First hone setup?

My goal is to learn to hone my own razors. I'd like a hone or a honing system for around $100 or less that does it all from setting a bevel to finishing and touching up the edge. I welcome and appreciate all the feedback.

BTW: Right now I am using a Feather AC SS with Kai Mild blades. I also like aggressive DE razors paired with smooth blades such as Personna RP, Astra CP and Personna Med blades.

Get a Coticule

I'd get the king 1k, Norton 4/8k

Disburden said:

I'd get the king 1k, Norton 4/8k

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+1

40x125 Belgian coticule with slurry stone. The learning curve of honing a razor on coticule is about the same as learning to hone a razor on synthetics, and the one stone can be used for bevel setting and finishing. Learning to hone a razor has a steep enough learning curve that the stone you start with will be irrelevant, natural vs synthetic. Coticule provides a nice smooth shave.

Contact Jarrod at The Superior Shave and ask for a good finishing stone, a slower natural stone is easier to learn than a faster one.

You may want to later pick up a bevel setting stone such as a 1k synthetic or dmt if you start doing restores.

Phil

I just got my first stone and it was a coticule. I am waitin for my slurry stone at the moment. I just liked the idea of one natural stone to do everything. Later after I have learned to go from start to finish on my coticule I will probably add a king 1k. They can be had relatively cheap.

Pick a system and run with it. Each has its pluses and minuses. One is easier to learn on, one needs lapping, one is synthetic, one is natural. I would pick the one that "feels" best to you. Do you want a consistent synthetic hone? Or do you want a natural stone made tens of thousands of years ago? Half the fun is deciding, so take your time.

+1 to what Phil said.

Generally, with synthetics, because they of their nature, they're much more "consistent" stone to stone than a coticule would. You'll be able to find people that might be able to provide more direct "recipes" for honing. For example, 20 X-strokes on the 4k then move to the 8K for 30-X strokes (I've never used a norton so please don't do that).

With a natural stone like a coticule, there are a variety of veins and each stone is unique in its own way; some are slow on slurry, and some are fast. But that's one of the beauties of natural stones. You really have to take the time to learn your stone. The feedback that you get from a coticule is really unique and each stone has their own way of telling you when it is time to move onto the next step.

So in a way, synthetics are a bit easier because the learning curve of the stone itself, might not be as steep as a coticule. That being said, the basics of honing, using the right amount of pressure, properly executing an X stroke, making sure that you are making contact the entire length of the blade etc., will be the same no matter which one you decide to go with.

For me, I decided to go for a coticule because the idea of creating a relationship with my tools was just something that I HAD (pun intended) to try. There's something about the sound, the smell, and the look of a natural that makes the whole process of honing more than just a chore. Honing time for me is like...I don't know...I can't even describe it. I just know that I look forward to it and I'll hone a perfectly good razor just because its fun and relaxing.

If you do decide to go with a coticule, do yourself a favor and go over to coticule.be. They have a lot of info on coticules as well as a beginner's guide to using a coticule.

My vote goes to a Norton setup, if you don't need heavy bevel work, a 4/8k alone is enough to get you going. A DMT D8C is a must too, for lapping and heavy work.

Disburden said:

I'd get the king 1k, Norton 4/8k

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+2

Add to that some CrOx on balsa. Coticules are nice, and you may want to graduate to them eventually, but one that costs under $100 might be challenging for a new honer, mainly because of its size.

Challenging, Legion, but I've been getting great edges off my $60 bout since attempt #3! I'd vote coticule, but not if you want to work with wedges

Thanks every one for the suggestions. I am leaning more to a coticule. The Norton 4k/8k is very appealing, especially to someone in my position but I like the idea of a coticule better.

I have also read about lapping films. It looks like I have a lot of reading to do before making the final decision.

YetiDave said:

Challenging, Legion, but I've been getting great edges off my $60 bout since attempt #3! I'd vote coticule, but not if you want to work with wedges

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+1
-For $65 from superior shave I received a nice size coti bout (lapped by jarrod) and a slurry stone. This is my first coti (and hone for that matter) and bouts are definitely harder to learn on, but thats part of the fun if you like a challenge.
-Add a King 1K for bevel setting from amazon for $20.88 ( http://www.amazon.com/King-1000-Gri...1ZOC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327511785&sr=8-2 )
-Also, grab a small tub of CrOx and a piece of balsa at superior shave for $16 to help eek out your final stage until you learn your coti better.

I believe that adds up to $101.88...sorry you may have to go to the sofas for the last $1.88.

I'd go with the King 1K and a Coti. Honing on a Coti isn't rocket science.

Might be worth looking at a king 1k/6k combo, it's only a little extra to the 1k and covers a lot of ground. I've been happily using the king 1k>6k>natural finisher progression for 18 months or so. The combo and a chinese natural from woodcraft looks about $70 leaving some cash for spray or powders and balsa.

Get a Coti and a Slurry Stone. If your not de-ebaying a razor, some arent to bad, you can do an entire honing job with the one stone.

O.G. said:

Get a Coti and a Slurry Stone. If your not de-ebaying a razor, some arent to bad, you can do an entire honing job with the one stone.

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If you are cleaning up a rough ebay razor that does not need anything really crazy, plan on spending 4 hours on it with a coticule. (sarcasm)Good practice. Really. Good times.(/sarcasm) Yes, I have done it. However I have had a flea market find that was in pretty good shape take only about twice as long as a regular honing with bevel reset (so an hour instead of 20-30 minutes)

If you want to try lapping films or high grit sandpaper instead of expensive low grit hones for restores, call up a counter top and tile shop, ask for a granite sink cut out. They should be willing to part with a 12x14 ish piece for cheap (probably less than $20). This is suitable for lapping hones with some wet/dry sandpaper, and can be used with fine sandpaper and lapping film on restores.

Phil

For the price of a 1K King I wouldn't bother with sandpaper, it's not cheap around here and you could spend as much on paper as the King in no time.

Nobody mentioned lapping films, which is the easiest, cheapest, and most consistent method of honing by far.

A good setup would have a polished marble edge tile, 4"x12", $5, from Home (hone!) Depot. Films would include 1μ, 3μ, 5μ films which correspond roughly to 12k Naniwa, and 4k/8k Norton. For setting a bevel you could use 12μ and 45μ film but I use 400 and 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Alternately, get a 220/1k Norton combo stone or a DMT or two. The sandpaper gives good results, though, when applied carefully to the lapping plate.

Biggest advantage to using all film and paper is you can have a hyooooge honing surface for very little money. Also the whole kit stores easily and carries lightly. Results are superb and pretty much foolproof. No stones to lap or soak. Only one component that can break, and it costs five bucks at Hone Depot. Film does wear out but you get 12 to 15 razors out of one piece, and 3 or 4 pieces from one sheet of film.

The film is applied by simply wetting the lapping plate and sticking the film right to it, smoothing out any bubbles. Some sandpaper can be applied the same way but some curls up when wet so I use LocTite spray adhesive for paper. For finishing, most of us put a sheet of damp paper between the film and lapping plate for a buffer.

You can shave quite nicely off the 1μ film, but most of us like to mellow out the edge on a tight hanging strop pasted with .5μ CrOx.

Amazon is a good place to buy films if you only want a couple of sheets of each. (2 sheets of each grade will hone about 90 razors) R.S. Hughes is one vendor I have used. Single 8-1/2 x 11 sheets are around a buck and a half. For bigger 9" x 13" sheets in packs of 10 at an even cheaper price, www.thorlabs.com is a good source. The thorlabs sheets can be cut into 4 nice pieces. I love the stuff and I wish I had discovered it before buying a whole bunch of expensive rocks on which I wrecked quite a few razors before getting my honing act together. Thanks to Seraphim for inspiring me to try it. I would say that this is the easiest way for a newbie to learn to hone a razor and get good results from the start, with a little coaching.

^Thanks Slash for the helpful info.