Is a 3 line Swaty O.K. for a final polish?

I'm newbie from "Down Under" who started with straights about 5 months ago & am now getting good shaves with one n.o.s. & two older razors. I also have one razor beautifully restored by Bob Keyes, with which I can get a really smooth shave. This is thanks to all of you out there who are willing to share you knowledge & wisdom. I am really enjoying the learning experience.

I've restored the edge on two old razors using a Naniwa 3000/8000 super-stone to the point where I'm getting nice shaves. To go that one step further, I guess I can go back to the 8000 side of the Naniwa, but I do have a 3-line Swaty (Franz Swaty/Wahring bei Wien/ (Austria). Will this give me the final polish for an even better shave, or should I wait until I can get a Naniwa 12000?

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Originally Posted by Auswalker

I'm newbie from "Down Under" who started with straights about 5 months ago & am now getting good shaves with one n.o.s. & two older razors. I also have one razor beautifully restored by Bob Keyes, with which I can get a really smooth shave. This is thanks to all of you out there who are willing to share you knowledge & wisdom. I am really enjoying the learning experience.

I've restored the edge on two old razors using a Naniwa 3000/8000 super-stone to the point where I'm getting nice shaves. To go that one step further, I guess I can go back to the 8000 side of the Naniwa, but I do have a 3-line Swaty (Franz Swaty/Wahring bei Wien/ (Austria). Will this give me the final polish for an even better shave, or should I wait until I can get a Naniwa 12000?

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you should be ok. swaty will not hurt.gl

The Swaty (Barber Hone) is about a 12k. See Hones - comparison table - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Normally they're used for touch ups, 3-5 lapps prior to stropping. It'll keep your blade shave ready...

Thanks guys. I have found the Swaty great for touching up, so I'll try it on the razors that I've just sharpened on the Naniwa 3000/8000 & see how it goes. I appreciate your advice.

Aus, an old barber gave me .... or sold me... I really can't recall, a 3 line Swaty years ago. When I got started in this honing thing a couple of years ago I used a norton set and finished on the Swaty with water only because that was all that I had. It worked alright. I soon bought a Shapton pro 12k and then a Shapton pro 15k and began using those.

Later on I got a long 3 line Swaty. I lapped it and sometimes when I honed a razor and it didn't seem keen enough on the first pass I would go to my long 3 line and do a few passes on it. Then I would shave my second pass. It has always been better after the touch up with the Swaty. I've also done this with a Frictionite and a C-Mon. They all were real good to 'touch up'. They weren't really meant to finish a razor but like I say, my standard size 3 line was alright for that. My naniwa 12k is much better as a finisher and so is the Shapton pro 15k.

I'd say only one way to find out. Give it a try and see what happens. If it doesn't work go back to your naniwa finish.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Aus, an old barber gave me .... or sold me... I really can't recall, a 3 line Swaty years ago. When I got started in this honing thing a couple of years ago I used a norton set and finished on the Swaty with water only because that was all that I had. It worked alright. I soon bought a Shapton pro 12k and then a Shapton pro 15k and began using those.

Later on I got a long 3 line Swaty. I lapped it and sometimes when I honed a razor and it didn't seem keen enough on the first pass I would go to my long 3 line and do a few passes on it. Then I would shave my second pass. It has always been better after the touch up with the Swaty. I've also done this with a Frictionite and a C-Mon. They all were real good to 'touch up'. They weren't really meant to finish a razor but like I say, my standard size 3 line was alright for that. My naniwa 12k is much better as a finisher and so is the Shapton pro 15k.

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Thanks Jimmy,

All this is reassuring, so I'll work with the Swaty until I can get one of the better hones.

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Originally Posted by gugi

I'd say only one way to find out. Give it a try and see what happens. If it doesn't work go back to your naniwa finish.

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Thanks gugi,

I'll try the Swaty finish and post on the result after a while.

David (Auswalker)

Jimmy, I wonder: why not use your naniwa or shapton for that mid-shave touch-up? Why would a hone be good at that but not as a finishing hone?

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Originally Posted by Mijbil

Jimmy, I wonder: why not use your naniwa or shapton for that mid-shave touch-up? Why would a hone be good at that but not as a finishing hone?

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I said I would post on what happened when I used my 3-line Swaty for a final polish. Well, it worked. 10 passes on the Swaty after pyramid sharpening with the Naniwa 3000/8000, 75 passes on the strop and there was a noticeable improvement. I'm getting a DFS with 2 passes and a BBS in the areas where I am brave enough to try a third pass.I will buy a Naniwa 12000 later, but in the meantime the Swaty will do. Thanks to all for your help.

David.

hey, I picked up a two-line Swaty on the bay a few weeks ago, and I am having a b**ch of a time lapping it. I use a DMT D8C (325 grit) and it just does nothing to it - it's not terribly in need, but I went at that thing for 30 minutes, maybe even an hour, and hardly dented it. Any ideas? Do I just need a coarser lapper? Maybe I can try some lower-grit wet/dry. Cheers all.

Hi - I lapped my 3-line on 550 grit wet and dry, then on 1200 grit wet and dry, with the paper on a piece of solid plate glass. I drew a grid with lead pencil to be sure when I got it flat on both grits. I used a combination of small circles and figure 8s on the wet and dry. At the end, I bevelled the edges. It seems to have worked O.K. - but I'm only a newbie. Good luck with your 2-line.
David

I use a Swatty as the final hone in my progression. I can't remember if it is a two or three line Swatty, but it does a great job. I use this hone when I have lather on my face and am ready to go.

By the way, it is extremely hard and was a pain in the a*$& to lap. I gave up when I had most of it flat.

Just for information...

"Three Line Swaty" has come to mean a Swaty with 3 lines of text... as opposed to the ones that have 2 lines of text... With those two types of hones side by side I have never felt a bit of difference YMMV

There actually is a true "Three Line" Swaty hone, it is actually stamped with the words "Three Line" this is a true Three Line Swaty...

And BTW I didn't see a noticeable difference between it and any other Swaty hone