Thread: swaty v. pasted strop

I'm pretty new to this. I appreciate the DIY spirit and all the erudition on this site. My question is simple: is there any reason to have both a pasted paddle and a touch-up hone like a swaty? I'm more of a minimalist than a collector. What sort of paste (1.0, .5, .25) does the swaty roughly correspond to? Thanks in advance.

None of those. I prefer barber hones alone myself. I think the closest to a Swaty would be 3m and thats a pretty weak comparison. I'll guess, cuz I don't remember my pastes anymore but I think .25 is 100K, .5 is 50k, and 1 is 25k and a Swaty is about 9k.

I don't know, that must be off a little. Wait for someone else to chime in. I would say the answer is "maybe". I could see trying to add .25 after a Swaty but its pretty hard to improve on it.

if you're really a minimalist, you don't need either. all you need to keep a razor sharp is a norton 4/8. that's how i do it. i actually have a swaty--i got it to use as a sort of travel hone about a month ago--but i've still never used it.

You think barber hones alone would be a good route for a beginner? I was thinking of getting the Norton, and using a Swaty as a quick and convenient way to refresh the edge and lengthen the time between honings. I have a tough beard, almost like little wood slivers, and I think I'm dulling the blade pretty rapidly.

I often read on these threads that barber hones have a learning curve, Nortons are easier, etc. What in particular makes a barber hone challenging? The size?

Thanks Cyrano, yes I've heard you can get by with just the Norton. Bu part of being a minimalist for me I guess includes not having to soak a stone for twenty minutes just for a quick refresh. (Or do you use the 8K side without soaking for that purpose?) Having the swaty at the ready in the bathroom sounds pretty good. Would this work as well as a pasted paddle?

Originally Posted by dylandog

I often read on these threads that barber hones have a learning curve, Nortons are easier, etc. What in particular makes a barber hone challenging? The size?

Partly. They aren't big enough to sharpen the entire blade at once so you have to use an X pattern. Because the middle of the razor is on the hone the entire stroke but the toe and tip are on the hone only part of the stroke it's easy to produce a frowning edge with one, which would be a bad thing. Also there's no standard grit or quality for barber's hone so it's harder for the community to help you if you run into problems. And they tend to be slow cutters so it's easy to get frustrated if the bevel needs serious work or you have to get a nick out -- they're great for maintaining a sharp edge but not great for getting one sharp in the first place.

The 4k/8k Norton combination hone will quickly produce a fine shaving edge on just about anything capable of receiving one, they have a known grit size, are a proven consistent hone, and everybody else has one too so you can get lots of advice and tutoring if you have problems. Because it's so effective it's likely to remain your workhorse hone even if you later branch out and acquire more hones later.