Hello-
Is it possible to get a straight razor sharp enough for a good shave if you only go as high as a Norton Waterstone 4000 grit?
Thank You-
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Hello-
Is it possible to get a straight razor sharp enough for a good shave if you only go as high as a Norton Waterstone 4000 grit?
Thank You-
No, I do not think so. You can get a shaving edge, but you'll end up with a 5 O'clock shadow. The shave will not be very close.
Definitely possible, but not recommended for a smooth shave. 8K + is far better. You could get a shave from hot coal on a stick, but you wouldnt wana do that!
As Sham stated, "maybe" but I'd go at least to an 8k. 4k may be a bit harsh....
You can always pick up a Chinese 12k, for about 20 bucks....
Hm... I want to say no, but I don't really know. Never tried it.
I'm going to try shaving off my Naniwa 5k next time around. I'll report back.
I tried shaving off my 6K King with a water-only / no-slurry set of finish laps. The razor shaved, but felt like it pulled just a little bit, and felt scratchy. Some laps on a Spyderco fine ceramic hone fixed 3/4 of both issues - so I think the bevel was sharp and the pulling sensation was from the toothy edge. Some laps on a paddle strop with .6 paste fixed the other 25% of both issues. Next time around, I tried the .6 pasted paddle after the 6K. It took around 150 laps, but did eventually get to the same place.
On the (poor?) advice of my friend here, I have shaved off my Aoto, which is roughly 3-5K. Definitely not the smoothest shave I've ever had, and with every stroke I kept thinking, "This isn't shave ready." After running up to a finisher it was ready to go.
IMO: Can you shave with it? I say yes. Will you enjoy shaving with it? Probably not. I think these answers apply from the moment you set a really good bevel. If there's a bevel it should shave hairs.
By the by - I think I still have a lot I can get out of this particular stone so another test might be in order.