What stones to get.

Hi,
I know this question have been answerd many times, but I still cant figure it out.
I want to make a dull straight razor shave ready.
What grid do i need to set a bewel and what stones should I get to go from there?
I know that there is a quality difference in some stones, but what kind of material should i go for?
I have been looking at some olivestones, could that be a thing?

Regards,
Jan

Get Naniwa Professional (or Chosera) 1k for bewel. Then 3k and 5k Specialty (or Super Stones) to refine bewel. Then get either a 10k, of same type, or 12k to finish. I love my 10k. Finishes sweet.

Do it. Do it now.

For your first stones I would not buy A chosera. It's very expensive. Well unless you can afford it. Are you hone very often. I'd get a king or norton 1k. Then a 3k/6K naniwa or 4k/8k norton. Then once you get a good shave off those get the naniwa 12k. It gives a fantastic edge. Once you have mastered these synthetic stones then you can move on to a natural stone like A Jnat or coticule.

Depending on many variables, comparing apples to apples, the difference between Norton 1K and Professional 1K is more than $20 and less than $30. I'm thinking in the scheme of things, not a big deal.

spoken36 said:

Depending on many variables, comparing apples to apples, the difference between Norton 1K and Professional 1K is more than $20 and less than $30. I'm thinking in the scheme of things, not a big deal.

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I was talking about the chosera. That's like an $80 stone for fast metal removal. When you can get a king for 15$. Maybe you didn't understand. When you're buying your first stones and especially more than one of the time you don't really need to spend top dollar for all of them especially aa bevel setter for what? a couole razors, when you can get that job done with any 1k stone.

The norton 1k is pretty expensive though. I'd definitely get The king or shapton pro.

Do you have a budget in mind, or any preferences? I have no idea if an olivestone is a thing, do you mean oilstone? Setting a bevel is often mentioned around the 1000 grit mark but that's a very rough rule of thumb, it's not a very useful measurement for Arkansas oilstones or many other natural stones.

Chosera 800
Naniwa Green Brick (takes you from 2k-4k)
Naniwa Traditional 8k

then

Mothers Aluminum Mag Polish
Clean leather strop (I like the SRD leather strop)

OP, start here:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...-to-start-honing-Here-s-what-you-need-to-know

Nothing wrong with buying the 1k C as the first bevel setter.

King 1k is an option based on price point, and beating it there is just about impossible.
But - if money-concerns are off the table then there's no contest there.
1k C is the clear winner.
But the 1k Speciality Stone, 1.5k Shapton Pro, etc, etc, etc, are also contenders in this arena.

The 1k Norton is a soaker like the King. But - it's not a 1k like the 1k Chosera. Don't know what the N 1k costs but if the price difference is, as said above, what is basically what I call hair-cut money - buy the Chosera.

By olivestones I think you mean oil stones. Arkansas stones are oil stones and they work. Not too many people use them as a 'set' to hone razors but they will do the job. They won't do it as quickly as a synthetic stone though. And - there may be a learning curve that is more difficult to work though also. But they work.
Not all oil stones are created equal though - there are other types out there and without calling out the specific stones there's no way to say one way or the other what will or won't work.

There's only, what? about 8 bizillion threads on this subject. The best thing anyone in this position could do for themselves is to start reading a lot of them. Asking questions is great but unless you have the basics down, and a good grasp on the vocabulary, the discussion will/can/may become difficult to navigate.
Eventually - it boils down to a few factors; first - figure out a budget, and what kind of hone you might like to work with.

Bevel setting is usually done with hones rated from 1-3k. Mostly 1k.
Nortons 1k is not the same as a Naniwa 1k though - so the numbers on the box don't neccessarily tell you what you are looking to know. It's not as formulaic as one might think. Bevel setting is the first step, a good stone can be a good investment. Buying everything at once can be overwhelming but it sucks to have a bevel setter and no follow up hones.

If you've bought a razor from someone that honed it for you, it might pay to ask them what sort of hones they used. You may not get teh same edge by using them but it'll give you some kind of idea of a possible direction to go in.

Simple fix;

1k Pro/Chosera
Coticule bout
Tube of crox and a hanging linen strop.
Hone, strop, shave... done.

But there are endless possibilities here - and the longer this thread stays alive, the more of them you'll see.
Which setup is 'right' is the one you choose.

if you want to keep the budget down get a norton 4/8. you can use wet/dry sandpaper for rough work, 1k or 1200 works fine, its NOT ideal though but it will work provided you do enough work on the 4k to smooth out the sandpaper. And then any paste will do in the .5 micron range on a hanging cloth strop is what i prefer, you can also use a piece of balsa wood from michaels crafts also. If you dont care about spending then a chosera (nani professional) 1k is a great stone., I had the norton and king and didnt care for the,, they are soft and both are soakers. good luck!

For water-stones, a 1k/3k Suehiro combo is great prior to moving on to natural stones like a coticule or a Welsh "dragon's tongue" slate and not expensive at all. For oil-stones, either a soft Arkansas or a fine India for a slightly more aggressive bevel-set, followed by translucent or black hard Arkansas, with or without a modern hard Arkansas in between. Again, a relatively economical option.

Great advice from Gamma and Buca there.

buca3152 said:

I had the norton and king and didnt care for the,, they are soft and both are soakers. good luck!

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Yeah, agreed, I like my King, and want to like it more, but the splash and go stones are just so much more convenient. That said, the King has a nice feel once you get it going.

buca3152 said:

if you want to keep the budget down get a norton 4/8. you can use wet/dry sandpaper for rough work, 1k or 1200 works fine, its NOT ideal though but it will work provided you do enough work on the 4k to smooth out the sandpaper. And then any paste will do in the .5 micron range on a hanging cloth strop is what i prefer, you can also use a piece of balsa wood from michaels crafts also. If you dont care about spending then a chosera (nani professional) 1k is a great stone., I had the norton and king and didnt care for the,, they are soft and both are soakers. good luck!

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The Shapton pros are nice. You can get the 1k for like 35$.