Thread: Shave sharp with Norton 4/8k only ?

Hello All
I was wondering is it possible to get a razor shave sharp with the N4/8k alone,
and then finished with a leather strop or is a barber/finishing hone necessary.
Thank in advanced for all your help
FredC.

Sure. But the edge given by the finer grits is awfully nice...

If that's all you got, it'll definitely get the job done. For a little further refinement, though, you could make your own pasted strop cheaply. Spend $3 at the hobby store for a piece of smooth vegetable tanned leather, glue it to a very flat board (whatever size you think you need), and get some green chrome oxide liquid ($4 from Handamerican...should last you just about forever) and you got a pasted paddle strop. That'll go a long way toward smoothing up your edge. You can use the diamond pastes, and they cut faster, and work well, but I like the edge I get from the chrome oxide a bit better. That's just personal preference, though. Some folks like the diamond pastes better. They're certainly less messy.

The 4/8k will get you an edge sharper than you thought possible and it will be more than satisfactory.

Keep us posted on your progress,

Originally Posted by fcohio

Hello All
I was wondering is it possible to get a razor shave sharp with the N4/8k alone...

possible for my razors, anyways...

Nenad

Originally Posted by fcohio

Hello All
I was wondering is it possible to get a razor shave sharp with the N4/8k alone,
and then finished with a leather strop or is a barber/finishing hone necessary.
Thank in advanced for all your help
FredC.

Yes

Ed

The Norton 4/8k combo is not only adequate, it's necessary ... if you're me anyway. I, however, do appreciate the extra keen a few strokes and/or laps on higher a grit stone/pasted paddle will do for the edge and routinely go there.

X

If the 4K/8K was all that was available and we were all proficient in its use we would all be very happy shavers. Does that mean you can't improve the edge further with higher grits, certainly you can just like a Chevy will get you where you want to go the same as a mercedes.

Shaving sharp for one person may not be shaving sharp for another. One thing that everyone has to realize is that each persons beard is different. I found that using a pasted strop after the 8k norton made my shaves much better. others may be just fine with it. A couple of other factors are the razor and the honer. If i sharpened a razor on an 8k and someone like lynn sharpened it on the 8k, I am positive that it would be sharper when Lynn is done with it.

An even cheaper way to ge a paddle strop is to go to hobby lobby and get some cheap balsa wood and apply paste to it. I did that using 1.0, 0.5 and 0.25 diamond pastes. It made a big difference in my shaves.

Originally Posted by ForestryProf

Yes

Good heavens, Ed, don't gush.