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Has anyone tried the housebrand waterstones from SharpeningSupplies.Com?

dkeester

dkeester

"TSC's Master of Bourbon"

Sharpening Supplies Water Stones

The Sharpening Supplies Water Stones are made in the USA and are guaranteed..
www.sharpeningsupplies.com

SS has begun offering their own line of waterstones that are made in the USA. I was wondering if any of you guys have tried them for honing, and how they compare to Naniwa? I should probably just spend the extra money for the Chosera stones, but the cost savings of these stones is attractive...
 
Not yet and probably wont, however those look like a great deal. Once I got the Coti and Arks down my Shapton's just sit.
 
dkeester said:
Are you bevel setting on the coti?
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Yes, I get almost a thick mud on it and go to town on one side till I get a burr and then the other and Dilucot to water and stick, then to the trans, or black ark with Honing solution till it sticks then water till it sticks, and then to the strop
 
HMan said:
You know you have a lot to learn when not a word of a post makes sense to you.
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if you are just starting out i would recomend a good set of manufactured hones. I have been using my set of Norton hones for years. I have the combo 220/1k and 4k/8k. I only used those till i could get a good shaving edge. then i got some natural finishers to really smooth out the edge. The nortons really don't need slurry(the mud) to get the job done. it just speeds things up.

That being said i do want to get some naturals for bevel setting and up. just haven't jumped off that cliff yet lol
 
I never took to the manufacturers stones. I do occasionally use my norton 1000/4000 to do heavy work but the Coti and Sx ark do most of what I want and tend to stay true longer. I like my welsh trio (slates) very much and if I had too I could definitely use just them and be happy. If I were recommending a starter set I’d go with the welsh slate trio, they can maintain an retouch well enough to keep you in the game and the ability to use slurry (even a coticule slurry if you’ve got a small coti) makes them quite versatile.
 
CBLindsay said:
I never took to the manufacturers stones. I do occasionally use my norton 1000/4000 to do heavy work but the Coti and Sx ark do most of what I want and tend to stay true longer. I like my welsh trio (slates) very much and if I had too I could definitely use just them and be happy. If I were recommending a starter set I’d go with the welsh slate trio, they can maintain an retouch well enough to keep you in the game and the ability to use slurry (even a coticule slurry if you’ve got a small coti) makes them quite versatile.
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I really need to try out some more naturals apparantly lol I just have my mystery Canadian finisher and a purple Welsh that's kinda small so I rarely use it.
 
uacowboy said:
I really need to try out some more naturals apparantly lol I just have my mystery Canadian finisher and a purple Welsh that's kinda small so I rarely use it.
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I like my large stones but find the smaller ones allow a lot more versatility when it comes to blade size, shape and geometry. My 3x8 coti requires the geometry to be ideal.
 
CBLindsay said:
I like my large stones but find the smaller ones allow a lot more versatility when it comes to blade size, shape and geometry. My 3x8 coti requires the geometry to be ideal.
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Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.
 
So, I decided to go a completely different direction. I put in an order for a couple of Shapton Pros (1k & 2k) based on reviews and cost. I will be picking up a few more at a later date. I figure that if the 2k is comparable to a Chosera 1k, then the Shapton 1k should be good for situations where I need to remove more metal, like a nicked blade. I plan to use the 2k as a bevel setter.

We will see how much use they get as I get better at using my natural stones, but hopefully synthetic stones can help me figure out this honing thing a little faster than the natural stones. Once I have a better feel for getting a good edge, I might get better luck from the natural stones.

Also, I need to remember to have some grape tomatoes on hand for my next honing attempt... The fingernail drag isn't really telling me much yet.
 
CBLindsay said:
I like my large stones but find the smaller ones allow a lot more versatility when it comes to blade size, shape and geometry. My 3x8 coti requires the geometry to be ideal.
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This is really interesting. What is your preferred stone size?
 
CBLindsay said:
I never took to the manufacturers stones. I do occasionally use my norton 1000/4000 to do heavy work but the Coti and Sx ark do most of what I want and tend to stay true longer. I like my welsh trio (slates) very much and if I had too I could definitely use just them and be happy. If I were recommending a starter set I’d go with the welsh slate trio, they can maintain an retouch well enough to keep you in the game and the ability to use slurry (even a coticule slurry if you’ve got a small coti) makes them quite versatile.
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I have looked around for a welsh trio, but it looks like the eBay seller of them is no longer around.
 
dkeester said:
This is really interesting. What is your preferred stone size?
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I would not pass up a chance for a reasonably priced 3x8 stone but 2x6 and 1.5x6 are very functional. The welsh trio is about 2inches wife by 6 long and are 3/4” or more thick. Too bad they aren’t easy to find anymore. I think I got lucky and paid $50 or so for the set. There are some die hard hone addicts that poo poo’d the welsh trio but they mustn’t be too bad if those who bought them aren’t selling them in volume. I know cmh373 sold his recently but he never spoke ill of them.
 
An advantage of a manufactured stone is it has a relatively known grit. When a manufacturer makes multiple grit options you will always know which is higher/lower than the other. The grit may not match the scales exactly but the relationship between the stones is easy to know.

I have some vintage barber hones (Genco, frank swatty, etc) that would technically come in at 600 grit or so but once they are burnished with steel they produce an edge like a 10-12k or better. Add some lather to liquid soap to the surface and it can do even better.
 
CBLindsay said:
I would not pass up a chance for a reasonably priced 3x8 stone but 2x6 and 1.5x6 are very functional. The welsh trio is about 2inches wife by 6 long and are 3/4” or more thick. Too bad they aren’t easy to find anymore. I think I got lucky and paid $50 or so for the set. There are some die hard hone addicts that poo poo’d the welsh trio but they mustn’t be too bad if those who bought them aren’t selling them in volume. I know cmh373 sold his recently but he never spoke ill of them.
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This has turned into a great discussion. Thanks for participating.

My boxed Coti is about 2x6 and my SB-Ark is 2x8. I am really looking forward to spending time with both of them. I imagine most of my edge maintenance will end up being done on my SB-Ark and the CrOx/FeOx pasted balsa strop that I have. However, I have several razors that need a full honing from bevel set. For those I think the synthetic stones will definitely be useful at least while I am learning.

I have not yet made the plunge into vintage barber hones. I may at some point. I do think they are cool.

When I first started getting into straight razors I looked around at hones. I found the welsh trio online for a good price, but passed them up. I took everyone's advice and postponed learning about honing until I had some experience shaving with straights. I wish that I had pulled the trigger on them then based on what you are saying. Oh well. Arkansas stones will probably be just as good for my use once I have more experience with them.
 
CBLindsay said:
An advantage of a manufactured stone is it has a relatively known grit. When a manufacturer makes multiple grit options you will always know which is higher/lower than the other. The grit may not match the scales exactly but the relationship between the stones is easy to know.
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I think this succinctly explains why it is recommended on most forums to start with synthetic hones. You know what you are getting and you don't have to figure out the oddities of natural stones.
 
A decent Coti and a dead flat, well burnished SX ark will get you quite far. It is possible to set the bevel with your coti, just get the slurry nice and thick and go to town. I like doing a bunch of strokes on one side until a burr is formed along the entire edge then flip and do approximately the same number of strokes on the opposite side (a burr may form) then start doing alternating strokes either one x one or in groups of 5 or 10 (like 10 one side then 10 the other). I don't use tape unless the edge is really bad but using tape on the spine is not a bad thing.

I did a quick video last night while I was touching up a couple razors, I'll post it here or in another appropriate thread later.
 
CBLindsay said:
A decent Coti and a dead flat, well burnished SX ark will get you quite far. It is possible to set the bevel with your coti, just get the slurry nice and thick and go to town. I like doing a bunch of strokes on one side until a burr is formed along the entire edge then flip and do approximately the same number of strokes on the opposite side (a burr may form) then start doing alternating strokes either one x one or in groups of 5 or 10 (like 10 one side then 10 the other). I don't use tape unless the edge is really bad but using tape on the spine is not a bad thing.

I did a quick video last night while I was touching up a couple razors, I'll post it here or in another appropriate thread later.
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I made an attempt at setting the bevel on a ZY 430 with my coti. It never burred up. I may have gotten it set. The slurry was really thick and there was a ton of really dark (almost black) swarf, but I couldn't tell for sure. I am definitely going to try again, perhaps with a different (non-stainless) razor. Maybe the ZY would work better with a synthetic hone?

I look forward to viewing your video.
 
Follow-on question: Does anyone have experience with the Chinese Natural stones (ie the 12k CNAT)?
 
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