Thread: What would you buy next?

I have quite a few finishers (above 8K) and know how to use each one of them. The reason I recommended the 12K Naniwa is that it would be a good stone to learn off of as a first step to finishers. It leaves a nice edge. I didn't mention any of the naturals simply due to each and every one of their personalities...just like every person reading this post. My primary stones are Shapton GS's, but i didn't recommend any of them simply because they are so stinking fast that you can ruin an edge at 16K quite easily by overhoning. I didn't mention a coti because unless you lucked out with a great rock, you wouldn't gain anything over your 8K. I didn't recommend an Asagi, Thuringian, Escher, Coticule, Charnley Forrest, Special Stone, GS 30K, PHIG...you get my drift...because they are all naturals (besides the Shapton) with individual personalities that could be really tough to learn if you don't have a good solid foundation. This is what the synthetics are so good at, building a solid honing foundation. Once you have learned to finish and get the best out of a Nani 12K, then the next logical step would be a thuringian from someone who hones razors & it's a good (meaning proven) finisher. After that the HAD will kick in and who knows what finisher you will end up with. Again, by this time you will have a solid foundation to learn a stone and bring the good and after time, the best out of the stone.

Some other things you may consider as well: Send one or two of your freshly honed razors to a veteran honer to evaluate your edge. Magnification is another VERY useful tool while honing. Try to meet up with other honers out there. Most of all, keep it fun and educational...
All the best,
Scott

A 10k Super Stone is a sgnificant jump up from a Norton 8k. So is a SS 8k... A Norton 8k is comparable to a 5k SS in my experience, and the grit number comparison agrees with what I found through trial and error. I found little, if any, shaving differences between the edges from the 10 and 12k Super Stones though. I liked both stones - they're certainly easy peasy to work with. I did feel that they both needed some refinement after coming off the stone though. Crox being the go-to paste for me.

I've never had a coticule that couldn't better a Norton 8k edge, although some provided a significant improvement while others did not; I chalk that up to my experience with each stone not being up to par. I've only had a dozen or so coticules while I had the Norton 8k here though, so maybe there are a good number of stones that aren't capable of doing so. The main thing with the coticule is learning how to max out on it and some take more effort than others to figure out. For me the experimentation with a coticule pays off and I enjoy them.

While I'm certian that some feel the 8k Norton (or another stone) may be the finality of all things sharp for them - I don't. Subjective reasoning, being what it is, is probably best presented as such. What works for your face may very well not work for me. The phrase YMMV, as worn as it is, applies across the board here. I can't shave well with an 8k synth edge of any flavor. Snow white, Norton, SS - etc.. it's a no go for me. Doesn't matter who honed it, or how I prep - my shaving technique is not at fault either. Fact is - I have whiskers in a few places that just don't cut unless the edge is refined to a greater degree than any 8k stone I've tried allows. Having an 8k edge honed by others with experience has yielded the same results.

Wow! Thanks for all of the great input. I only saw the one reply from Shooter (Thank you, very much!) and thought that was about all I would get. Logged in today and saw some great input from everyone.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Are you sure you've gotten the best you can out of the Norton's ?

No, I'm not and based on all this discussion I think I need to focus on that for a while, then move to the 12k Naniwa. I know, for example, that my heels are much better than my toes. I think I need to see if I can get a consistant edge and then worry about finishing. I think this fits with what cudarunner was saying, too.

Nick, I was thinking of the higher progression, but your recommendation of the Chosera is an interesting one. I know they are reported to set a bevel more quickly than the Norton, but is it really a "better" bevel? I'm a novice, but smart enough to know that the best finish will come from the best start.

Gamma, I have thick, coarse whiskers and imagine I'm in the same place as you with some that just won't cut. Unlike you, I'm still working on technique. But your post is in line with my whole reason for asking this. My razors don't "melt" my whiskers, but they may never do that.

One last quesiton...where do the 1mic and .5 mic pastes fit relative to the stones? Are they similar to 12k, or just so different it's hard to compare?

Thanks to all!

--David

Originally Posted by shooter74743

I have quite a few finishers (above 8K) and know how to use each one of them. The reason I recommended the 12K Naniwa is that it would be a good stone to learn off of as a first step to finishers. It leaves a nice edge. I didn't mention any of the naturals simply due to each and every one of their personalities...just like every person reading this post. My primary stones are Shapton GS's, but i didn't recommend any of them simply because they are so stinking fast that you can ruin an edge at 16K quite easily by overhoning. I didn't mention a coti because unless you lucked out with a great rock, you wouldn't gain anything over your 8K. I didn't recommend an Asagi, Thuringian, Escher, Coticule, Charnley Forrest, Special Stone, GS 30K, PHIG...you get my drift...because they are all naturals (besides the Shapton) with individual personalities that could be really tough to learn if you don't have a good solid foundation. This is what the synthetics are so good at, building a solid honing foundation. Once you have learned to finish and get the best out of a Nani 12K, then the next logical step would be a thuringian from someone who hones razors & it's a good (meaning proven) finisher. After that the HAD will kick in and who knows what finisher you will end up with. Again, by this time you will have a solid foundation to learn a stone and bring the good and after time, the best out of the stone.

Some other things you may consider as well: Send one or two of your freshly honed razors to a veteran honer to evaluate your edge. Magnification is another VERY useful tool while honing. Try to meet up with other honers out there. Most of all, keep it fun and educational...
All the best,
Scott

Scott,

What a GREAT post. Thanks. Clearly, I have some homework to do before buying a finisher, but this is great advice. I know Glen has offered to evaluate edges and I think I'll do some more homework and then see if he will look them over and then put one of his finishes on one so I can compare.

--David, fellow Texas resident for 3 more weeks

My vote goes to the 12k Naniwa too. If I would have to have only one finisher, I would take one of those. The best finisher for a beginner imo.

After 8k level I only use natural stones. I would get a small coticule maybe a 2x6" one in size and finish on that...

The 1k Chosera i believe is better than the 1k norton. I believe the scratches it leaves behind are smaller and easily removed by the next stone in the progression.

Keeping a pro honed blade to compare to is a wise choice. I kept one from Sham (hi_bud_gl) for about a year and a half.

Everyone has covered the rock end and they all have a good perspective. I would suggest felt impregnated with 0.1 micron CBN spray. It will give you the ability to maintain a very smooth keen edge that is a pleasure to shave with at a minimum of cost.

Take care,
Richard

Originally Posted by SirStropalot

My wife thinks maybe a visit with a psychotherapist. T?

Psychotherapist? You called? My dear Strop a lot, I will be happy to explain to your dear wife that RAD is not pathology, but TREATMENT! Mastry related striving in any area is, among other things, a mark of mental health and well-being!

Is it not true that tool making is the very thing that separates man from beast?

If not making tools, then maintaining and using those tools with the utmost skill is the height of humanity.

No, you are not a pathological beast, you are an exemplary specimen of humanity by your demonstration of knowledge, taste, and skill.

And surely to the extent that a man can master the manly art of shaving, he is also most certainly able to care for his woman as she so well deserves. Surely the keen ability to sense the delicate state of a razors edge during honing, and the ability to give it just the touch it needs is a subtle art that every woman longs to have in a man.

Yes. Knowledge without technique, after all, is impotent, while technique without knowledge is blind--to put it nicely.

The man who is knowledgeable, able to apply that knowledge to technique, and wield deadly implements like straight razors to deliver such a subtle craft as a clean BBS shave . . . well, I protest the suggestion this is a disorder in any way.

If our women do not truly know we are not brutes, then verily they are trailer trash.

Not that there is anything wrong with trailers. Only the trash.

Humbly yours . . .