Hone your own?

Arrowhead said:
SiR-ed8 said:
...I wouldn't let anyone dictate or suggest what's good for me.
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Hear hear. The fact of the matter is that there are a number of different options, and it comes down to personal preference and budget. If you can get to an edge which shaves nicely, how you got there doesn't matter.
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Indeed there's so many "which hone should I choose" threads. Just read one now on another forum. Curious what hones worked for you and what didn't Andy?

For me it's too early to tell as far as Guangxi is concerned. Besides many others claiming it to be "slow" I just had to try it out for myself. I've couple of friends who've simply given up on their Guangxi I know one of them sold it for sure due to its "slow" cutting nature. These are avid honers/hone collectors for that matter whereas I've few. Then there's this so called "honemeister" who simply does not like the Guangxi because it's gives "inconsistent" results.

Anyway some people claim "oh you can't just use 8000 and shave you gotta finish with [ insert finisher here ]."
I've sensitive skin and have yet to have unfavourable results with Norton 8k. Due to my skin's sensitivity I can tell whether the edge needs more strokes on the 8k. It's not a good feeling using blade that hasn't been finished properly. But at same time I'm no "honemeister" nor will I ever claim to be.
 
SiR-ed8 said:
Curious what hones worked for you and what didn't Andy? ... I'm no "honemeister" nor will I ever claim to be.
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As far as I'm concerned, a "honemeister" is someone who can take some deformed, unevenly ground and temperamental old razor and make it fit for shaving to the customer's specification, and the rest of us are amateurs. Sharpening a well behaved razor isn't so great a challenge after all, just a matter of being methodical and patient. Choice of stones is a personal matter, and they all work for some people, if not everybody.

I still haven't settled on any one set of stones, but the only variety which really hasn't worked out for me is the Belgian blue whetstone. I've used quite a few, here's some of them: 600 diamond plate (but things have to be pretty bad for me to contemplate going that rough); Washita; Welsh slate; hard black Arkansas; 6000 King; Coticule; Müller thuringian; Spyderco, and an unidentified green razor hone which seems to be of the thuringian or Escher type. The last mentioned seems to do best for finishing, just ahead of the Müller. One observation which I haven't seen made elsewhere is that oilstones are pretty much useless if you use tape, because it won't stick. One day I'll probably rationalise things by using Japanese waterstones at the coarse end of things, but for the time being I'm just picking what seems right from that lot.

All this talk of gear is entirely typical of us lot, though, isn't it? Technique's the main thing and that means practice.
 
From what I gather it is basically time saving. You could technically set a bevel on a 12000 stone, it will just take a very long time.

With the progression you are removing the scratches from the previous stone. Wiping out the scratches from a 1000 grit with a 12000 grit stone would, I imagine, take an age. I'm using 1k then 6k then Thuringian at the moment and using slurry stones to start on the 6k and thuringian but I'm still very new to this.
 
That's right as I understand it. When I sharpen a plane iron or chisel, I go from 600 grit to black Arkansas in one go and get good results, but that's because I deliberately form a thin microbevel with the fine stone. That's not how razors work - the bevel should be flat and evenly polished, and the steel is tempered much harder.
 
The thing with honing is what works for one may work for another, so listen to any advice but also take it with a pinch of salt. I started with the coticule and tbh i wish i hadn't. Many folk dislike them whilst others love them to bits. I admittedly found it a harsh mistress, until my skill progressed later on. Now id never be without it.

What stones work best, well that's just down to whatever you get on with best. Hence why i suggest naniwa superstones, even neil here tends to use a 5k naniwa on many of his razors.But also there are razors that don't get on with that stone, so that's when the coticule gets to play or if i need to use a stone with more feedback becasue i can't get a feel for the razors edge developing.

Some find a coti just enough whilst i go 16k then progress on to cromox and sometimes ceox, again depending on if the edge requires it.

Many of you who hone will simply learn over time what works best, the most important factor i find is to set a nice even bevel, after that just get a feel and take your time. Oh and most of all enjoy the experience.
 
huxley said:
... the most important factor i find is to set a nice even bevel ...
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Absolutely! The key is the bevel-setting. Doesn't matter what you use after this, be they the most expensive/esoteric/unusual hones in the world, if the planes of the bevel do not meet than you have failed - the razor will never get sharper, just more polished on those faces that form the bevel - with the flat, unsharpened bit of metal at their apex which would not be there if more time had been set at the bevel forming stage.

And yes, I do still use naniwa superhones - they offer a great value for money/performance, it's just that they have to be lapped - in my experience - more than the glass stones. They are easier to lap than the glass stones, though.

Regards,
Neil
 
Arrowhead said:
SiR-ed8 said:
Curious what hones worked for you and what didn't Andy? ... I'm no "honemeister" nor will I ever claim to be.
Click to expand...
As far as I'm concerned, a "honemeister" is someone who can take some deformed, unevenly ground and temperamental old razor and make it fit for shaving to the customer's specification, and the rest of us are amateurs. Sharpening a well behaved razor isn't so great a challenge after all, just a matter of being methodical and patient. Choice of stones is a personal matter, and they all work for some people, if not everybody.

I still haven't settled on any one set of stones, but the only variety which really hasn't worked out for me is the Belgian blue whetstone. I've used quite a few, here's some of them: 600 diamond plate (but things have to be pretty bad for me to contemplate going that rough); Washita; Welsh slate; hard black Arkansas; 6000 King; Coticule; Müller thuringian; Spyderco, and an unidentified green razor hone which seems to be of the thuringian or Escher type. The last mentioned seems to do best for finishing, just ahead of the Müller. One observation which I haven't seen made elsewhere is that oilstones are pretty much useless if you use tape, because it won't stick. One day I'll probably rationalise things by using Japanese waterstones at the coarse end of things, but for the time being I'm just picking what seems right from that lot.

All this talk of gear is entirely typical of us lot, though, isn't it? Technique's the main thing and that means practice.
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Andy,

I've never used an oil stone and also gathered some stones are good for either use. Once used as oil though there's no going back which is one of reasons I stayed away from them. To be honest I just wanted to keep it simple. I stuck with Norton's and it's paid off. Even though I picked up Super Naniwas 5 and 8k I didn't use them till maybe couple months ago and I had them for awhile it's not even funny mate. I reckon it's equivalent to those complaining how a brush isn't working out for them when they've only used it for a couple shaves or so. This is more applicable towards hones for like brushes they are natural.

One thing I noticed Super Naniwa over Norton is that they are significantly fast cutters no question. It's unfortunate they weren't as thick as Nortons ( even if you were to separate the combo stones it would still be thicker ). Also I noticed I had to lap the Naniwa more and that they are indeed thirsty. Some areas of surface I discover have become discolored. I like both for what they offer and am glad.
 
Ivan, if and when I do invest in a couple of waterstones just for razors, it seems to me that Naniwa Super is the way for me to go. I've always liked the feedback you get from the softer synthetics, and they're cost effective! As regards the strange list of rocks above, that's just a matter of what I already had to hand with the exception of the Müller, which is one of Neil's NOS ones. I lost a few good ones in the workshop fire a couple of years back, and I'd have liked to try the Turkey stone on razors - a better hone than the black Arkansas in my opinion.
 
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