Waterstone advice

[ajc347]

After putting together a DE collection I am finally happy with I'm starting to explore straights and want to have a go at honing a couple of razors myself.

I've got a Norton 1000/4000 waterstone on the way from a BST thread in another forum and was thinking (based upon what I have read on some forums), of getting a waterstone in the 6000 to 8000 grit range.

I note that 8000 grit Norton or Japanese waterstones are almost twice the price of a 6000 grit waterstone and, as I want to try and keep initial costs down, I was wondering whether I could get away with purchasing a 6000 grt waterstone or is a 8000 grit waterstone a clear necessity.

I do have a barber hone (an AAT strop-back hone - which I presume is around the 10000 grit mark), as well and would intend to use this after the 6000 / 8000 grit waterstone.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

[Wid]

I don't know that a barbers hone is going to be 10K. You can certainly try it but if you really want to keep cost down you need to look into lapping film.

[xMackx]

If you really want to keep cost down stop at 4k and strop on denim 200 laps then leather 100. That will smooth it out a bit. During the hay day of the straight razor many thought 6k to be an acceptable edge if stropped properly. It's more modern times today where we get a minimum 8k outlook.

It will still be a matter of time that you will want coax a better edge and buy better stones, but until then that would be my advice.

[paco664]

i have shaved off a 6k king water stone many times.... finish with a bit of dish soap and water to smooth out the stone a bit more then strop the living poop out of it with a pasted strop then on to leather as seraphim suggested.....

or do as wid suggested and get 20$ worth of lapping film and have a lifetime supply of hone that will go up to the 20k or so mark and give you incredibly sharp edges........

if money is a issue then lapping film is your savior...

[life2short1971]

I have heard coticles work well also.......

[paco664]

I have heard coticles work well also.......

aren't those the things around your fingernails??

[Kentos]

Lapping film is the new Coticule it seems.

[life2short1971]

aren't those the things around your fingernails??

Only if you work underground in Belgium.

[life2short1971]

Lapping film is the new Coticule it seems.

Coticules and Thuringians will always be king of the hill with razors. Jnats too.

[Kentos]

Coticules and Thuringians will always be king of the hill with razors. Jnats too.

I agree. But 6 months ago everyone suggested a Coticule to the newbies. While I agree lapping films are a great way to break into the honing game and get great edges, I fear many will stop at that and never go on to try different materials (this could mean you Craig! I forget if you ever dabbled in rocks) and never enjoy this aspect of the hobby. YMMV

[life2short1971]

I personally can not use lapping film with out at least one error per sheet or two whether its a speck of dust or dirt, or whatever else that leaves a bump for the edge to be compromised from. If its not that the edge of the film sticks up and catches the blade and I slice a nice strip of film from the edge.Not to mention the slipping and sliding on the surface used. I'll take a natural stone like a coticule any day.

[Wid]

Coticules and Thuringians will always be king of the hill with razors. Jnats too.

Don't forget the Arkansas stone, oh wait, not enough people use them...................yet LOL.

[Slash McCoy]

3u film is roughly equivelant to an 8k Norton. 1u is roughly equivelant to a 12k Naniwa. Those two films would nicely complement your 1k/4k combo and do it on the cheap. You would certainly get a much better edge than you would get from a 6k! Do a search for all threads with "lapping film" in the title.

[Slash McCoy]

I personally can not use lapping film with out at least one error per sheet or two whether its a speck of dust or dirt, or whatever else that leaves a bump for the edge to be compromised from. If its not that the edge of the film sticks up and catches the blade and I slice a nice strip of film from the edge.Not to mention the slipping and sliding on the surface used. I'll take a natural stone like a coticule any day.

I always rinse and rub my plate under running water, and the film too, before applying. Once you got it smoothed out properly if it slides around, I think maybe you have pressure issues, or your plate might not be smooth enough to get a good seal with the film. Even on a good plate, it is possible to get sliding if it isn't seated firmly to the plate and smoothed out good. Some guys use the spine of the razor, with a stropping motion. I use my (clean) fingers.

If you slice a strip from the edge, you would probably also have issues with a freshly lapped stone, especially one that is not chamfered. The difference is that it would not be so apparent. Those edge slices are your cue to work harder and not "bending" the razor over the edge of the hone. OR, it could be that your edges are cut roughly? I use a paper cutter and it gives me a good clean and straight cut that doesn't have a tendency to curl up.

[ajc347]

Thanks for all your advice, ideas and suggestions guys.

I managed to find a Naniwa 8k waterstone in the UK for a cheaper price than getting a Norton waterstone shipped from the US.

I think I'll certainly give Lappng film a try as well at some stage.

[danjared]

Lapping film is the new Coticule it seems.

Sure, but only "coticule" means "razor stone".

[Krodor]

Sure, but only "coticule" means "razor stone".

Thought that was what "novaculite" means?

[danjared]

Thought that was what "novaculite" means?

Hmm, you're right. I mixed those two up. Novaculite comes from novacula, or razor. Coticule comes from coticula, which literally means small whetstone or small touchstone. Tangentially, I find it odd that the OED has entries for novaculite and coticular but not coticule.