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Hi there, I've been honing my own razors for a couple of years now and am wondering what would be the best stone to go to after a norton 8k to finish on. I normally go to a crox strop and then 60 laps on a leather strop to finish and my razors always shave fine but it can take quite a while to 'dial in' the edge on the 8k to the point where I find it acceptable to progress to the crox. I haven't a big budget and was wondering what stone I should be looking for? Many thanks, rob.
Naniwa 12k is great. You might want to consider 1 micron lapping film. Its inexpensive and each cut sheet will do 10 razors at least. You would just need a piece of glass or marble tile to put it on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Manchestertattoo
I very much like and finish on the Naniwa 12K, then onto my chromium pasted bench strop and then finally linen suede and leather.
Another vote for the Naniwa 12K. It is the absolute best solution available for this missing in between step. As a bonus it is very enjoyable to hone with. You might even try skipping the Crox and going straight to leather to see how you like the edge that way. 15-20 X strokes usually does the trick.
sorry was in a rush this morning. the website i posted is the cheapest in uk i think, definitely cheaper than the invisible edge at least. it may be expensive but should last you a lifetime unless you start honing 20 razors a day
No probs, well the naniwa 12k sounds to be the best option, I think I will have to make a purchase. Hopefully it will help with those razors that 'just' won't shave how I would like them to after the 8k and crox. Thanks for all your sound advice. Haven't been on srp for a few months, forgot how invaluable it was for great advice.
Manch, 'Seems like you've got it good here. My humble opinion is that the nani 12 is the biggest bargain on the planet in its grit range. Fast, smooth, not annoyingly thirsty. Almost any other 10-12k synthetic will be at least twice the price.
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Now one bit you mention is significant: "... but it can take quite a while to 'dial in' the edge on the 8k to the point ..."
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You rightly see this 8k level as critical (thank you again, Randydance). When you start on the 8k, does the blade leave gray metal streaks on the stone? 'Indicates the work on the prior stone wasn't finished (thank you Sham). Can you get a comfortable shave from your 8k w/out the pastes & sprays? If so, you'll *love* what the nani 12 brings to the party. If not, finding out why will likely do more for you than a higher grit stone.
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Pastes & sprays provide alot of camoflage for less then perfect stone work. I still use them for this purpose when I have a significantly warped or wavy blade. If the blade is mostly straight/symetric, I focus on how perfect I can get the bevel and low-grit edges. Then, the 8k work comes easily and higher grit stones can do their proper work.
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'Hope you get the joy - however you proceed.
Hi pinklather, yes, I can comfortably shave off my 8k, ie no pulling, razor burn and a nice close shave but from time to time I send a razor of two out to be 'professionally' honed to compare my usuals to and they always seem to shave a little 'smoother' if you understand me. I just thought an Inbetween stone after the 8k and before the crox would help me achieve this. I totally understand that it's the low end grit stones that set the blade up to be a good shaver which is why I always spend a lot of time on the 1k and 4k and sometimes I can even shave off those. Nearly always on full hollows, which is a shame because nearly all of my collection consists of Sheffield wedges!
Determining when its time to go to the next stone applies to any grit level. This is where performing the proper test really helps. Our WIKI section covers this well. I'm not sure about the streaks on a stone but it makes sense. When you are at a polishing level (8K and up) the amount of metal being removed should be very minor. Gray metal streaks indicate there are some rough spots on the edge that just shouldn't be there when you get to this stage. Eventually you will be able to know by feel (when honing and by thumb pad) when the razor is ready for the next higher grit.
im guessing then that you send them to Neil Miller. he uses a shapton pro 15k finisher if you were wondering but thats big money
Totally agree with you grouper, I can tell when to move up to the next stone by the way it feels passing over the hone. I always try the old arm hair technique at different stages too which always helps. If I can cut arm hair without touching my arm I know I'm nearly there. I'm very used to using my norton stones now and can tell how different blades react to them in different ways. That's the main reason I've only used my norton 220/1k and 4/8k stones for over 2 years now. I know them well.
Btw Bombay, I have sent them to Carl at straightrazorheaven in the past. Until he moved stateside.
I agree on the Naniwa 12K. I had the same question in mind. It's time to move up from the 8K. After reading past posts on finisher stones I went with N12K.
Manch, this is old news for you, but getting a good 8k is wonderful. I've had 2 things take a good 8k edge to a greater level of smoothness - one costs nothing. I took a good norton 8k edge and gave it 5 super light strokes on a Swaty barber hone. The Swaty did nothing to increase sharpness, but an already smooth edge got smoother. Another practice I started using on all grit stones was the use of backstrokes (spine-leading). I expect the results will vary alot from user to user, but for me, it consistently gives me greater smoothness - sometimes too much. I like tactile and audible feedback from an edge (Heavy Sheffields need not apply), and too many backstrokes can take away this feedback. It sounds like you'd be very well served for very little money (comparatively) by the Nani 12k. You may find yourself using fewer strokes on CrOx or not needing them at all. FWIW, the backstroke works nicely on the N12k also. Best of luck w/ your choice, and I hope it puts many a smile on your face.
Thanks so much for all your advice and experience. I've just bit the bullet and ordered a nani 12k from Eden. I'm looking foreword to using it already and seeing what it can do for me. Hopefully it will make life a little easier achieving that smoothness I'm after. Il keep you posted!!!
Prepare for a relentless bombardment of spam from edenweb!
Haha, I was sure to uncheck the 'add my email to subscribers list' tab, if I do get any I won't be happy!!! Sick to death of them!!
Have you ever found your 8k to crox progression to be too sharp? If after 12k you find this to be the case, what are you going to do?
The reason I ask is because I've found a Sigma 1.2k > 6k > 13k progression to result in a too sharp edge at the beginning. Subsequently, I ran a few strokes on a black Ark to dampen things, and perhaps very few strokes on a barber's hone, as Pinklather mentioned, or any hard stone after the Naniwa 12k might help if oversharpness is an issue. Later, I stuck with my ceramic/Sigma progression a bit more, and using the stones in a dampened state, especially the 13k, helped immensely. I've not used the Naniwa series, but my understanding is that they are ceramic water-stones, like the Suehiro Sigma series I mention, and a bit different from the Nortons. So perhaps you might use the Naniwa 12k in a dampened state for starters, rather than leaving some standing water to wash up on the blade, so as to minimize possible chipping.
73.90 UK....! THat's like $4000.00 dollars US!Quote:
Originally Posted by bombay
I bought the Shapton 16K, but I don't use it much... It seems to put to crisp of an edge on.. I go from a 8k shapton to a coticle.. It leaves a buttery sharp edge (if that makes sense)...I don't care for crisp edges.. My Thuringin also leaves a crisper edge than I like.. I prefer the coticle.. Hope that helps.Quote:
Originally Posted by bombay
Haha, I was sure to uncheck the 'add my email to subscribers list' tab, if I do get any I won't be happy!!! Sick to death of them!!
welcome to England, thats the 20mm one though, the only other place selling it has the 10mm one at £79.91Quote:
Originally Posted by Wintchase
You Brits and your money, when are you going to lern how to devalue your currency like everyone else? ;) We Americans have it down pat, if we want more money we just print it... Making one dollar into three... Our master plan is to pay wheel barrows of cash for loaves of bread... It's working out pretty well...Quote:
Originally Posted by bombay