Thinking about a honing stone setup for straight razors and ....

Honing stone set.

Okay, I think I am gonna like straight shaving as I have been playing around with one lately. My question now is about a stone set for honing!

I am looking for a set recommendation that is not over done as I don't want and hopefully don't need every progression from 1000 on up to 12k or so but what some might consider "bare minimum" as I don't have much cash to work with at this time. I am also watching other groups to see if anyone posts stones for sale at a good price.

Anyway, my thought was to use Norton waterstones as the grits of this type of setup seemed like what can be used to get a nice edge on a straight. This set consists of two stones, a 220/1000 and a 4000/8000 plus a holder and a flattener stone. See the link below! (IF LINK ISN"T ALLOWED, PLEASE REMOVE OR PM ME AND I WILL REMOVE.)

Is there any other setup that is better and/or cheaper that I should consider if I decide to go down this road?? I used to enjoy sharpening my own knives and folders but that was many, many years ago and all my gear has been sold since then so might consider getting some stones back as I enjoyed doing my own sharpening work.

Thx. in advance for any and all comments and suggestions! I am just thinking about it so not quite sure I will dive in but just gathering some ideas and prices, unless the right deal came along!! smile emoticon

http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Water-Stone-Kit-P94.aspx

 

Glen aka gssixgun has some great info in thr Straight Razor Master Sticky.

 

You are on the right track

In recent months I have moved away from the Norton 4/8 recommendation only because the 4k seems to be giving people issues when lapping

The Naniwa SS 1-3-8 is also something to look at

The Norton set is more all around the Naniwa is more Razor or Sushi knife

 

You dont think the Naniwa SS 1-3-8 is too big of a jump, going from the 3k to the 8k? Do you sell stones, new or used?

Thx.

 

I know for a fact it isn't to big of a jump

I do not sell stones

 

What issues are they having with norton 4k?

 

I will take a look at the 1k, 3k and 8k setup. Do I need a 12k to "finish" the razor to "shave ready"? I heard that the 8k will do it but there seems to be some that say it isn't fine enough.

Thx.

 

There is a difference between the words Need & Want

You will probably "Want" the 12k

The real way to learn to hone is from the top down or to learn the Re-fresh first then learn to "Hone"
(Honing being defined as Bevel set to Finish)

But people today are in too big a rush to jump into honing

If this is just "shaving" for you then you only need the 12k if it is a hobby then you are going to want the 1-3-8-12 and probably even more after that..
That big long article I wrote on "What Hones do I need" covers all this but it asks the same question you have to ask yourself "What is my goal"
You have to be able to answer that before I could ever tell you what hones you "Need"

As you have found everyone has opinions, but if you tell me what your goals are I can tell you exactly what options you have for hones based on years of teaching people to hone, not on what hone I like


Link to the article

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/some-thoughts-on-honing-razors.14931/

 

I didn't begin to even think about learning to hone until I felt I had gotten competent using a straight razor—and this was after about 4-6 months of regular use—and I probably should have waited even longer before dragging my blades across stones.....hindsight: 20/20!
Learning to use a straight razor is a big enough challenge for most people, as well as learning to strop a razor properly.
Adding the steep curve on learning to hone on top of everything else is a good recipe for disappointment, frustration, and some horrible shaves.

 

I will check out the article! I only have plans to "refresh" or to maintain at this point but if I enjoy straight shaving, I will want to do my own honing unless I only have to send a razor out once a year! Otherwise it will get expensive having someone else do it! Thx. for the comments and link!

I agree with learning to use a straight first cause I might not like it and if that is the case, I certainly don't need some stones sitting around here. I already have a ceramic guided one for my few knives! How do you keep a razor sharp enough to shave with it for 4-6 months?

Thx.

 

As you may or may not know

Norton has over the years changed manufacture origins for the 4/8

The 8k has been and still is an awesome hone

The 4k however has gone from great, to bad, to ok over the years

My first 4/8 was USA made and just a great all around hone, this was back when it earned it's rep and a solid SR performer

Sometime in 2009 Norton moved the manufacture of that hone to Mexico and the issues started

The 4k became very grainy and required extensive lapping to get a smooth consistent surface, the issues were addressed and the stone got a little better..
Then they moved it to Italy and the stones were pretty good
Then it moved back to Mexico and the old issues were back..

Keep in mind that these are not issues for Knife sharpening so there is no big urgency for Norton to fix them, but for us SR guys the idea of lapping 1/8" off a new stone to get a good surface is a problem

Basically SR honing is about consistency and once a hone is inconsistent then IMHO it loses credibility, because I don't know if somebody having problems is due to the hone or operator malfunction..


Note: The Norton separates don't seem to have this issue as the 4k AFAIK are all still made in Italy

 

Years, Decades even

There are quite a few of us on here and SRP that have kept razors shaving for decades using only a Re-Fresh hone and a strop

This is what all those Barber's Hones were made for in the old days and the Coticule and Eschers and Japanese Naturals they are designed and used to Re-fresh and maintain..

Near any hone that is comfortable to shave off of can do this The Naniwa 12k is exceptional at it

I have multiple customers that only send me their new acquisitions (and difficult razors)to set and hone then I never see the razor again because they maintain it themselves


edit;

New shavers don't come close to the 6 month mark on maintaining a SR

You are learning everything about the hobby from the right lather to proper stropping and blade angle.. New guys burn up edges pretty quick, but as you get better at the "Shave" the edge magically starts lasting longer

 

That is my goal at this time! Just to maintain or refresh for as long as I can. Some say it only works for 1-2 months before a full hone is needed and others say 6-8 months. You say, can be even longer! That will work for me. If I decide that I like straights, I will probably just get a 12k Naniwa to refresh with. I do like the Coticule and Japanese Naturals too but identifying them might be a problem for me at this point. I also have no idea of there pricing! If I do get into actual honing, I would probably look at the Naniwa's for that too!

Thx.

P.S. The comments about the Norton's have me a little leary on them which I did look at a 4k/8k but now I think I would stay with Naniwa.

 

3 weeks ago I Honed my dovo on a norton 4-8k/ phig 12k using progressive honing with chrome ox polishing and my stroping routine and the edge turned out very keen for my limited time honing straights.

I don't have a problem at all with my norton...but then again I had a hands on honing session with gssixgun at last year's Seattle razor meet.

 

Sounds like you did a great job on the Dovo! Congrats! I bet it was awesome to have a hands on honing session with gssixgun!

 

Gssixgun showed a bunch of us how to hone that day Glen is a natural born teacher in his own right...and yes it was really cool to have hands on training with gssixgun.

 

Well there was a Norton 4/8 for sale that didn't last long in the classifieds. I saw the post and thought about digging out the credit card then realized it was already sold. Probably for the best though.

 

It is a tough call to make on whether or not to get into the honing part of it so I am just concentrating on using the straights and trying to keep the "shave ready" and refreshed/maintained at this point.

Thx.

 

Wooo honing! Not something to start from the begining but rather learned from meets and gradually jump in. I have a Norton setup 1k-4k-8k and a Naniwa 12k as well as a Thuringian which is in the 8-10k range. I have a knock off Shapton 12k but not sure of it yet. Never felt good using it so bought the Naniwa 12k.

I would watch the likes of Glen and even Lynn Abrams on YT for honing! Helped me alot.

 

ANyone that shaves with straights will eventually almost have to get stones and hone or be ready to send your blades off to get honed and put them out of rotation depending on how many blades you have. But when you think of this lifelong and fact honing per blade will run you roughly $25 per blade then after about 15 times you have more than bought your stones and quite honestly, if you learn from someone that knows what they are doing, you will be the better for it. Just my 2 cents on the subject.