Thread: just learning to hone

Hello, I am still a newbie but I consider myself a quick learner and I am good with my hands, I would like to start honing my own razors but I am on a budget, can any of you pros please give me a starting point, I have the following items already:
Norton 4000/8000

I would like to achieve a very keen edge on my razors and I am going to woodcraft in the morning, I want to make a shopping list so please correct some items that I have:

Need:
Chinese 12k natural waterstone -($22.99)
Nagura stone - ($13.99)??? Do I need this or Diamond Honing Stone, 6", Extra Fine 1200 Grit ($48.99) I have read about creating slurry and need to know which method is preferred, or should i just buy 2 chineese 12k stones?

stone Holder - (18.99)

Flattening Stone - (27.99)

do I need any specific types of sandpaper to flatten my stones and any other advice would be useful in my quest. Thanks very much for your time, Roy

you need a good 1k stone for bevel setting , options are 1k Norton, or 1k Naniwa Chosera.
I personally like the Chosera better but it is a bit expensive.
For lapping your stones DMT 325, it can also be used for major repair work.
for the C12K, you can use a slurry stone, you can get C12K ones on the classifieds here or e-Bay.

Stone holder can be found on Amazon for cheaper, and my be on e-Bay too

Hi Roy,

You can drop the nagura stone from your list. Think of slurries as advanced honing techniques. After you learn without slurry, then experiment with it.
For flattening you can use the flattening stone, a coarse DMT, or sandpaper on a flat surface (like glass or marble). Sandpaper is probably the cheapest to get started with. If you get the flattening stone, that should be flattened on coarse sandpaper. Also, if you flatten the Chinese stone with a DMT it will probably leave scratches, which can be taken out with finer sandpaper or the flattening stone (which is a softer composition than the diamond stone), or a flattened 1k stone.

On a budget and shopping at Woodcraft, I would recommend getting:
Chinese 12k ($22.99)(right now on the website, the larger C12k is on sale for $19.99 - see if they offer that in the store. You could get a bigger stone for less than the smaller one normally sells for)
Stone holder ($18.99)
DMT Dia-sharp 6x2 COARSE ($27.19) (8x3 would be better if your budget allows)
King Deluxe Waterstone 1000 grit ($26.99) - for bevel setting and final lapping of C12k

Forget the nagura and the extra fine DMT.
If you have the extra money and really want something for slurry, get a small diamond card. The naguras they sell at Woodcraft are not very good IMO.

Originally Posted by mainaman

you need a good 1k stone for bevel setting , options are 1k Norton, or 1k Naniwa Chosera.
I personally like the Chosera better but it is a bit expensive.
For lapping your stones DMT 325, it can also be used for major repair work.
for the C12K, you can use a slurry stone, you can get C12K ones on the classifieds here or e-Bay.

Stone holder can be found on Amazon for cheaper, and my be on e-Bay too

+1 I prefer the Norton 220/1K. I use my 220 on rare occasions. The DMT is a well used piece of the honing arsenal. Now I am lusting after a 16K Shapton! Realy though you should also look into pasted strops or balsa wood. Use Cr Ox and or some of the diamond sprays if you are looking to save $$. Good Cr Ox is cheap and it really puts the pop on the edge!
I own the norton 220/1K, 4K/8K, 12K Naniwa, multiple pastes and diamond sprays.(I love balsa)

Originally Posted by mainaman

you need a good 1k stone for bevel setting , options are 1k Norton, or 1k Naniwa Chosera.
I personally like the Chosera better but it is a bit expensive.
For lapping your stones DMT 325, it can also be used for major repair work.
for the C12K, you can use a slurry stone, you can get C12K ones on the classifieds here or e-Bay.

Stone holder can be found on Amazon for cheaper, and my be on e-Bay too

Thanks for your quick reply, I do have a question since I am new should I be concerned about setting a bevel at this point, I have a dovo bismarck that was professionally honed and I am only trying to keep this shave ready, I have used the norton 4k/8k and was wondering if the chineese stone would get this even sharper, as far as lapping/flattening my stones what would you guys reccomend? also what is the preffered method of creating slurry? Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by Str8Shooter

+1 I prefer the Norton 220/1K. I use my 220 on rare occasions. The DMT is a well used piece of the honing arsenal. Now I am lusting after a 16K Shapton! Realy though you should also look into pasted strops or balsa wood. Use Cr Ox and or some of the diamond sprays if you are looking to save $$. Good Cr Ox is cheap and it really puts the pop on the edge!
I own the norton 220/1K, 4K/8K, 12K Naniwa, multiple pastes and diamond sprays.(I love balsa)

can most of this be found at woodcraft?

Originally Posted by HNSB

Hi Roy,

You can drop the nagura stone from your list. Think of slurries as advanced honing techniques. After you learn without slurry, then experiment with it.
For flattening you can use the flattening stone, a coarse DMT, or sandpaper on a flat surface (like glass or marble). Sandpaper is probably the cheapest to get started with. If you get the flattening stone, that should be flattened on coarse sandpaper. Also, if you flatten the Chinese stone with a DMT it will probably leave scratches, which can be taken out with finer sandpaper or the flattening stone (which is a softer composition than the diamond stone), or a flattened 1k stone.

On a budget and shopping at Woodcraft, I would recommend getting:
Chinese 12k ($22.99)(right now on the website, the larger C12k is on sale for $19.99 - see if they offer that in the store. You could get a bigger stone for less than the smaller one normally sells for)
Stone holder ($18.99)
DMT Dia-sharp 6x2 COARSE ($27.19) (8x3 would be better if your budget allows)
King Deluxe Waterstone 1000 grit ($26.99) - for bevel setting

Forget the nagura and the extra fine DMT.
If you have the extra money and really want something for slurry, get a small diamond card. The naguras they sell at Woodcraft are not very good IMO.

Thanks, is the norton flattening stone worth the money, I have read bad reviews on woodcrafts site but I respect opinions from fellow straight razor users. Also can Cro OX or pasted strops be found at woodcraft as well?

Originally Posted by roy291

...I have a dovo bismarck that was professionally honed and I am only trying to keep this shave ready, I have used the norton 4k/8k and was wondering if the chineese stone would get this even sharper, as far as lapping/flattening my stones what would you guys reccomend? ...

Thanks, is the norton flattening stone worth the money, I have read bad reviews on woodcrafts site but I respect opinions from fellow straight razor users.

To just keep your razor shave ready, your 4k/8k and a C12k will be plenty adequate (you don't need slurry on the C12k). You could use diamond spray or CrOx after the C12k, but it certainly isn't necessary.

The Norton flattening stone is ok. If you can afford it a coarse DMT is much better. As mentioned, it does tend to leave scratches on the C12k, so you'll need something to polish those scratches off. The flattened 4k side of your Norton would probably even work.

You actually only need the Norton 4/8 everything else is extra I can promise you for a fact that you can produce a very very good shaving edge with just that hone, and if you can't then all the extra stuff isn't going to really help anyway...

Just my opinion with a wee bit of honing experience with that particular hone thrown in


That being said, I would snatch up the larger PHIG for $19.99 all day long, and a DMT 325 and the King 1k, with that arsenal you can literally hone anything for a few lifetimes

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You actually only need the Norton 4/8 everything else is extra I can promise you for a fact that you can produce a very very good shaving edge with just that hone, and if you can't then all the extra stuff isn't going to really help anyway...

Just my opinion with a wee bit of honing experience with that particular hone thrown in


That being said, I would snatch up the larger PHIG for $19.99 all day long, and a DMT 325 and the King 1k, with that arsenal you can literally hone anything for a few lifetimes

Thanks, this may sound dumb but what is a PHIG, also can a dmt 325 be found at woodcraft? also my biggest concern is flattening/ lapping, of ntw GSsixgun, I have been watching your videos, I am about to watch another, great job btw.

Originally Posted by roy291

Thanks, this may sound dumb but what is a PHIG, also can a dmt 325 be found at woodcraft? also my biggest concern is flattening/ lapping, of ntw GSsixgun, I have been watching your videos, I am about to watch another, great job btw.

PHIG = C12K (PHIG is short for People's Hone of Indeterminate Grit, which describes the stone better as it is impossible to assign a grit rating to a natural stone)
DMT 325 = DMT Coarse
They carry them at Woodcraft: Buy Dia-Sharp Stone, 8" X 3" Coarse at Woodcraft.com Buy Dia-Sharp Stone, 6" x 2" Coarse at Woodcraft.com

Originally Posted by HNSB

PHIG = C12K (PHIG is short for People's Hone of Indeterminate Grit, which describes the stone better as it is impossible to assign a grit rating to a natural stone)
DMT 325 = DMT Coarse
They carry them at Woodcraft: Buy Dia-Sharp Stone, 8" X 3" Coarse at Woodcraft.com Buy Dia-Sharp Stone, 6" x 2" Coarse at Woodcraft.com

thanks, from what I have read, I will not have to flatten the dmt 325 or was that misleading? I think I now have a much better list
King 1k
Chinese 12k
DMT 325
Pasted strop
I may also try chromium oxide if they sell it there as well. thanks for this information