I tried to look around and I think this is where I should post this question. If not I apologize and would appreciate if you would point me in the right direction. That being said I have a quick question about sharpening my straight razor. I bought a 12000 grit whetstone off ebay but feel like it might be a bit excessive. Should I get a smaller grit? Like 8k or something? I would like to be able to use my whetstones to sharpen other house hold blades also and dont want to end up with 8 different stones, one for each task. Im new to all this so im just trying not to spend tons of money on products I dont actually need...now im rambling a bit so ill just end this and see what you all have to say.
A 4k/8k doubled sided Norton plus your 12k for finishing. IMO that's all you need. If gssixgun replies to this thread, do what he says. He is the acknowledged master of honing on this forum.
Norton 4/8k or Naniwa 3/8k are good bets. It also depends on what 12k stone you got from eBay, as not all rocks are created equal. What some people call 12k, ends up being like sharpening your straight razor on the side of a curb. People can happily shave off the 8k edges provided by a Norton or Naniwa stone. Their combo stones are also very affordable.
Check out our straight razor master sticky. Tons of great stuff in there. If I recall correctly, I'm pretty sure Glen (aka gssixgun here at TSD) has some info on hones in there, as well.
What type did you get? eBay can be hit or miss too when it comes to stones. It it all comes down to what you and your face like. Thats what matters, is if you are happy with the shave. The bottom line you have to learn the hone you have. If at first it isn't working don't give up. Try diefferent techniqes. Don't expect more from the hone then it can deleiver, done expect a 12 k to do the work of lower grit hones. I do just about everyhing on a coti now, finsih up with a special strop I made and I'm happy where my edges are at. When I first started I was caught up on higher grits and my mistakes were I expected higher grits to do things they weren't capabale of. Once I got that out of my head and spent the time where I needed to be with the right stone and techniques I was golden.
Yep it is in there, many thanks Steve http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/some-thoughts-on-honing-razors.14931/ I need to update it a tiny bit and add more info on Lapping films since I have used them now,, and CBN sprays but that post will give you a ton of info, and please just post any questions after you read it...
This is what I bought off ebay. Please dont tell me its horrible, ill be awefully sad lol http://www.ebay.com/itm/22106101399...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_1002wt_1397
It looks like a PHIG (Peoples Hone of Intermediate Grit). Whether or not it is truly 12k is up for debate, however a great many people enjoy them as very affordable finishing stones.
I can't pull up details and since it's not AJ selling dont know if it's one of the welsh stones. If it is I, got good results with the stones But the best results I got were when I got away from trying to use slurry with em. Straight water and finshing under running water. I missed most of the posts here bout em but on another site that's what the consensus came up with very quickly. Again bottom line, you have to expereiment and find out what works best for you
Chinese12k, Guangxi Whetstone, PHIG C-Nat, and probably a few other names It is a natural stone so there is no grit rating, Woodcraft started the 12k thing by stamping that on some of the older ones, the newer ones don't have the same stamps It is a good stone if you get a good one, a select few are Great stones !!! some are ok and some are just really scratchy You have to figure out which one you have, and what it can do for you, even the scratchy ones can be brought into the OK area of honing with some tweeks to how you hone with them.. EVERY natural stone has these issues, unless they have been rated by an expert, examples: Escher, Fox, Deep Rock
Ive been looking at ebay and trying to find a norton 8k/3k or possibly 8k/4k combination but im wondering if they are actually going for 100 bucks or is that high? It seems high to me but im also really cheap so I thought id ask. Oh and thank you for the information about the stone I bought. I hope when it arrives I find that its a higher quality natural stone, not that I would really be able to tell.
http://theperfectedge.com/?product=norton-48k-waterstone This is probably the cheapest you will find one. $72 +$10 for lapping it smooth and chamfering the edges. I don't know what shipping would run you though.
$100 for a Norton Combo is high. $100 for a hone? Not high at all lol. Just shop around and you can find reasonable rates. Here's a couple of reasonable prices from Lynn: http://www.straightrazordesigns.com...0-grit?zenid=d6d13ef3190d5f49bef05693c287fa6b http://www.straightrazordesigns.com...-stone?zenid=d6d13ef3190d5f49bef05693c287fa6b
Awesome links. For right now it looks like im gonna have to calm down a bit with these purchases due to an..unexpected money pit. Thank you all for your great answers though because ill defiantly be coming back to this to get me a stone.
