Hone progression

Bazz

Bazz

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291
Hi all, I'm looking at upgrading the lapping film in my honing armoury to some new stones but am having trouble deciding on one point. I already have a dual Naniwa 1000/3000 grit stone that has seen me good as a bevel setter and first progression stone, and i'm pretty much decided on a Chinese 12K natural stone as my finisher and a 5K Naniwa specialty stone as the next progression from the 3K.

I just can't decide if to go for a 8K or 10K Naniwa specialty stone between the 5K and 12K.

Any thoughts or advice?
 
Nisse said:
What are you hoping to achieve going from lapping film to stones?
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Good question, ultimately perhaps a better edge on my razors and a nicer experience with less faffing around for me when honing, and i would have thought stones taken care of would last longer than lapping film.
 
I cut my film in strips the size of a honing stone, 1 film=three strips, started with a piece of glass as base but now I am using a honing stone as base, it is flat and perfect size and film sticks really well to it. And film will last long if treated well. And edge will be just fine. The secret to good edges is bevel setting so before going on a buying spree focus on setting bevel on your Naniwa stone and use film to finish the the job. Then when you are happy with the edges achieved maybe try to become a honemeister on Naniwa stones, I have read good things about 12.000 and 20.000, though personally I have stuck with film due mainly I guess to beeing cheap.
 
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In the long run they are not cheap, once used you throw them away and replace them. Stones last a lifetime and have a resale value.
 
Bazz said:
Hi all, I'm looking at upgrading the lapping film in my honing armoury to some new stones but am having trouble deciding on one point. I already have a dual Naniwa 1000/3000 grit stone that has seen me good as a bevel setter and first progression stone, and i'm pretty much decided on a Chinese 12K natural stone as my finisher and a 5K Naniwa specialty stone as the next progression from the 3K.

I just can't decide if to go for a 8K or 10K Naniwa specialty stone between the 5K and 12K.

Any thoughts or advice?
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Baz, It's pointless adding the 8K or 10K if you are going to the 12K after those, as long as you definitely know it's a 12K? Ideally, you should double the grit off every stone give or take, so If you have a progression that looks like 1K, 3K, 5K, 12K, that would be perfectly acceptable, adding an 8K or 10K would be a waste of cash in my opinion.
 
pugh-the-special-one said:
Baz, It's pointless adding the 8K or 10K if you are going to the 12K after those, as long as you definitely know it's a 12K? Ideally, you should double the grit off every stone give or take, so If you have a progression that looks like 1K, 3K, 5K, 12K, that would be perfectly acceptable, adding an 8K or 10K would be a waste of cash in my opinion.
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Thanks for your reply Jamie, having used razors that you have honed for me i value your input. My thinking on adding the 8K or 10K was simply as the 12K is a natural stone and just a finisher the 8 or 10 would round out the progression on the man made stones. I may just try adding the 5K or 6K and the Chinese stone and see how it goes.
 
Totally agree with Jamie's progression, though personally I think I would go for a Naniwa 12K super stone in preference to the Chinese Stone.

You could always dial that edge back with a coticule if you want a natural feal. The hybrid ones from Beornidas on Etsy are good. He frequently has sales.

Alternatively you could get the 3 stone Welsh slate set commonly available on Ebay. They are consistent in quality. The progression would be: 1k : 3k : Dragon's Tongue : purple yellow lake : grey yellow lake. You need to buy them in the triple set to get the range. There is a 2 inch wide set currently listed for £34. They are a LOT slower than films but easy enough to get the hang of.
 
I like honing on stones, and until recently my progression was 3k, 8k, 12k then onto pasted balsa .5u, .25u and .1u. Problem with paste is that you don't know for sure when you have done enough, and my results were not always consistent.
Recently I added 1u film between the stones and the paste and I think it helps a lot. Yes I have been told 1u is only slightly finer than 12k, but it seems to fill the gap for me and my results are getting more consistent. Think the question is more about whether the Naniwa 12k I use is really a 12k.
 
Well for better or worse i have pulled the trigger and ordered a King 6K stone and the Chinese natural 12K stone, so my progression will now look like 1K, 3K, 6K and 12K. From some of my online reading 1 micron lapping film is supposedly equivalent to 20-22K depending on where you read, so i may just keep the 1 micron lapping film in as well, seeing as 20K+ stones are hard to come by and extraordinarily expensive as well.

Thanks for all your input, gratefully received.
 
Bazz said:
Well for better or worse i have pulled the trigger and ordered a King 6K stone and the Chinese natural 12K stone, so my progression will now look like 1K, 3K, 6K and 12K. From some of my online reading 1 micron lapping film is supposedly equivalent to 20-22K depending on where you read, so i may just keep the 1 micron lapping film in as well, seeing as 20K+ stones are hard to come by and extraordinarily expensive as well.

Thanks for all your input, gratefully received.
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I have the 12k too, but I recently bought a 15k that really polishes the edge up, it only takes about 20 laps. It is a Reetec 15k from Amazon and is only £30.
 
So the 1 micron 3M film is not 15K? I have been thinking pink 8K and a nice leap doubling that to light green 15K. Oh, well no harm done, I like the resulting edges of my film progression :)
 
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The 6K King stone should only be used edge trailing according to Science of Sharp due to micro chipping. I have the 1000/6000 combination stone but never use it so not sure if the difference between edge trailing and edge leading can be noticed without the help of a microscope.
 
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Bob1955 said:
I have the 12k too, but I recently bought a 15k that really polishes the edge up, it only takes about 20 laps. It is a Reetec 15k from Amazon and is only £30.
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Do you have the 12K Chinese natural from The invisible edge?
If so, how are they to lap?
 
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