Thread: Honing paste

So i have stones up to a spyderco 8k stone, which I umderstsnd is about 3 micron. I also have 1 micron honing paste for my second strop. I'm wondering if it is worth it to go smaller. Would I notice the difference between something done with 1m and something taken to .25m?
I dont particularly feel compelled to shell out 300$ on a shapton 30k stone.

I have the Shapton 30K as well as the 16K but often stop after the 12K Naniwa SS, strop and that's all I seem to need. I have CrOx but almost never use it.

i have a 1k6k jap waterstone a 4k8k norton and a c12k...... i use a bit of .5micron diamond paste on a cotton strop to give it that last bit of sharpness.....


seems to work good for me.... YMMV...

Originally Posted by Rsq

So i have stones up to a spyderco 8k stone, which I umderstsnd is about 3 micron. I also have 1 micron honing paste for my second strop. I'm wondering if it is worth it to go smaller. Would I notice the difference between something done with 1m and something taken to .25m?
I dont particularly feel compelled to shell out 300$ on a shapton 30k stone.

If you have 1 micron paste on balsa or leather you are in a good place.

An 8K hone should get you an edge good enough to shave if
you use it with a light touch. Then take that edge to a balsa
or leather strop for a couple dozen licks then finish stropping
on canvas then leather (or just leather) and I would consider it
to be good.

The ceramic spiderco hones can be used like a barber hone
with lather to soften their bite.

Hobby and craft shops have balsa and thin plywood.
Make a flat balsa strop by gluing a couple layers together
(balsa alone is fragile) and give it a LIGHT application
of your 1 micron bits. The bits will push down into the
balsa and act finer than 1 micron.

The astounding fine grit hones like the shapton 30k are
expensive. The Naniwa Super Stone at 12K would be my
next stop for a hone after a decent 8k hone. Another good choice
is the Shapton Glass Stone 16000grit/0.92 micron. It will be
more effective but perhaps not as "fine" as 1 micron diamond on
something soft like balsa or leather.

Also chrome oxide (CrOx here) on balsa or leather is another
common solution for adding smooth to an edge.

Also if you have a fine spyderco (8k I think) note that they have
a Extra Fine and an Ultra fine. When the ultra fine is
worn in it does give a good shave.....

EDIT: 0.25 micron spray is not too aggressive. I used
it after honing and others here have experimented to see
if it damages a blade over a month+ of stropping and
shaving and found that it was gentle enough that it could
be used more often that other coarser pastes.

Originally Posted by Rsq

So i have stones up to a spyderco 8k stone, which I umderstsnd is about 3 micron. I also have 1 micron honing paste for my second strop. I'm wondering if it is worth it to go smaller. Would I notice the difference between something done with 1m and something taken to .25m?
I dont particularly feel compelled to shell out 300$ on a shapton 30k stone.

If you are getting a good shave off the 8k and 1 micron, you will like the .25 micron paste and you will see a difference.

If you want to try it on the cheap, the balsa wood is a steal. The diamond paste can be found cheaper at rock shops or online rock stores. They use it to tumble with. I bought mine there and it was dirt cheap compared to classic shaving.

Darren