Regarding Barber Hones

Hello everyone!

I received my first straight razor, an entry-level Dovo from Straight Razor Designs (thanks Lynn!), in the mail today. However, I won't be shaving with it just yet, as with such fast service I haven't gotten a chance to buy a strop to complement

I'm planning on getting the Whipped Dog's "poor man strop kit" for my first strop, unless you all object terribly. My rationale here is that I don't want to get a nicer strop on my first go and promptly nick it to shreds.

However, I see that Larry has recently listed several vintage barber's hones on his site as well (such as this Pike one), and I am wondering whether to pick one of those up as well. I understand that as a newbie, I won't be honing my own razor just yet, but I've also heard that barber's hones can be used for touching-up an edge on a regular basis, so as to prevent it from reaching the state where you'd need to send it to a professional to hone it.

Would these vintage barber hones be appropriate for such usage, and is there anything else I should know about them?

Thanks in advance for your help and patience,
~cnuulhu

If you pick up a strop you should be good to go for a while. Although some like using barber hones I would stay away from any honing until you've had a chance to work on you shave technique.

I would say it is ready to shave straight out of the box, and the best way to find out what shave ready means. I ruined the edge on my first razor because of poor stropping technique before i even shaved with it. Get the poor mans strop, a good way to learn without a big price tag. Alot of the guys recommend practicing with a blunt butter knife or similar to get the feel of flipping the razor on the strop before you try on the real thing.

You have received some good advice already but to answer your question yes barber's hones are used for periodic touch ups in between honings. Some claim to have gone decades with nothing more. In this article on simplicity Glen mentions a razor he has maintained since 2007 using only a BH.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/conte...une-2013-1024/

Okay, so would I be correct in saying that the general consensus here is to not bother purchasing a hone just yet? This was my initial intention, but when those barber's hones showed up on Whipped Dog, I saw an opportunity to grab one without having to deal with the treachery of eBay.

The hint for stropping are helpful, I rather like the idea of doing a dry run with a butter knife. Would others agree that I should try my first shave without attempting to strop my razor?

As the guys said above strop and get used to the blade and shaving with it before any honing trials. Too many nice fresh edges are trashed by poor stropping and honing.
All barber hones are not created equal!! Most of them are about 8k or so and so do only a few strokes on them with lather. Do not get a Champion hone!
~Geezer

You definitely need to shave with your new razor before it touches a strop or hone. This way you understand what a "shave ready" edge shaves like. I am also a noob and also started with a dovo from Lynn and let me tell you that the edge that it on that razor will blow your mind.

Shave first without stropping.

I think it pays to start with a good quality strop. It may get a couple of nicks but is unlikely to get destroyed. I could be wrong though.

Barber hones are okay. I think modern waterstones are superior in most respects.

Michael