone?

Originally Posted by threeputt

I think I may have found what I was looking for, as long as it isn't TOO small for me to get the hang of. Snagged a Belgian coticule, 2x4.5 inches. That should work out alright from all I've read, they list those at 8000 grit, but in practice I understand they produce a much finer feeling edge. Perfectly suited to go right to the strop afterwards. Again, it will just be for in-a-pinch touch-ups. I have a pasted paddle, but it's not something I want to lug around. That, and the fact that it's pasted with .25 on one side and .5 on the other, haven't figured a clever way to keep them separated and clean, other than keeping it hanging under my sink. Now for that stone, I need to find someone who can make a small leather slipcase for it. Any recommendations?

Hi Threeputt,
A small Belgian coticule should do very nicely! A good choice. Did you get that from Howard? I suppose you could get your local shoe repairman to make a leather slipcase for ya. Should be easy enough to do.
Hal

Jeff, nice stone, is that blue/yellow or just the yellow (8000)? I like the sunglasses cover idea too...

Nenad

Yes from Howard, and it is indeed a blue/yellow. "Cut from the vein where the two meet" or something to that effect, says Howard. It's a beautiful piece of nature's work. I'll keep an eye out for an eyeglasses case that might handle it. It's too thick for any of the cases I have, but maybe I can come up with something. HEY I have zip knife cases, padded and everything. I can steal one of those from one of my knives tucked away in the closet and put it to some good use :-)

Originally Posted by rtaylor61

threeputt,

Would an eyeglass case work for that hone? Just a thought.

Randy

I keep my Swaty in a wide, hard eyeglass case, where it fits perfectly.

Where do you gents think the Lithide fits in with the Swatys and the Premier?

What finally seems to be working for me is to get the bevel on the razor formed well and on its way to sharp with the 4k/8k, then move on to the Lithide dry, Lithide with lather, then strop with 5, 1 .5 (paddle) and finally plain leather.

I had to touch up one of my shave ready razors the other day, and I tried the pasted strop, but it didn't seem to get it quite back, but 5 laps on the lathered Lithide followed by the pastes and then plain leather had it back in great form.

I think I could get the lathered Lithide to refresh a pulling razor by itself, but I think that the pasted strop gives me an advantage.

So am I nuts, lucky, or just have I just figured out something that works for me (at least for the 3 razors I have tried it on)?

Originally Posted by Darkwolf

Where do you gents think the Lithide fits in with the Swatys and the Premier?

What finally seems to be working for me is to get the bevel on the razor formed well and on its way to sharp with the 4k/8k, then move on to the Lithide dry, Lithide with lather, then strop with 5, 1 .5 (paddle) and finally plain leather.

I had to touch up one of my shave ready razors the other day, and I tried the pasted strop, but it didn't seem to get it quite back, but 5 laps on the lathered Lithide followed by the pastes and then plain leather had it back in great form.

I think I could get the lathered Lithide to refresh a pulling razor by itself, but I think that the pasted strop gives me an advantage.

So am I nuts, lucky, or just have I just figured out something that works for me (at least for the 3 razors I have tried it on)?

Hi Darkwolf,
I have both the Premier (which is reputed to be swaty-like) and the Lithide. I'm not sure, but it seems to me like the lithide is very slightly coarser than the premier, so I use it first for about 5-10 passes and then 5-10 on the premier (then regular leather side of a strop). It refreshes wonderfully. Just my opinion though
Mark

The 5 micron strop is like 4K, so it seems like a step backwards. The 1 and .5 are moving in the right direction.

Originally Posted by Darkwolf

Where do you gents think the Lithide fits in with the Swatys and the Premier?

What finally seems to be working for me is to get the bevel on the razor formed well and on its way to sharp with the 4k/8k, then move on to the Lithide dry, Lithide with lather, then strop with 5, 1 .5 (paddle) and finally plain leather.

I had to touch up one of my shave ready razors the other day, and I tried the pasted strop, but it didn't seem to get it quite back, but 5 laps on the lathered Lithide followed by the pastes and then plain leather had it back in great form.

I think I could get the lathered Lithide to refresh a pulling razor by itself, but I think that the pasted strop gives me an advantage.

So am I nuts, lucky, or just have I just figured out something that works for me (at least for the 3 razors I have tried it on)?

Thanks Joe, I will try skipping the 5 micron and going straight to the 1 and .5 and see how it goes. It could be that the barber hone is irrelevent, and it is the 5 micron strop is doing the heavy work with the 1 and .5 finishing.

I should find out soon!

Originally Posted by Darkwolf

Thanks Joe, I will try skipping the 5 micron and going straight to the 1 and .5 and see how it goes. It could be that the barber hone is irrelevent, and it is the 5 micron strop is doing the heavy work with the 1 and .5 finishing.

I should find out soon!

You could also try going from the Lithide dry directly to 1 micron (about 14K) which gives you a nice transition. I would check how much the wet and lathered Lithide are really doing.

If you have a way of checking improvement while you work, a good approach is to stay on a grit until improvement levels off, then move to the next one.

Pasted strops are very effective. A razor that is honed properly, however, will not be improved by a pasted strop. A well honed razor and stropped razor is as fine an edge as one can have, in my opinion and is almost certain to have a better, more consistent edge, give a cleaner, more comfortable shave and stay sharp longer.

There's a logical reason behind this. I wouldn't just say that based on an arbitrary judgement call.

What I've concluded is that strops will make it possible to put a shavable edge on a razor that hasn't been properly honed. If the edge isn't "just right", the pasted strop will put some whiteout on the mistake by keeping the flaws from being particularly noticable while shaving. Examples would be sharpening areas of the edge that have micro-pits or never got the full "v" edge beveled and sharpened, leaving areas flat. These will be "rounded" and then re-beveled at a more obtuse angle by the stropping with the paste. Obtuse angles don't cut as well and, although many people think that more obtuse bevels stay sharper longer, actually the opposite has proven to be true (within reason).