Inexpensive Straights, Hones, Strops, etc. for Beginners.

I picked up a 1 inch thick piece of granite tile today. That should be perfect for the wet sanding any hone. I went to a stone cutting/countertop business, in the area I work. They were happy to let me pick out what I needed. Total cost $0.00. Nice people.

 

I heard back from AJ (the seller of the slate stones) today and this was his recommendation,
Hi,
thanks for your purchase, sorry for delay in replying, your message came through early hours in the UK
the hones are lapped flat, they can be lapped further if you so wish on wet and dry papers, but if the hone is lapped too fine/polished face, the cutting agent is then not released from the sedimentry slate layers.
kind regards
aj
Anyway I just went over each one a little bit with the slurry stones and that knocked down the worst of the tooling marks. I checked each one with a straight edge and they are still perfectly flat. Now I need to decide whether to slurry the stones before honing or just use water. I'll try the slurry first since that seems to be the design and go from there.

 

So do you use it like a sanding block or do you have a bigger piece and use a full sheet of paper with the stone face down?

 

I used a flat piece of glass(Kitchen stovetop). The wife gave me the "Stink Eye". So, I picked this piece of Granite up today. "Stink Eye Proof".
As for the Sandpaper, it's a full sheet. I Used 400 Grit, But will try to look for 300, if they make it.

 

I used the granite tile, to flatten my Hones, and it worked really well. I like the large surface. It's big, heavy, and will not move around, with a towel placed underneath.

 

I bought a 12 x 24 polished tile and some 320 grit to lap mine. That should do nicely.

 

I have just ordered the Norton 4000/8000 and a DMT 325 for lapping. I may still look at grabbing the 1k , but I am really looking for some recommendations for cost effective finishing stones. I currently have diamond lapping film in 3&1 micron.
I'm also dredging this thread back up for the benefit of some of the newer members of the dark side

 

You can totally get a kick in edge off of a Norton 8K. If you can get to a meet, that is the best way to learn how to squeeze that little bit extra out of that 8K. Once you can get a great edge from your 8K you can make it a small amount sharper with a Naniwa 12K or a Chinese natural. You can also go into all kinds of Jnats. There are all of the Welsh slates that are pretty inexpensive also, plus don't forget about the Ark family of hones. There are a lot of great finishers out there that can take you to the next level. Some are very very slow, others a little quicker but none of the will make your 8K edge a lot sharper. If I had to shave for the rest of my life with a Norton 8K and cerium oxide to finish my edges, it would not break my heart.

 

Welsh Slate Stones have been great for me. 8k 12k 15k. Around $100 delivered, for the three.

 

Update:
Lately, I've been getting excellent results from my setup, and progression. King 1k, unknown 3k/8k, Welsh Slate Stones 8k 12k 15k, cheap linen strop w/chromium oxide, Illinois 827 linen then leather, lastly the Illinois 206 leather.
I have started using the Illinois 206 just because it is a smooth leather, and it was free.
Since using the 206, I've noticed the edges on all my blades have become consistently sharper. I like this little strop a lot, but it has many nicks all over that have been repaired and sanded, kind of.
I'm thinking of adding an Illinois 127, it's larger than the 206, and a smooth leather. Right now, I have on order a small lapping plate, so I can use it on the bevel setting stones, to bring up a slurry.

 

just been looking at the illinois strops. what is the main different between the 127 and 827 other than the leather?thinking of differences in hove they performe

 

The 827 is called a "Slow Draw", rough leather, and the 127 is a "Fast Draw". Smooth leather.
I can feel a big difference between the two types of leathers.
For me, I use the smooth leather as a kind of post stropping finish on the edge. Kind of like a finishing stone of high grit rating.
Example: When people say their blades pop hair, this finishing of mine really pops hair. I take my wife's or daughter's baby fine hair, from their brushes. I then just pull the edge of the blade across one hair, and it catches immediately, making a popping sound, cutting it in two.
It's easier to pop my arm hair, because it's coarser hair. I hope this helps @Bjoerge Brathagen .

 

Is there any difference in hove they maintain the edge?.really never thought of the fifferences in leathers.

 

I

added to my last post.

 

these are very nice strops indeed,maby i should add one to my den,the scary thing about straight razor shaving is there is always another thing you "just need"

 

You are right. Mine is fairly minimal, as far as equipment goes. I might pick up a translucent Arkie, one day. Just to see if it's a big leap. I'm pretty happy with my setup, for now.

 

The only two vendors I've felt with but have had good luck with was Anthony Esposito, who sold me my first straight. A Gold Dollar 66. And the second vendor was Larry at Whipped Dog, who I got a Faultless from. Both I had a great time doing business with and would recommend them. I think I paid about...32 for the GD honed to sharp as heck and about 28 sight unseen flawed.

 

Illinois make good strips and they are not out of sight expensive either.
I have used the 827, which has the separate linen for almost 2 decades. I've used some stropping conditioner from time to time and it's been just fine. I do have a paddle strip that has a softer leather but usually only use that in combination with a touch of .05 grit diamond polish, which is seldom needed. Though when trying to get that edge perfect it comes in handy.

I should state that I've switched over to DE shaving most of the time, just for the convenience sake and really like feather and GSB blades. But still every now and again I pull out the SE, usually one of the 2 Dovers, I enjoy most as nothing beats a straight edged feel and you lose your skills easily and ending up all nicked up and bloody us never fun.


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I just picked up a Norton 220/1000 combination hone today. I hope this stone will speed things along. I was tired of the slow bevel setting that my King 1k was providing. I also tried to use the King 800 grit stone too. Both work at the bevel setting, but they took painstakingly long.