Thread: A Honing Question

I am fairly new to honing and have been honing using methods that are detailed on the forum. I have been setting my bevel with a 1k stone then using the Norton 4/8k to progress then use a finishing stone. The final steps I take are stropping with Crox on felt then on to leather. I have been getting very nice shave results. I have moved to a Zulu-Grey and began using the one stone honing technique - actual two stone 1k setting then one stone. I followed the progression with Crox and leather. Some experienced honers over on the Zulu-Grey thread said that going to Crox looses the finishers edge. My question is: do most of you go right to leather from the finisher? Am I missing out on the natural finisher's experience by using Crox??? What prompted my thoughts is I just touched up my Zowada. Prior to my acquisition it had been newly honed by Tim. I touched it up with the Zulu-Grey then Crox on felt then leather stropping. Upon shaving it was as sharp as the original but I felt it had a smoother shave. So am I experiencing the Zulu-Grey or the Crox???

I mostly go from the stones to leather. My first stropping will be 100x, each side counting as one x, at a minimum. Pastes change the way a stone leaves a razor's edge. What you are doing would most likely soften the edge a bit, not leave it feeling as "sharp".

If I have finished a razor on a high grit synthetic, such as a 15k shapton pro, and if I feel like it is a bit harsh for the first pass, I might take it to chrom-ox to smooth out the edge. A lot of guys use diamond paste/spray, chrom-ox and other substances to 'enhance' their edges. There is nothing wrong with that if you like the results.

When I got into this mess I felt that if natural stones such as coticules, eschers, j-nats were really as good as they were cracked up to be why should I pay hundreds of dollars for a stone only to take the edge from the expensive rock to a dollars worth of paste or chrom-ox ? If I was going to do that I might as well stick with the 4/8 and go to diamond paste and then maybe chrom-ox.

So I felt like I needed to get the best edge I could out of the expensive hunk of rock. There are really no rules in this pursuit. There is only what works. If using powder impregnated on a surface following your stone improves your edge then go for it. OTOH, if you want to see if you can get that same edge, or better, out of a finishing stone there is that option too. It is just a matter of what works for you. Getting it out of the stone is what I continue to like to do.

Years ago guys used to argue whether X strokes and pyramids were better than grit progressions and moving straight across the stone without an X stroke. Back then circles would have been considered heresy. Lynn came up with the circle technique at an SRP meetup in '09 and now that seems to be the new default method. It works so that is what is important. Whatever works is the only "rule" AFAIC.

In addition to what Jimmy said, I think the key here is to recognize that it will be hard to distinguish which stone an edge came from after pastes or sprays. If you want to experience the edges off different natural finishing stones, I would recommend stropping and test shaving with the razor before doing any pasting. If the edge is not quite where you want it, experiment a little more with the natural to try to dial it in. Then if you have a couple of natural finishers, do the same with each and compare the edges. Once you have done this a few times you will start to get a feel so to speak, of what the differences are. Don't be fooled by just doing this one time. Take the same razor and go back and forth a few times until you are comfortable that any differences are from the stone and not you.

Have fun.

Originally Posted by Lynn

............ Once you have done this a few times you will start to get a feel so to speak, of what the differences are. Don't be fooled by just doing this one time.
Take the same razor and go back and forth a few times until you are comfortable that any differences are from the stone and not you.

Have fun.

Lynn bears repeating.


Beyond 8K the amount of "sharpness" to be gained is arguably so minimal it can be affected by nearly everything involved. The stone, the paste, the substrate the paste is applied , pressure, angle, number of passes, and on and on. The final edge can only really be judged with use and even then you induce more variables from technique and prep. How you perceive the results depends on the day, your mood, etc.

The experience of many trials can give you a measure of certainty of the cause/effect in your efforts seeking the ultimate shaving edge but the journey is the joy.

Thanks all. Another learning experience to begin thanks to SRP members.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

When I got into this mess I felt that if natural stones such as coticules, eschers, j-nats were really as good as they were cracked up to be why should I pay hundreds of dollars for a stone only to take the edge from the expensive rock to a dollars worth of paste or chrom-ox ? If I was going to do that I might as well stick with the 4/8 and go to diamond paste and then maybe chrom-ox.
So I felt like I needed to get the best edge I could out of the expensive hunk of rock.

Too true. I always feel like I'm cheating myself when I go to the pastes and sprays.