stone reccomendation

E

ehdottoman

Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Messages
2
howdy guys, first post here. i have just recieved my first ever straight razor! its a hand forged damascus which leads me to a few questions.

1: what type of stone should i use? i was thinking diamond because of the hardness a damascus has, thinking a regular wetstone with a clay grit would not quite do the trick and end up wearing too fast.

2: any brand names to look for? for all my pocket knives and hunting knives i have always used oil stones. most often a norton multi set.

3: any tricks you know of worth parting with? i have never sharpened a straight razor before and ill take any tips you got.


thanks!
 
There are lots of great videos on youtube about razor sharpening. basically its pretty much nothing like knife sharpening! Lynn Abrams is one of the guys to look for. He is a professional honemeister and is active on straightrazorplace.com. For hones, there are lots of options, but you will be looking in the 4000 grit to 8000 to start, and then finer for finishing. some guys do diamonds, but the synthetic water stones on the market have a big following too, depending on your price point. Lots of guys swear by naturals, but those are on the high end of the $$ range.
You can drop a lot of cash on stones, or do it on the cheap. Depends on your mood I guess.
 
ditto on the lynn abrams tip ,hes the go to guy. to start with get a 4000/8000 norton almost everyone who hones there razors has one. a fine shave can be gotten off the norton. you will also need a dmt diamond plate to keep the norton flat
 
You will also need a 1k grit hone and a 10k-12k grit hone for finishing. Plus strops etc. I recommend Naniwa Super Stones for the ones I mentioned. You will also need a lapping plate and wet/dry 220 grit sandpaper or a DMT D8C bench hone. And it takes a while to learn how to hone a razor. I learned all of what I know from experience and straightrazorplace.com.
 
Also when honing you use almost no pressure except for bevel setting. Even then your pressure will be light to moderate. And lastly the ceramic Jones do a great job skyhook you will have to hone up to your 8k hone then lap your Hones and then start on your 1k and work your way bsck through
 
Japanese grits are rated different. A American rated 2000 grit ceramic stone will do a decent job. Or a Belgian yellow Coticule stone. Then on to 2 strops, one with slurry one without. I shaved with my straight (Bannister) for a year on this and it did fine. DM
 
I would dispute your rating of a coticule to a 2k ceramic. Not saying you didn't shave off of it, but nortons are rated with the "american" system, and the 4k is a bevel set. I've got no experience with coticules, but there have been lots of threads on SRP about them, and they can be used as a finisher, so that is without dispute. I would not say they are comparable though.
 
Dispute all you want as a careful reading would reveal I didn't give the Belgian a rating. Nor was I comparing them. My writing was toward Either would work. If you don't have one use the other. DM
 
True enough. However I've never before read anything about using 2k grit for anything but bevel setting. I bring this up because it could be troublesome to someone starting out. Micron, mesh and grit are all different ratings, most stones sold are rated in grit. Natural Japanese stones act a bit differently depending on use, and can have several "ratings" as can any other natural, or slurry building stone. Given the cost difference between your average 2k stone and your average 10k stone, and even a small coticule, one has to be careful with recommendations.

What slurry were you using on your strop, and how many laps?

I use an 8k ceramic, and it is barely passable. It might be my technique, or an inappropriate stone. I don't know, and am saving to replace it.

anyway, do what works for you.
 
Not trying to rain on the parade, but is the "hand forged damascus" razor made by a known custom razor maker? Reason I ask is because a lot of cool looking razor shaped objects are sold to folks that are new in the game.

Several mentions of SRP and Lynne have been made already and there is a lot of good information to be had there about razor brands to avoid.

That being said, I use a Chosera to set bevels, then I move to 5K, 8K, and 12K Naniwa stones.

In addition to a set of stones, the OP will need a strop of some sort. Once again check out SRP for recommendations.

Good luck with your razor, I hope it gets screaming sharp and stays that way for your enjoyment.
 
most used stones/plates for razors are DMT 1200 (bevel setting and stone flatting ) norton 4/8 combo hone and the china 12k. i do hae a 16k plate along with with 500 2k. also dmt 600 grit
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top