Thread: hone a blunt razor - advice needed.

Hey guys, I need some advice on the next stone i should look to purchase to help me with my honing.

I already own a C12k and a BBW for some touch up honing and they work really well, Ive managed to keep my two razors sharp enough to shave with for over a year now.

However I recently picked up a razor from ebay that is so blunt its not funny, I know that both the stones I have aren't really going to cut it in terms of putting an edge on the razor to start with however Im not sure if I should purchase a 1000k or a 3000k ??

Ive been looking at the superstones that are available on TheInvisibleEdge.co.uk, they aren't exactly cheap so I'd prefer to get one that is going to help me get a blunt blade ready to use with my btw and C12k ?

thanks for the advice.

Kris

A 1k stone will set a bevel much faster than a 3k stone, so that is the one that is commonly used. I love my Chosera 1k stone. Good luck!

for setting a bevel there's nothing wrong with using something in the 600 grit range. I've actually whipped out stones that most people would consider too coarse for a slurry stone, but to me, there's no point piddling around with a fine grit stone for establishing a bevel. I think more "honing failures" are a result of using too fine a stone to set the bevel than anything else. Even a 1k stone could require many hundreds of strokes to bring a blunt edge to a new bevel, especially if the razor isn't a full hollow with a very thin blade. I'll even go out on a limb and recommend a 600 grit (red) DMT hone. I've been known to whip out one of the blue 320 grit stones for bevel setting, myself.

A 1k hone is a good starting point for setting an edge. Usually fast enough and not too coarse. If you need faster, go coarser.

Like PapaBull, I often use DMT 600 for a starting point.

A DMT can be used (and I've used a DMT 325 to rough out a bevel a time or two), but it'll be a big jump from one of those to either of the other stones you have. My advice would be to get a 1k stone along with an artificial nagura to use to set bevels.

I've finally been able to get good results with my own honing. I have 5 razors now that I've honed myself to a comfortable (for me) edge. I picked up a 1k Chosera and absolutely love it. One of the five was just done today. I went from the Chosera to the BBW and then to the Norton 8K, then I finished with CrOx. It was a very nice edge, maybe one of my best yet. Not that I'm a pro yet, by any stretch of the imagination, just wanted to chime in that I think the 1K is the way to go. Sorry it took so long to get there. LOL

I agree with Cove! A Chosera 1k is my stone of choice for setting the bevel and if I could only own 2 stones the Chosera 1k would be one of them. The edge from the Chosera 1k, IME, is almost, or is equivalent to a 4k edge from most other stones. It's a hone not to be overlooked in your arsenal!! Of course, IMHO.

Regards,

Howard

I've done what myersn suggests before. I don't have the patience to hone for long so if necessary, I do a quick rough in on a DMT 325 and move to 1-4-8k. 10-15 minutes tops to 8k is my acceptable range. Definately 1k.

Thanks for all the support guys to be honest I'm after a stone that will be fairly forgiving for a newbie honer, I'd prefer not to go too course if I can to avoid doing too much damage if I get a little crazy with it, I think I'll put the money on a 1k Naniwa and a nagura stone to keep it maintained.

I'm looking for it to primarily be there to help me set a new bevel when needed and to start an edge off , I've bought a couple razors lately that are incredibly blunt, it's difficult to describe but I'm easily comfortable running my thumb or finger across the edge with pressure and it not harming my digits . Now todo that on my normal razors would no doubt leave a wound that needed stitching. This is how blunt they are.

I'm able to maintain an edge on a razor when it's sharpened, but I'm having to ship the really blunt razors off to have them sharpened at present, so if I can get a stone that will start the edge and I can finish it with the bbw and C12k I'd be happy.

Something I'd forgot to mention in the original post was cost is a little restricting, so whilst I'd go with the suggestion of the chosera normally it's a little out of my budget.

I've been reading the info on theinvisibleedge and I'm in two minds if I should get a 1k or a 3k stone? I get the feeling it should be the 1k as this will give me the quickest results and is going to be the best at setting a bevel, but I like the idea of the 3k being able todo the bevel set albeit slower and also able to start an edge off which is closer to the grit of the two stones I already have. Any opinions ?

You can't go wrong with having a 1K stone
If you need more speed, these work really well Fine Bench Sharpener by Smith Abrasives, Inc. DBSF 00027925012734, the orange one is 850 and very fast