Thread: Remember Honing Before Diamonds?

Have you ever wondered how you honed before using Diamonds? I take it for granted these days.... Lapping, refreshing, heavy resorations and taming the hardest of stones to give a silcky smooth slurry to work with.

Diamonds are a girls best freind? I don't thinks so...

I've maintained a subset of my razors with nothing but barber hones for about 8 years. The only diamonds I truly need are the ones I used to ask my wife to marry me.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I've maintained a subset of my razors with nothing but barber hones for about 8 years. The only diamonds I truly need are the ones I used to ask my wife to marry me.

Viva Amore! You are a romantic one. Almost 30 years ago I made the same purchase, but I like my diamonds better.

Utopian do you remember how long it took you to set the bevel with your barber hone? I remember you saying you did it before.

Yes, it took many hours. A barber hone is not intended to set a bevel. It's purpose is to maintain an already sharp razor and they do that well!

Without diamonds... using wet/dry to do lapping/refreshing, or using a barber hone to refresh other hones. Using slurry stones to create slurry. Working on the 1k to do serious bevel setting. Yea, it wasn't really that bad at all. Even now, the only thing I use a DMT for is lapping; it's faster, cheaper, and easier (for me) than sandpaper.

I'm another that only uses diamonds for lapping.

I personally hate the feeling of my steel on a diamond hone (and yes, it's all broken in). I don't like the feeling of diamond slurry, either.

Sooo...yeah, I can remember what it's like without diamonds.

The only honing I do with diamonds is really aggresive work. They are fast and save my my course stones.

If for no other reason other than lapping, how can you guys be so indifferent? An accuratly lapped stone done in record time, that is huge for me. It means my stones are flat and ready all the time.

I lap and refresh my stones constantly with DMTs. Maybe I hone more than you guys, but sandpaper for lapping? That is ok if you only lap a stone once in a while. Sorry, grit contamination and mess. I have a sharpening station and my DMTs get used every day that I sharpen which is quite often.

Sandpaper doesn't take me any longer than using a DMT (for the actual lapping; there is some prep and cleaning time with sandpaper). And sandpaper wasn't a mess after I figured out a method that worked for me. I have an entire glass topped table (maybe 2 or 3 feet square) that I used, so I had plenty of space. Once wet, the sandpaper sticks to the glass very well, so that's easy too. A paper towel clears extra water and slurry that is formed.

With high quality sandpaper, I have never had grit contamination, and I have been able to reuse sheets as well. Like I said, it's not as convienant as a DMT and it's more expensive in the long run, but sandpaper does the job very well.

I guess in the end, a good tool for lapping does not excite me at all. But a good tool for honing does :-)

Originally Posted by Kingfish

The only honing I do with diamonds is really aggresive work. They are fast and save my my course stones.

And diamond plates don't dish.