Thread: Waterstone stone progression

Hi guys,

I've just decided to make the leap from sharpening tools to sharpening razors.

I own Sigma Power 120, 240 and 400 grit stones, King 1000 and 6000 grit, and Naniwa SS 10,000 grit stones.

I like these stones and have used them a lot.

With these stones I can achieve an extremely sharp woodworking edge, that will pass whatever sharpness test woodworkers use (popping hair, shaving end-grain soft pine, catching on a thumb nail etc). However, I'm quickly realising that does not translate to straight razor sharpness.

My first concern is the jump from the 1000 to 6000 grit stone. In woodworking that's fine, because proper technique and water management raises and progressively breaks down an abrasive slurry on the 1000 grit, leading to a higher quality scratch pattern than the grit designation might suggest.

However, raising a slurry depends upon using mild pressure and lower amounts of water. From what I can see here, straight razor honing involves no pressure at all, and lots of water (far more than I would use with tools, for most stones).

I realise that a progression from 1000 to 6000 will not work with most synthetic stones, e.g. the Naniwas.

I would finish with the 10,000 grit Naniwa and then maybe a pasted strop. For woodworking I use a chromium oxide smeared horsehide paddle.

Has anyone used this progression with King stones?

The jump from 1K to 6K is more than most make, but it might be possible to ease the transition by going lightly at the end of the 1K stage and spending plenty of time on the 6K.

I have the king ice bear 1k/6k combo stone, a barber hone, a phig, and Grossularite. I use all of the water hones with moderately heavy slurry. The 1k to 6k to ~12k jumps a bit more than is ideal but it works for me. You could fill in you progression with a 3k and a 8k.

Jonathan

Originally Posted by EdwardRoland

Hi guys,

I've just decided to make the leap from sharpening tools to sharpening razors.

I own Sigma Power 120, 240 and 400 grit stones, King 1000 and 6000 grit, and Naniwa SS 10,000 grit stones.

I like these stones and have used them a lot.

With these stones I can achieve an extremely sharp woodworking edge, that will pass whatever sharpness test woodworkers use (popping hair, shaving end-grain soft pine, catching on a thumb nail etc). However, I'm quickly realising that does not translate to straight razor sharpness.

My first concern is the jump from the 1000 to 6000 grit stone. In woodworking that's fine, because proper technique and water management raises and progressively breaks down an abrasive slurry on the 1000 grit, leading to a higher quality scratch pattern than the grit designation might suggest.

However, raising a slurry depends upon using mild pressure and lower amounts of water. From what I can see here, straight razor honing involves no pressure at all, and lots of water (far more than I would use with tools, for most stones).

I realise that a progression from 1000 to 6000 will not work with most synthetic stones, e.g. the Naniwas.

I would finish with the 10,000 grit Naniwa and then maybe a pasted strop. For woodworking I use a chromium oxide smeared horsehide paddle.

Has anyone used this progression with King stones?

I have a King 1k/6k. I do hit my Nani 3k in between the two though. Then I go to a Nani 8 before hitting my Nani 12. So I guess what I am saying is that I would add a 3k and 8k although you can make the jump if you finish up with no pressure on the 6k.in fact I will give this a try and let you know how it works out for me. I forgot to mention the Nani is a 3k/8k so thats all the stone you would need.

I have a Sigma 1/6/13K set and also use my Norton 4/8 as steps in the progression as well (although I've been using the Tohjiro 3K instead of the Norton 4K lately)

I had forgot to mention that the Nanis come in a 3k/8k combo in my above post. I have the Naniwa 3k/8k which would fit nicely with your stones to make a perfect progression. As Havic pointed out the Norton 4/8k is another great stone. If you are just starting out with honing straight razors as opposed to tools there are more videos out there based on the Norton.

Originally Posted by EdwardRoland

Hi guys,

I've just decided to make the leap from sharpening tools to sharpening razors.

I own Sigma Power 120, 240 and 400 grit stones, King 1000 and 6000 grit, and Naniwa SS 10,000 grit stones.

I like these stones and have used them a lot.

With these stones I can achieve an extremely sharp woodworking edge, that will pass whatever sharpness test woodworkers use (popping hair, shaving end-grain soft pine, catching on a thumb nail etc). However, I'm quickly realising that does not translate to straight razor sharpness.

My first concern is the jump from the 1000 to 6000 grit stone. In woodworking that's fine, because proper technique and water management raises and progressively breaks down an abrasive slurry on the 1000 grit, leading to a higher quality scratch pattern than the grit designation might suggest.

However, raising a slurry depends upon using mild pressure and lower amounts of water. From what I can see here, straight razor honing involves no pressure at all, and lots of water (far more than I would use with tools, for most stones).

I realise that a progression from 1000 to 6000 will not work with most synthetic stones, e.g. the Naniwas.

I would finish with the 10,000 grit Naniwa and then maybe a pasted strop. For woodworking I use a chromium oxide smeared horsehide paddle.

Has anyone used this progression with King stones?

It's a pretty good jump, but it's more than likely do-able...but I have no experience with a King 6K, so I'm not 100% sure. Best piece of honing advice I can give you Ed is for you to find a honing mentor that you could go to once or twice. Where are you located? Adding your location to your member information (you can use a nearby town even, but it gives a general idea) folks can offer to assist you. I mention all of this because I can show you proper pressure's, but it's quite a bit more difficult to explain in words.

Shooter, I'm from eastern Melbourne and will be contacting a local honemeister from this forum as soon as I've got hold of my first straight razor, currently in transit. I'll update my profile soon.

I'll keep you guys posted. This is a fantastic forum, by the way. I've been lurking for a while before choosing a forum and am very impressed by the vibe here.

I bought the King 1K/6K as a starter hone for razors about 3/4 years ago with the intention of upgrading if I took to honing, but I've never really felt the need to. I'm only honing razors for myself and I'm not in rush to get things done. The 1K>6K jump is certainly doable and working the slurry can speed things up.

Well in that case it sounds like it might be best to struggle along with the 1000-6000-10000 progression, at least at first. The advice sounds similar to that regarding woodworking tools - namely that this progression is fine if you're willing to work the 1000 grit stone properly, finishing off with a fine slurry and very slight pressure, before moving to the 6000k. It's just slow and takes more time on the 6000k.

I will probably get the 4000-8000 combo down the track, but it's too expensive for now. I know that I will probably get sucked in to this hobby, but for now I really do not want to own more than one straight razor (or two...).

Speaking of grit progression, however, would it be worth moving from the 10,000 grit Naniwa to a horse butt paddle strop pasted with Veritas honing compound? Again, this just happens to be the equipment I have to hand already.