Thread: what hone should i use?

Hi everyone. So I'm new here. Extremely new. And I was wondering if anyone can help me in deciding the right hone. I just want to know what grit stone would be good for keeping your razor in tip top shape. Or do I need more than one? Its all ready shave ready but to keep it there I just don't know but I would realy appriciate the help.

Thank you.

I just wrote a thread to the same effect. As you'll soon find out, a type of hone is just as personal as the razor itself. I suggest lookin through the wikis, as well as referring to the link in my thread, called "barbers Hones". It's got some great info, then the research and shopping is up to you. Best of luck!

Thank you. I'm gonna check that out. There's so many and I'm scared of getting one and then regretting the effect it has on my razor but thanks for the advice.
I realy appriciate it.

Lets see here, you could maintain a razor with ANY of the following & not in any order:
Barber hone as mentioned above, Naniwa 12K, Thuringian/Escher, Coticule, Japanese finisher like a Nakayama, Charnley Forrest, Diamond pasted strop, Turkey oilstone, Chinese Guangxi waterstone, Shapton 16K, Welsh Idwal oil stone, and so on.

Some have gotten by on a Norton 4/8K or Naniwa 3/8K and added a finisher later. If I were to make a recommendation to you, I would say pick up a good barber hone. If you then entertain other stones, go with either Naniwa or Shaptons. It's really all a matter preference and taste as mentioned above.

Wwoooww. That was realy helpful. I found a tool store by my house and they have a wide range of chinese stones. I'm thinking of just grabbing the 10k and seeing where I am after that. Only because I can't find any barber hone for my price range.

Thanks you. I realy appriciate your help..

I recently picked up a couple Chinese waterstones from Woodcraft, they call them 12-15K, but have not had a chance to use them. It is my understanding that it takes a bit more passes with them to get the true desired results. Once you get whatever stone you desire, do your research on how to use it in the wiki and the forums...there is a lot of information out there. If you were to put a location where you are, you may be able to find others in your area who would let you try out their stones before you buy...

honestly any finishing hone will touch up an edge, a coticule is a good hone because it can finish an edge, touch one up, or set a bevel and hone a razor all the way through...

Barber's hones on EBAY are good for maintaining edges but you'll need more if you wanna get your toes with with honing fully.

The Norton 4/8K is a workhorse that can hone a razor and make it shave ready over and over again...

The list goes on and on.