Thread: Honing System Questions

I have used the "Scary Sharp" system before. Occasionally I will use a 1000 grit sandpaper to remove a major nick. I no longer use anything finer because when I did use a 2000 grit sandpaper to replace my broken 4000 grit Japanese stone I ran into a lot of problems. The 2000 grit seemed to slightly round over the edge of the razor. It was very difficult to obtain a sharp edge after that when I used either a 6000 jap or a Barber hone. I had to work a long time to get a shaving sharp edge. What I have learned since then is that it is possible to move from a 1000 grit sandpaper (soft) to a 4000 grit hone (hard) but is very difficult to move from a 2000 grit sandpaper to a 6000/8000 hone.
The rules seem to be that you can always use the same hardness media or move from a hard to a soft media. But should not go from a soft to a hard media.
keith at www.Handamerican.com now has sandpaper as fine as
0.5 micron. That is more than fine enough to obtain a shaving edge.
To be fair I have not used an all sandpaper system yet. It just might work. But, you will have to learn some of the Gottcha's of sandpaper. If it bunches up ever so little you wiill round the edge. You will need an absolutely flat substrate to put the sandpaper on. Using an edge leading stroke must be done very carefully or else you will slice the sandpaper.
This would be a very inexpensive , but rapid, method if it works.

The Barber hones are a time tested and proven option but the difficulty is determining the grit,learning how to use them and they are slow compared to some of the other options. But they are inexpensive, portable, they do work and they are way cool!

For a finishing level tool your best bet is a pasted paddle strop.

Hope this helps

How about a small coticule? They come in various sizes and shapes, the smaller once aren't too expensive: http://www.belgischerbrocken.com/.

The quality of the new coticules is inconsistent so I cannot recommend a new one.

Originally Posted by Kees

How about a small coticule? They come in various sizes and shapes, the smaller once aren't too expensive: http://www.belgischerbrocken.com/.