In this section you will find only finishing stones. Basically after your are done sharpening your Straight Razor or Knife you will follow up with one of these outstanding finishers to insure your razor is beyond sharp. For Chef and Pocket Knives finishing stones are all up to the Honemeister as some can be finished as low as 1,000 to 3,000 Grit depending on what you are using the knife for. In regards to Straight Razors you can also finish with a 6,000 but I wouldn't expect good results. Any knife or razor can be made to shave, but to truly experience a proper shave you need to refine your edge by finishing at the very least at 8,000 Grit. Remember not to get caught up on Grit ratings completely as some 8,000 Grit stones can out hone 16,000 grit stones. Some Japanese synthetics at 8,000 are true finishers and are posted in this section for just that reason. Every stone in this section has been used to hone our Straight Razors to "Shave Ready" and I do not stick to any one stone for long. Every Straight Razor has it's own spirit and character, and the same goes for every stone. So depending on the razor or knife I may use a Naniwa or a Natural Mst Muller. No matter which you choose you cannot go wrong. Thank you so much for visiting our website. Below I will give a basic idea what it is to hone a Straight Razor.
Basic Straight Razor Honing.
Set the bevel on your razor with 1,000 Grit if you find the edge damaged or in need of material removal.
Once you are sure your bevel is 100% even and the grain is strictly 1,000 Grit then move to 3,000 Grit.
Once you have removed 100% of the previous grit rating of 1,000 Grit and you only see 3,000 Grit lines along the bevel then move to 8,000 Grit.
This step is easy as you are honing until you see mirror finish to the naked eye. This is only if you are using a synthetic. BUT! If you are using a
Japanese Natural or Ceramic you may see a light haze instead of a mirror finish. So insure you have removed the previous grain pattern of 3,000 Grit.
At this point in your progression you have now finished with your 8,000 Grit, if you honed the razor correctly you are done on the stones. Some of you
may want to continue to a 10K or 12K. Any higher and you are wasting time according to many Honemeisters. I personally believe that it is up to you.
You can never have too many stones or experiment enough, so don't let us more experienced guys shoot down your ideas and play around, that is what
it's all about!!! After this I highly recommend that you use Chromium Oxide or a similar Stropping paste abrasive. This will help in many ways. One it
will help you get a more refined edge, and will make for a smoother shave. Remember what I said about "Do not get caught up on Grit ratings!". As
sometimes you will use a 0.25 Micron spray and follow that with Chromium Oxide which is only 0.50 Micron. That's right the diamond is actually finner
than the chromium Oxide but diamond alone is much to sharp, in that I mean it is a HARSH sharpness. This is why the Chromium Oxide is the last step
before the leather to smooth out that edge yet still make it ultra sharp. Right now many of you are thinking that there is more to this than you thought.
Not really, actually it is very simple.
Stone - Chromium Oxide - Leather.
If you decided to go more advanced try Diamond before the Chromium Oxide, or any paste, just make sure the
Chromium Oxide or RED Aluminum Oxide (Dovo Red Tube) is last before Leather. These basic rules will make for a great shave. Honing a Straight
Razor is NOT rocket science no matter what you may hear on the forums. And you are NEVER too green to try. Good Luck on your journey to learning
how to hone a Straight Razor!
Note: For more advanced information check out YouTube and some of the Shaving Forums. They have some good info, and many experienced honers that love to share their knowledge. We plan to have some video's in the near future to help our clients. I am just overwhelmed and honing night and day. That is why it is important for me to teach as many of you to hone your own razors as possible!