Thread: Which hone for finishing?

Translucent arkansas works, and black arkansas probably works as well. They're very slow, and I wouldn't use them for primary honing. It's not in the same class as the fine shaptons and coticules and fine pasted strops. I've got a razor that's finished on pink translucent thats given me some of my best shaves, but the edge definitely isn't as refined as you get from the fine grit hones and pastes. It does work well for my beard because the edge seems to be tougher than the finer hones, and seems to cut my coarse beard very easily. I'm still experimenting with it, but the initial results are very intriguing. PM me if you're interested.

As for the coticule vs shapton debate, most of the guys that own both prefer the coticule. However good coticules are hard to come by while the Shapton is a couple of clicks away.

For starters, try to finish with the Norton 8000 only. If you feel you need sharper edge, search for alternative, which will be hard to find.

Nenad

I use a 12k (Japanese) as well as a pasted paddle strop (0.5 & 0.25 µ) for the ultimate refinement of the edge. The bulk of the work is done on the Norton combo however. The rest is just gravy.

X

May I suggest that you first become competent with the Norton 4/8k and a 2 sided paddle strop pasted with 1.0 and 0.5 micron pastes. It will save you a lot of money initially and give you a great edge.

I have a number of coticule's and even the vintage one's have
visual quality issues in some of them and excessive wear in others. Those that do are being cut up and being sold as slurry stones. Even if the visual inspection pass'es the microscope exam will reveal variations in size and density of the abrasive grains. So far about 33% of mine are not up to muster.

The Eschers are more consistent in appearence and grain but much more difficult to come by. They are also slightly better than the coticules IMHO.

The Chinese 12K stone also works like a charm for finishing and is very inexpensive but cuts slowly.
That being said I still like natural stones a lot!

Again, Thank you everyone so much for all the input. I think I am going to stick with the norton for now, and let my bank roll build a little... its amazing how fast the bill runs up buying everything. In the mean time I'll keep my eye out for a good finish stone for the future.


Also, as a side not, where should I post about buying another razor? Im kind of wanting a half beat up old razor that has a blade that needs a little TLC so I can practice with it on the hone without fear of damaging my only usable straight razor.

--Billy

Originally Posted by Billy

Also, as a side not, where should I post about buying another razor? Im kind of wanting a half beat up old razor that has a blade that needs a little TLC so I can practice with it on the hone without fear of damaging my only usable straight razor.

--Billy

Billy,

That's easy, go on eBay and buy any razor with a fuzzy picture and which has a descritpion that say MINT condition <g>. It is sure to be a beater!

Tony

Tony,

Haha, yeah I figured that much already. Im watching a couple of razors on E-bay right now. Theres a few that I can see some really wicked nasty blades through all the fuzz! You dont happen to be familiar with the damascus bladed razors? I know they cost a leg and the soul of your first born, anyone know if they are worth a damn? Just a curiosity... I cant see myself paying $700 for a razor. I dont care if it washes dishes, sweeps the floor and brushes my teeth... still you have to wonder =P

-Billy

Originally Posted by Joe Chandler

A coticule or escher are my choices. A pasted strop (Tony Miller makes good ones) is another popular alternative, and much easier to come by than either of the stones. A good pasted strop is also pretty easy to make yourself. Modern coticules apparently have some severe quality control problems, and Eschers are damn near unobtainable by anyone with budgetary constraints. You can get a good shaving edge with just the 8k, though. A lot of folks make that their final honing step.

Another candidate is the new Shapton GlassStone 16K. I just started using one and it's quite good. It's also very fast and has a very consistent feel.

Check out Tony H's stuff. He's a member here (same nickname as e-bay) and he carries great restoration projects and practice blades. From time to time you can come across a real gem over there.

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...ort=3&since=-1

Originally Posted by dylandog

Joe, can you use a Swaty as a finishing hone? Is there technically a difference between a finishing hone and a touch-up hone?

Gary

Finishing hone and touchup hone are descriptions imposed on the hone based on your intended use. The Swaty is great as a touchup hone because its quite fast for that fineness. It lets you touch up in just a few swipes.

In the other hand the best finishing hones, tend to be not only fine but slow as well. It lets yoou bring the blade to the perfect edge without the danger of bypassing it. Typically, it also rwquires a lot more strokes.

You could use a Swaty to finish, but it can be difficult with a faster hone.

My favorite barber hone for finishing is the Honemaster.