Thread: no need for all these very expensive stones heres a cheap one.

Aren't we just debating the distinction between 'necessary' and 'advantageous'?

I could play golf and shoot below 80 with just a 7-iron and a putter. I can do it a lot better and have more fun doing so with a full set of clubs. The 7-iron will work fine for most shots, albeit giving up some distance. But in golf, as in honing, sometimes you come upon a shot requiring 200 yards over water, and the 7-iron just won't get the job done.
We're also confusing "touching-up" and "honing".

This thread has been around awhile and I somehow missed it. A lot of good stuff has been said. When I read the OP I immediately thought of going fishing when I was a kid with a ball of string. We called it a 'drop line'. A ball of string wound on a stick with a hook on the end, a little bait. Dropped it off the 5st pier and we were fishing. Even caught something once in awhile.

The rods, reels, and tackle that are available are useful, and for those who do enjoy fishing, can be a passion. I kind of feel that way about hones. As Lynn recently pointed out in another thread, razors, like people are all the same, yet all have individual personalities. The same can be said for hones.

Part of what floats my boat in this sport is bringing various razors to various hones and the challenge to get the maximum out of the stone and the steel. So it is like anything else, there are individuals who are just in it to shave their face as cheaply and well as possible, and that is the end of it.

Others are passionate about the hobby and embrace honing razors as a hobby rather than a chore. Neither one is wrong, just different approaches.

That "redhead" hone is a ceramic rod for hunting knives.

I'd rather use these:

Ceramic and Diamond Sharpening Stones

Spaceage Cermic Guideblocks - Honing tools

Barber Supplies - Barbershop Equipment - Hard Arkansas Razor Hone

Or any of a million other options that have been discussed on this site. Versatile, cheap options to touch up a razor are a very popular topic on this site. Not a day goes by that there aren't posts about using a cheap, fine hone; or some cheap paste to keep a razor sharp for a long time on a budget. I've never seen a post that says you need to collect lot's of expensive hones for regular maintenance. There aren't any secrets here.

I have a bunch of rocks. They are tools for honing razors, and that's my hobby. So I'm happy.

Michael