Thread: Hello from Midwest, USA: a non-AD Japanese knife enthusiast ready for straight razors

Originally Posted by vileru

Eventually I'd like to learn how to hone, but I've already planned to wait until 2017 to do so. I travel to Japan often and my next trip is scheduled for 2017 (I lived there for a couple years and my wife is Japanese), and I'm assuming I can get some good Japanese stones cheaper there.

I currently use a 1000 grit King stone that I bought last winter in Japan to keep my kitchen knife sharp, but I assume I'll need finer grits for a straight razor (not to mention, I want my knife sharper, too).

Do people who sharpen knives and straight razors generally use the same stones for both? Fine grit stones aren't cheap, so I want to use the same stones for both if I can.

You can as long as you lap (flatten) the stone when necessary. You would do this whether or not you only honed razors, but especially if honing both knives and razors. Wet/dry sandpaper can be used on a flat surface, or a good diamond plate. Personally I use my 325 diamond plate to flatten stones, and to sharpen my kitchen knives.

Since you have the advantage of going to directly to Japan you can probably get better deals, at least saving on shipping, and maybe customs fees. Look for Atoma diamond plates and Suehiro finishing stones, The Suehiro Gokumyo 20K is the cat's whiskers for a final finisher. Naniwa SuperStones or Chosera, Shapton GlassStones or Shapton Pro are also well thought of.

Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders.

To put things in perspective about the difference between honing a razor and sharpening a knife: The bevel is generally set on a 1000 grit hone and finished anywhere between 8000 and 30000. NOTE: You can't give a grit designation to natural stones. Plain and Simple.

With that said I could live off of my 8K edge for the rest of my life. However I do have a Naniwa 12K that I love the edge off of, but I have been using a Zulu Grey for most of the edges that I do.

As has been pointed out you 'can' use the same hones for both your knife and your razor but I prefer to use a separate honing setup for knives.

You will quickly learn that 99.99% of EVERYTHING about this age old art is Personal Preference. And that applies to hones and what gives the 'Best' edge. Some steels won't hold up to a 20 or 30K hone but give great shaves off of a 12K.

If you can find a member near you who can meet with you and help you with the basics and later with honing, that would indeed be the Cat's Meow!

Originally Posted by cudarunner

With that said I could live off of my 8K edge for the rest of my life.

I was vilified on Reddit for my ignorance by making the claim that an 8k can produce a satisfactory shave.

We are all minimalist for the first few weeks then things happen...lol

There is a razor meet in Iowa May 28th I think, you will have to check on the get together pages

http://straightrazorpalace.com/get-t...questions.html

Originally Posted by Utopian

I was vilified on Reddit for my ignorance by making the claim that an 8k can produce a satisfactory shave.

I too hear that Crap all the time! However I standby my statement.

While I do have a Naniwa 12K and a Zulu Grey, If I were to drop and break either of them and didn't have the funds to replace them I could easily live off of my Norton 8K edge for the rest of my life.

However; If I were to drop and break my Norton 4/8K I'd eat peanut butter sandwiches day in and day out to save up the funds to get another one.

Those who are disbelievers haven't learned to use the hone (in my opinion). Also a certain well respected Pro Honer here at SRP confided that he'd honed professionally for many years with only the Norton 8K as a finisher and never had a single complaint.

I might add that all those barbers out there that so for so many years used a Barber Hone (5- 8K max) to maintain their razors had very happy customers.

I believe I'm in good company.

Originally Posted by rodb

We are all minimalist for the first few weeks then things happen...lol

There is a razor meet in Iowa May 28th I think, you will have to check on the get together pages

http://straightrazorpalace.com/get-t...questions.html

The various razor disorders are capable of being transmitted over the internet. Rod is sneaking up on warning you that it can be incurable. If you show up at the Iowa meet, I guarantee you will be doomed quicker than the next Zombie disaster can take over the world. The Minnesota guys brought it to the Midwest. It's all their fault.

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

The Minnesota guys brought it to the Midwest. It's all their fault.

...says the guy who hosted what I believe was the first Minnesota meet-up.

Unfortunately, I'll be in either France or Spain* during the Iowa meetup. Are there any other Midwest events that would be a reasonable day trip for me besides the Iowa one?

As for 2017, I'm thinking of getting a combination stone, maybe the Naniwa 3000/8000. However, a lot of people on knife forums recommend against combination stones since they can split, but I'm doubtful that it's that likely of a scenario. Anyone have experience with them?

I'm thinking anything above 8000 would be nice, but unnecessary for a high quality shave. At that point, I suspect I'd just be chasing after "the perfect edge". Although, I'd change my mind if I were convinced that it would make a significant difference in the quality of my shaves or food preparation.

Really, I just want become skilled at straight razor shaves and acquiring/maintaining the equipment I need to do so. To make an analogy, I don't want to be the guy who owns a ton of guitars and amplifiers and can tell you everything about them, yet only knows a few basic scales and a handful of songs. Not that there's anything wrong with that. A vast collection and impressive knowledge is something to admire. But that's not what I hope to achieve. I want to be the guy who can fit all his equipment in the back of a van and stun an audience because he's worked hard to develop his skills and master his tools.

I suppose you could be both guys. But I only want to be the second.

*I'll be in Paris, Bordeaux, Lourdes, and Barcelona. Please let me know if there are any products or shops that I should take a look at.

If I was to go minimalist......

I would go with a paddle or loom strop with built in hone.

Here is one I like.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...t-project.html

When you buy a hone go with a combo. 3-8k or 4-8k. I wouldn't use it for my kitchen knife as they are to fine in my opinion.

With razors, 8k is a perfectly acceptable & common place to stop in the honing process, followed by finishing on a treated strop. Higher grit stones are "finishers", meant to improve upon the already polished edge... getting it to have a mirror finish with ever increasing magnification. The effects of which vary depending on the specific blade, the hone used, and the operator using the tools.

I can't really imagine using anything higher than a 1k on kitchen cutlery. AFAIK, many chefs don't even hit the 1k mark. With the exception of specialty knives intended only for certain uses (ex: IIRC, sushi masters like their knives to have an edge that would rival that of legendary Samurai swords ).

If you are going to be traveling in Europe, you could try to reach out to some of our many members over across the pond. I can't remember exactly where he is located, but there is a custom maker (though not an SRP member) of razors & fine cutlery named Mistro Livi (I think), somewhere over there. From what I've seen on here, you would NOT regret paying a visit to his shop, given the chance!