Thread: Obsessed Newbie With First Impressions And Questions

I think the finer hones are very worthwhile and I like them much better than finishing with a pasted strop, although finishing with a pasted strop is easier. With a Coticule (expensive), Chinese 12000+ grit waterstone from Woodcraft.com (29.95) or a quality fine finishing barber hone ($10.00 + up on Ebay), a very good shaving edge can be produced and you sound like you have the skill necessary to get the most out of it, so I'd encourage you to try the finer hones.

Everyone has to do some experimentation on their own because it's impossible to know what the next guy's "great shave" or "lousy shave" actually felt like. It's all too subjective and measured on different scales of experience.

My first pasted strop was a TI with 1.0 and 0.5. Once I started making strops I went with a 9, 1, .5 and .25 setup and do 95% of my customers razors on it. This would be more than adequate especially if you already have hones.
My current personal setup is a 9, 3, 1, .5 on a 4 side and another 2 side with 0.25 on both balsa and leather. I also have maybe 20 barber hones, a Norton a few Belgians an an Escher. For my personal collection I still use the 9,1,.5,.25 the most.
Tony

I agree 1000 %.

Originally Posted by xman

It seems more important to create a nice cutting edge with the 4k or 5k or even perhaps 6k and that everythying after that is minute improvement in comfort. Go for that improvement by all means, but don't lose sight of creating a strong foundation with the lower grits. That's all MHO and I might change my mind next month.

Good to have you here.

X