What don't you use anymore?

**PapaFish** · 04-16-2012, 06:46 PM

I know, I know... you might be saying to yourself, "I may not use it now, but I need it in my arsenal just in case..."

BUT...

What stones (or honing methods) do you have, that, for whatever reason, you no longer use. I would say a good measure of time would be 6 months. If you haven't used a stone in 6 months, let's say you no longer use it. Feel free to expand on why you no longer use the hone below.

I ask because it seems that every time someone asks about "What stone is best", someone says "Stone A" and someone else says,"I have a Stone A and no longer use it because my Stone B came in and it blows Stone A out of the water (or oil, or whatever)"

I'll start:
My Chinese Natural hasn't seen much action in about 6 months. It's a great stone.
I have a barber's hone that is attached to my little travel hone/strop setup that hasn't been used in at least 6 months.
I have a Spyderco Ultra Fine that I haven't used in at least 6 months for honing a razor. What a stone! Sharp and S-M-O-O-T-H!
I haven't used my Pasted Balsa Strop (Chromium Oxide and Iron Oxide) in longer than 6 months.
None of them have gone unloved because I have found something better, or quit honing, or something to that effect, I have just been playing with alternative hones for a long time. The CNat will likely remain as my natural finishing stone, and the Spyderco UF will be my synthetic. The pasted strop will be on hand "just in case", and the Hone/Strop will be "in case I want to use it when traveling".

In no particular order:

Chinese Natural
Barber's Hone
Spyderco (Ultra Fine or Fine)
Norton 4K/8K
Lapping Films
Shapton
Naniwas
Coticule
Japanese Natural
Thuringian
Pastes/Sprays (Chromium Oxide, Iron Oxide, Diamond, Boron, Aluminum Oxide, etc.)
Other

**Wid** · 04-16-2012, 07:03 PM

I don't keep anything on hand I don't use. A collector I am not.

**dakotaev** · 04-16-2012, 07:08 PM

My proudest achievement is retiring the pastes/sprays, I can now get a long lasting comfortable edge without them.

My current setup is Chosera 1K, Coti, Ozuku jnat

I've retired:

DMT 1200
Norton 1K
Norton 4/8K
King 8K
Naniwa 12K
Thuringian

**Drybonz** · 04-16-2012, 07:09 PM

The only thing that I have completely stopped using is pastes and sprays... but I also didn't keep them after I decided I was done with them. Everything I have here I still use from time to time.

**Wid** · 04-16-2012, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by dakotaev

My current setup is Chosera 1K, Coti, Ozuku jnat

Same here.

**Legion** · 04-16-2012, 08:21 PM

I use coticules almost exclusively now. All my other hones are on hand, as you say, just in case.

**fccexpert** · 04-17-2012, 06:02 AM

Never had most of these since I discovered that a Norton 4/8K waterstone was all I reallly needed to hone my razors.

**PapaFish** · 04-17-2012, 06:57 AM

I guess I should have figured out a way to add in a "None, I use all my hones" option! Oh well.

**Doc226** · 04-17-2012, 05:31 PM

My current set up is DMT 600/1200 depending on how bad things are, coticule dilucot, either finish on coticule with oil or finish on Ozuku Asagi JNAT.

**Zot!** · 04-18-2012, 04:39 AM

4 of the choices percentages are 40 or better. that adds up to over 160 percent. ??

**Proinsias** · 04-18-2012, 05:37 AM

The only time a hone stays unused for 6 months plus is when I can't get it flat.

**PapaFish** · 04-18-2012, 06:23 AM

Originally Posted by Proinsias

The only time a hone stays unused for 6 months plus is when I can't get it flat.

I thought you were going to say "when I can't find it"!

Zot!: Each person can choose as many of the hones as they don't use. That means that according to the pole (as of right now) 43.75% of people own a barber's hone that they haven't used in at least 6 months.

**jdto** · 04-18-2012, 11:00 AM

I still haven't got through testing the edges produced by the hones I have. Maybe in another few years, I'll be able to answer this poll.

**PapaFish** · 04-18-2012, 11:12 AM

It's open indefinitely, so perhaps you will...

**Bayamontate** · 04-18-2012, 11:13 AM

I've retired the following:

DMT 220
Naniwa 1K
Naniwa 12K
Chinese 12 +/- K
Le Petit Blanche

My set-up:

DMT 325 (well-worn)
DMT 600 (well-worn)
JNS 1K
Norton 4/8K
Le Dressante au Blue
Shoubudani Namazu
Ozaki Kiita (ish)
Ozuko Asagi
Ozuko Asagi Koppa

My Ozaki Kiita (ish) will be on BST soon, the Namazu is taking over its spot.

**bhorsoft** · 04-18-2012, 03:30 PM

Voted Barber Hone, although my coticule doesn't get much use either. I'm an Naniwa man now with a 1/5/8/12k progression for a full hone, followed up by a couple of CrOx passes and the usual stropping.

**Greybeard** · 04-18-2012, 03:55 PM

On the shelf:

A couple of barbers' hones
Diamond Sprays
Norton 4k/8k
La Grise coticule
Vintage coticule

In use (if sometimes only occasionally)

DMT 1.2k
LPB coticule
La Dressante coticule
La Veinette coticule
Thuringer
CrOx

Sold/gave away some other stones.

**srmd22** · 04-20-2012, 08:11 PM

I'll be starting out with a norton 4/8k, cro2 and a strop. I have a DMT duosharp course/extra course, which I have used to create an edge on knives, for flattening the norton. I also plan on picking up a coticule at some point, for fun. Never honed a straight yet though!

I don't have anything yet which I don't use, being new to the sport.

**smalltank** · 04-20-2012, 08:31 PM

I still have my green chromium oxyde 0.5 paste in my droor..I gave up on it..gave me false positives when I started honing..I just lovely my coti edges

**Kentos** · 04-20-2012, 10:57 PM

I recently have been using my superduper sprays less, but I am still using it between the Tomonagura slurry and passes on water ala Iwasaki's honing paper...

The interesting thing is 5 laps on .1 CBN on hanging leather brings the tomo slurry edge to HHT 3-4, and the short back and forth finishing strokes on water doesn't seem to enhance the edge, but instead possibly smooth it out?

It's a work in progress but pretty cool.