Looking at a finishing hone

fatboy1971

fatboy1971

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1,347
Location
sunny canvey in the Y-UK
Hi gents looking for tips n hints. Young mister Neil Miller used to hone and touch up all my razors, now a few years down the line im down to one that dont grab, a joseph rodgers Sheffield steel.
So im looking for ideas on a finishing hone 12k or there abouts. There are some welsh purple, im presuming slate?
Anyways i dont have an unlimited amount of money, but also dont want to balls up my blades. I have an old Chinese pos that i can play on then a wapi then work my way through a dovo my gates joseph rodgers then my pride n joy my wade butcher.
I dont need to set bevels or grind just need a touch up

Any help would be great
 
I use Naniwa 12K for finishing and I would recommend it as it is good quality and cuts fast. I also have few natural stones like Charnley Forest and Thüringen, they are also good. If you ever go to a car boot sale or Collectors or some antique shops, you may come across to a Charnley Forest as they are quite common in the UK. Mind you they come in different colours, I have one like dark green with brownish-burgundy wains and it seems to give the finest edge but they are awfully slow cutters. Some people use Coticule as a finisher, I have a modern coticule and Bout Coticule and didn't like the finish on the edge, it wasn't very comfortable.
If you don't want an adventure with naturals then I would recommend a Naniwa 12K. Some vendors sells combination Naniwas, if you think you may need a lower grit for pre-finish then you can check if they sell like 10-12K or 8-12K combination.
 
I was in a similar position a few weeks ago and @Fergiebilly advised me to get a Celebrated Thuringian hone. I have used it with a hollow razor with very good results and a 1/4 wedge with not very good results lol.... my first ever attempt though. Then I got a new Dovo for Father's day and I had a go at that too, just a touch up, very happy with the result.

I heard the Welsh slates are cheap enough but not very good as in not giving a good edge.
 
My Thüringen is Around 16 K..I Would have Advised a Naniwa 12 K before I Got My Thuri..You will Get One in the UK for around the Same Price or Cheaper than a Naniwa 12 K..My Thuri is as Easy & as Consistent as any Modern Synthetic Hone..Just as Quick I May Add..And it has a Higher Grit Finishing Capacity..o_O

That Said a Naniwa 12 K Stone is Great Stone as Well..1 Micron Lapping Film is Also Cheap & as Good as any Modern Synthetic Hone..1 Micron = 16 K..:D

Billy
 
Fergiebilly said:
My Thüringen is Around 16 K..I Would have Advised a Naniwa 12 K before I Got My Thuri..You will Get One in the UK for around the Same Price or Cheaper than a Naniwa 12 K..My Thuri is as Easy & as Consistent as any Modern Synthetic Hone..Just as Quick I May Add..And it has a Higher Grit Finishing Capacity..o_O

That Said a Naniwa 12 K Stone is Great Stone as Well..1 Micron Lapping Film is Also Cheap & as Good as any Modern Synthetic Hone..1 Micron = 16 K..:D

Billy
Click to expand...
Billy did you get your thuringen from a uk site? And if so which one?

Thank you for your help

Colin
 
Or the other option are the Japanese natural stones, there is a bit of a learning curve with them but for finishing they are unrivalled, mine is a shoubudani asagi and they can be anything up to around 45k grit wise, they finish in a different way to synthetic stones as the scratch patterns are not uniform and they leave a hazy finish on the bevel, but for shaving the finish is super sharp but smooth at the same time.
I brought mine from Japanesenaturalstones.com, they are based in Denmark but are great to deal with and have a lot of info on the site.
But as others have mentioned the thuris are great, and the naniwa 12k is a great stone for the beginner as there is hardly any learning curve and they leave a great edge, I still use my 12k and have honed probably around 200+ razors on it and it has hardly worn down so great value for money as it will last you a lifetime.
The last bit of advice I will give you is that hones are a slippery slope of £Â£ before you know it you will have several!! Ed.
 
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