I am about to order a blade from Whipped dog, a brush and some pastes. But I need help to decide which of these hones are best for me. I already have a 4000 grit japanese slip stone, So I am aiming here for around about 8000, now I know nothing about barbers hones especially old ones. http://www.whippeddog.com/Barbers-Hones/ Here is his listing. I think theres a guy in another forum still selling a combo japanese stone which may be more suitable but I can't find it right now, so please help me with this list.
Personally I'd stay away from them for any other purpose than collecting them. They all seem pretty well used and flattening these hard hones is, well, a whole day's work. And then there's the fact that these hones were made for touching up the razor in a barber salon prior to a shave, they're not really designed to be the last, finest step in a honing progression. I'd rather suggest getting a decent new japanese 8000 instead.
I have an emotional need to stand up for barbers hones, given that I used one to maintain my razors for years. I have never seen a barbers hone, even one that was fairly beat up, that needed to be lapped. Yes, they can be lapped and it is difficult but probably not necessary. Also, a decent Japanese 8000 isn't designed to be "the last finest step in a honing progression" either. But that's besides the point. A barbers hone would probably be the functional equivalet of an 8K hone that, by the way, would require more lapping and be a little more difficult to use. I think that our disagreement, if there is one, is that you are looking at the choice of hone from a honemeister's point of view and I'm looking at it from the point of view of new user. If the question is "What's the minimum I need to maintain my shave ready razor" then I will always say barbers hone. If the question is "What are the stones that I need for a honing progression" for the serious, dedicated honemeister, I probably wouldn't include a barbers hone at all.
Wow, now that's talking about different experiences. The three barber hones I've owned so far (including a Swaty and another renowned one I can't remember right now) were, well, subpar in their performance so they all had to go.
Personally, I love my barber hone though I've just learned it's probably a little more course than my Norton 8k (not sure what the Japanese 8k equivalent is as I think the Japanese use a different grading method) but I use my Swaty to keep my razor in shaving condition almost exclusively (unless I'm playing around with different methods). The carborundum looks like the best choice out of the lot. The main problem with determining grit of barber's hones is that there isn't any true information available that I'm aware of so I couldn't tell you if the stones in your link would fall in your 8k target range.
Well this is probably the cheapest high grit stone I could find right now... http://www.chefknivestogo.com/ch10grforedp.html I don't mind that it's meant to be for the edge pro, I will get an apex one day...
I like Chimensch, started with only one stone 29 years ago and never used anything else to MAINTAIN two razors until I found these forums... You have to decide what your goal is with razors http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?p=277136#post277136 That thread is something I wrote sometime back to help The real difference is between SHARPENING razors and MAINTAINING razors Keep in mind TIME is the great divider here you can attain and edge on any one stone, most of us do not consider 3 weeks as a good time frame for honing though That Chosera 10k is a great stone, one of the best in fact, I have just never seen it sold in that size so I don't know how that will work for you....
Are these barber hones ? It says 10K grit - I believe barber hones are 8K grit. So what is the big diff between the two ?
I've never seen this stone before. I looks like it's an attachment for some kind of sharpening machine. But, given its size and fine grit, I don't see why it couldn't be used to sharpen a razor. The only negative is that it's quite thin but this could be overcome by mounting it on a block of wood. As far as what is or isn't a "barbers hone", keep in mind that when barbers still used real straights, they needed a sharpening stone to touch up their razors and products were made specifically for them. No barber hones are currently manufactured, so we make do with hones made for knives and tools. The main difference between this hone and a barbers hone is that the barber hones were very fast cutters, i.e., being able to set a bevel while, at the same time being relatively fine. I think that this stone ought to work very well for touching up a razor with a good bevel.
Yes this stone is designed for use in an edge pro (apex) Sharpening rig. The company has long since been the business best in materials, precission and with pretty good customer service as far as I have ever read. The stones are of course the hardest of all natural stones, still cut extremely fast and give some of the sharpest edges possible, on par with .3 3m papers as far as I can tell. I have zero reservations about buying this stone to touch up every blade in my house, let alone the straight. The thing is small but that makes it excellent for the field too. It's a bit of a jump from 4k to 10k but I have the time to bring it up, 3 weeks ha, I once tackled a 440c blade for 39 hours straight with a 5k, including reprofiling but damn was worth it. For the straight, maintenance after the polishing will be a lot easier. And I hope to get a much better shave from it too... Thanks to everyone pointing out the flaws in the barber hones. They are selling out fast though. But without being 100% sure they can do the job to the best of it's potential I just can't go for it.
And therein lies the problem with all hones, and the basis of much HAD! lol! The bottom line, really, is to get a decent stone and learn how to use it to the best of its ability, IMO. If you have gone off the idea of a Barber's hone, do some research - there are lots of nice and useful stones out there. You might consider, for example, a natural coticule/BBW combo stone - very versatile. Good luck! James.
I keep wanting one of these, if nothing else simply because of all the legend wrapped up around the coticule, but not at the cost of them when my other stones work just fine for my purposes. Maybe.......one day........hopefully I've HAD it with having HAD
Don't rule them out totally. Many a shaver, including myself, get by just fine with a barber's hone. The trick is to find a known brand that isn't beat up too much and whose cost isn't inflated. Then learn it's peculiarities. They can be very fun to use and an enjoyable link to barbering history.