Hones - comparison table

The table below offers a quick overview of different hones, their specific features, typical uses, and comparable hones.

Hones - a comparison table

Name	Grit (approx.)	Typical use	Comments	Similar hone
Norton	up to 8k	repair / bevel setting/finishing	The Norton waterstones are made in either a single grit or a combination stone. The grits are 220, 1000, 4000 and 8000. For many years these were the hones most used by members of the old SRP yahoo group and beyond. They are made in an 8x3x1" in single grit stones and in the same dimensions as a 220/1000 and 4000/8000. While the combo stones are cheaper the single grits give you a lot more stone and the 8000 does not need to be soaked before use. The 220, 1000 and 4000 do need to be soaked for at least 15 minutes before use. The 1k is a relatively fast cutter and is an efficient bevel setter. The 4k and 8k used in a pyramid or progressively have proved to be very effective in the hands of a expert honer. The edge off of an 8k is adequate for a close and smooth shave. A finer stone can be used to further refine the edge for a smoother shave but it is not necessary. Most shavers that hone their own razors or hone for others do take advantage of the many excellent high grit stones available and do go up in grit to finish.
Belgian yellow (Coticule) (no or very thin slurry)	10k	Finishing/Polishing	Slow cutting natural hone. Grit rating and cutting speed varies between individual hones	Escher
Belgian blue (with slurry)	4k
Belgian blue (without slurry	8k
Escher	12k	Finishing		Belgian yellow
Charnley Forest	north of 12k	Finishing		Escher, Japanese polishers
Spyderco
DMT			Man made ultra modern Whetstone, diamonds bonded in a metal plate. very slow wearing no lapping needed no clocking only little water. All DMT "stones" are very fast cutters. On there own web page they suggest that 5-10min on a whetstone take only 20sec on the DMT's. Can be coarse and cause microchips until bedded in using light strokes on a metal object. Only coarser grit DMTs should be used for lapping other hones. Finer grit DMTs can have their cutting surface stripped off by wetstones, especially if a slurry is allowed to build up.
Barber hone	12k	Finishing	Friggin hard and slow as all get out. Good for touching up shave ready razors that are just starting to dull
Chinese 12k	12k	Finishing	Cheap water stone. Hard, slow cutter
Sun Tiger	up to 8k	repairing/bevel setting/finishing	cheap man made stone of decent quality. soft, fast cutter needs regular flattening.
King (Ice Bear)	up to 8k	repairing/bevel setting/finishing	man made stoe. soft, needs regular flattening.The Japanese sharpening stone manufacturer Matsunaga, in Osaka, makes the brands King und Sun Tiger is the oldest- and best-known maker of Japanese waterstones in the West.	Naniwa
Global	up to 8k	repair/bevel setting/finishing	good stones but overpriced
Shapton M5		general sharpening	The M5 series is Shaptons cheap household series for occasional home use.	Global M5
Shapton M24	up to 5k	repair/bevel setting/finishing	The M24 series is for chefs and carpenter(not for the ones with fine tools as for cabinet making for example)
Shapton M15	up to 12k	repair/bevel setting/finishing	For finer tools. hard stones, short soaking, fast cutting and hard wearing.
Shapton Lr250	up to 5k	repair/bevel setting/finishing	huge ceramic fired stones 10-7/8" x 4" x 1". for anyone who need general sharpening power
Shapton Hippo	up to 12k	repair/bevel setting/finishing	huge ceramic fired stones 10-7/8" x 4" x 1". on a interchangeable plastic base which makes the system look like the animal	Lr250
Shapton Pro	up to 30k	repair/bevel setting/finishing/polishing	ceramic abrasives in a resin binder.quite hard need less flattening. cuts fast. no soak needed just a bit water on the surface.work without slurry.known for their finer edge. however the pro series has a reputation for too fast wearing for their stones 1k and under. also the 15k pro compared to the 16k glass is more expensive and gives less feedback. also the finish achieved is somewhat mat compared to the more traditional waterstones
Shapton Glass	up to 30k	repair/bevel setting/finishing/polishing	cheaper then the pro series but very similar performance.ceramic bond on a tempered glass plate. abrasive layer is slimmer but harder wearing. it needs to be established how the price difference is justified
Naniwa Super Stone
Naniwa Chosera
Naniwa Diamond
Suehiro und Cerax
Arkansas
Thüringer	10K	finishing/polishing	natural waterstone from the same region as the escher comes from. hard stone of excellent quality perfect for fine edges and quite cheap.	escher, coticule
Jinzo
Akatzuki
Miyakoshi Toishi	Shobu(1K), Sakura(2k), Syoki(3K), Yamaichi(6K), Kitayama(8K)	bevel setting/finishing	Miyakoshi is the manufacturer and has a good reputation for sharpening kitchen knifes. Toishi means waterstone. These stones are ceramic bound (except the Kitayama) and therefore are hard wearing and need to be soaked. Kitayama Toishi is a resin bound stone. It is therefore very soft and has a more homogeneous structure for a very fine finish and sharpness. The Kitayama requires no soaking; a splash of water is enough as is with all resin bound stones.
Honyama Stones(Mt Shoubudani)	Amakusa(800), Binsu(1K), Aoto(2K), Awaseto(8K), Awaseto Oishi(12K)	finishing/polishing	Most famous natural waterstones in japan, both Nakayama quarry and Shoubu quarry are Honyama. These are of excellent quality, but are very expensive. Only Amakusa(800) and Binsu(1K) are fairly cheap. It yet needs to be established if it can give a finer edge then the coticule or esher to certain steels (e.g very hard steels) to justify its price. This type of stone has a long tradition for sharpening Katanas and Sushi knives.
Nakayama		finishing/polishing	Nakayama is the name of the quarry the razor finishing hones come from. The quarry has been closed since 1967, so the stones are very expensive not only because of their fine quality. These are very hard and mostly slow cutting stones but some examples do have fast cutting power; watch the description.