Thread: 16000 grit hone neccessary (or desirable?)

I have a Norton 4K/8K and Naniwa 12K for razors that just need to be maintained.

What would adding a 16K hone to the sharpening process add?

In all honesty, very little, if anything.

Sounds like you would have to venture in to natural stones territory to get much improvement on the mighty fine SS.
I do use a couple different approaches after the 12K.
An Escher, a CF, a JNat-finisher or a Gokumyo 20K might yield some refinement to the edge. The Shapton 30K would probably make a difference too.

I do believe it was Lynn who stated that the 16K Shapton and the 12K SS would deliver pretty similar results in experienced hands

(Correct me if I1m wrong here Lynn)

How about some pasted strops or diamond spray on felt to get a little more out of the edge?

It would add 4000 more grits and a new hone to play with!

Seriously, though, I see finishers as a matter of personal preference OR chasing the ultimate edge. Or both?

I've had good results with my 16K, and with my 30K as well. They are not necessary, but I do like the jump from 8K to 16K, and then on to 30K. But that's just me!

I just received my 12k ss in the mail, and have not got a chance to really play with it. I have been going from a Norton 8 to CrOx, and getting great results. I bought the 12k to improve that transition. I imagine the CrOx will work well after the 12, so that's my suggestion to you. It is cheap for the crayon at SRD, and can be applied to a homemade balsa strop. About $20 all together.

Originally Posted by Birnando

In all honesty, very little, if anything.

I do believe it was Lynn who stated that the 16K Shapton and the 12K SS would deliver pretty similar results in experienced hands

+1. A few years back someone did a comparison of the 12k and the 16k and, due to the use of different rating systems, found them to be of similar grit. So unless you feel like dropping money for the sake of it you'll be able to accomplish the same job with your Naniwa 12k.

As some other members have already pointed out, at this stage if you want to take it to the next level pastes/sprays are your best bet.

Originally Posted by Birnando

I do believe it was Lynn who stated that the 16K Shapton and the 12K SS would deliver pretty similar results in experienced hands

They do in semi-experienced hands too

I've used a 12K SS as my main finisher for more than a year, I've also finished a handfull of razors on the 16K GS and the difference between the two, both visual seen at 60X and the shave feel is next to nothing.

Yup, used both the Naniwa 12k and I have the Shapton 16k, and there's little if any difference at all.
If you don't have any CroX yet, now is a good time

Keep in mind the grit rating system of the Shaptons and the Naniwas differ. So you can not compare the grit numbers, i.e. 16.000 is finer than 12.000 is not necessarily the case.
Naniwa is said to use JIS. Shapton sais it uses some kind of Mesh rating system. Fortunately the Shaptons have a micron size written on them: 0.94µm for the 16k.
Mathematically this translates into 14.000 JIS. But keep in mind, the 12k and the 16k are still not easily comparable.

Both stones work differently, because they are part of different systems. But luckily most reputeable manufacturers will produce similar results.
That means you will probably not gain much from adding a GS 16k after the Naniwa 12k. The difference between them is small and comes down to personal preference.
Both stones are high quality finishers. If you are looking to add something to it ask yourself if it really is necessary, or if you just need to work on your technique