Thread: Water & Hones

I've been floating around the forums for a bit, but I'm new to the world of straight razors and honing. I recently received the three stone set that open_razor sells on eBay (the chinese water stone and then the white 5k and 8k stones). The notes say that the white hones work with water, but my question is if I should soak them first. From the forum posts it sounds like I should, but there were others that made it sound like only some needed soaking. I want to make sure I do this correctly especially since my first straight shave will be with one that I hone (at least that's the plan). I realize I'm probably setting myself up for disappointment, but I want to give it a shot before sending one of my blades out to Lynn or someone else to work them over.

Thanks for your help.

Bob

You NEED a shave ready straight, honed by a pro for you to assess your own edges. Otherwise you have no benchmark for comparison. I strongly recommend you purchase a shave ready razor or get a razor professionally honed.

Since I have not used those specific hones, I'd suggest asking the seller.

Originally Posted by Scipio

You NEED a shave ready straight, honed by a pro for you to assess your own edges. Otherwise you have no benchmark for comparison. I strongly recommend you purchase a shave ready razor or get a razor professionally honed.

What he said!
The edge of a straight razor is like no other known to man. Until you use one properly sharpend, chances are you have no idea what sharp really is. Really.

While I'm usually the first to say "go for it", without a reference, I think you will just be extending your learning curve unneccasarily, and probably creating very painful shaves that may do nothing but discourage you.

I've also had a chance to use the stones you mentioned (5 & 8K), and I found them to be quite aggresive, and maybe not the easiest to learn with. The chinese12k requires a lot of perfect strokes to achieve a nice edge, and this is opens up lots of room for error.
It's well worth the small investment to have at least your first razor done professionally. Besides, the edge won't last long in a beginner's hands anyways; you'll be looking to sharpen it in no time, but at least you'll know what you are looking for when that time comes.
My advice is to get one done, and buy an inexpensive blade with good geometry to learn to practice on. By the time you've done in the edge on the first, you may have achieved a decent edge on the second.

Wishing you well,

I agree. The only reliable test for straight razor sharpness is to shave with it. If you don't yet have a straight that is sharp enough to shave with, how will you ever know if your honing is working, or if your stropping is bad, or your shaving technique is wrong???

Do yourself a favor and get a shave ready razor to start with.

.

Originally Posted by iamentropy

I've been floating around the forums for a bit, but I'm new to the world of straight razors and honing. I recently received the three stone set that open_razor sells on eBay (the chinese water stone and then the white 5k and 8k stones). The notes say that the white hones work with water, but my question is if I should soak them first. From the forum posts it sounds like I should, but there were others that made it sound like only some needed soaking. I want to make sure I do this correctly especially since my first straight shave will be with one that I hone (at least that's the plan). I realize I'm probably setting myself up for disappointment, but I want to give it a shot before sending one of my blades out to Lynn or someone else to work them over.

Thanks for your help.

Bob

Water stones need water.....
In general immerse the hone in water and when the bubbles
stop it is ready. In some cases a dip will do other hones
need a full soak.

The finer hones are tight and will not bubble so if water
stands or puddles on the surface it is good to go.

A spray bottle will keep it wet for most of us.

I find that a rinse and a rub are needed to remove
accumulated swarf...

After use drip dry...

Do not let water hones freeze.

Do not store in a bucket of water and
let algae and bacteria slime them up...

My concern is that some water hones (some of the Naniws and Shaptons) can be harmed by soaking, so that is why I recommended contacting the seller.

A good naniwa stone only needs to be wetted down good and a nice film of water kept on it while honing.Just my two cents but I always see newbies buying things off of E-bay to find good deals and save money.it's a much harder route to go when all the knowledge and good buys are right in front of them here. I would recommend in the future buying off the classifieds here or vendors here as they will answer questions for you and give you a good deal and steer you in the right direction.E-bay is an unsure thing and should be avoided till you aquire lots of good shaving knowledge.Read the wiki here and soak up the knowledge.Good luck to you.

Originally Posted by Utopian

My concern is that some water hones (some of the Naniws and Shaptons) can be harmed by soaking, so that is why I recommended contacting the seller.

That's because they are ceramic based with a different binder to traditional waterstones such as Nortons, Kings etc.
Definitely contact the seller for instructions.

You need atleast one shave ready razor before you try to hone yorself

Thats a usable kit you got there
Those stones seemed to swarf up real fast last i used them
I seem to recall that those stones needed to soak for atleast ten fifteen minutes before use