Will my straight razor "routine" be enough to ensure that it will last?

Why are you so dead set against having your razor honed? It sounds like you'll do whatever it takes to maintain your razor, as long as you avoid stone at all costs...why? Honing is just standard razor maintenance.

There are a handful of well-recommended guys over here that you can send your blade to, and if you don't like the idea of sending it away and paying each time, an inexpensive finishing stone isn't hard to come by and will prolong the use of your razor until a lower grit is needed.

I know a natural stone is not always recommended for a beginner, but Welsh slates are good value for money and come from a variety of reputable sources, and I've had no trouble with mine.

Learning to hone is a little tricky, I won't deny it, but you're only doing light touch-up work and shouldn't prove too much of a problem (I'd say that the majority of active members have learnt to hone their own razors, so it's not like some unattainable, exclusive club). This should suit your needs for a long time and at the point that you do need a lower grit, you'll either want to buy one to try yourself, or you can send it off to someone for about £15.

Pasted strops will refresh effectively for a long time, but you will eventually need stones. However, you should have learned to shave and strop well by the time you will need stones. Starting with a shave ready edge, you may be able to keep going indefinately using strops and a Norton 4/8 K combo. A mentor makes learning to hone easier. The Norton 4/8K is very reliable, of reasonable cost, and very well known. Do not forget that stones must be flattened before each use. There is no single way to hone and refresh blades, but some ways are easier to learn than others. Eventually, most of us find a way that works well and develop preferances based on experences.

HTH

Well I definitely want to be self sufficient if I'm going to get a razor (I'd rather pay out the larger initial cost and save money in the long run), but I was initially against getting a stone because it seems a lot harder and I didn't want to ruin the razor. But the more I'm looking at it the more it seems like I should be able to learn it with some time. Thanks for your input.

Thanks for your kind advice.

I'm thinking I will be purchasing a stone then. I will either go with the norton 4/8k, but as this proves a little trickier to find in the UK I may go for something like this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...pf_rd_i=468294

It's a 3/8K - I'd be interested to hear what you guys think about a stone like this?

Also, I don't suppose you could expand on the flattening of the stones process? Is this the same as "lapping" which is a term I've heard a couple of times? Is this something simple I can do at home?

Many thanks.

If you want to use a pasted strop, I recommend Straight Razor Designs modular paddle strop.

Nortons are hard to find—I got mine at a reduced price from Amazon but they're not normally that cheap.

I've heard that the King 3/8k is a good alternative.

Flattening and lapping is the same thing. If you don't want to spend out on one of those fancy lapping plates, get a sheet of wet/dry sandpaper and a flat surface.

I tend to use 600 grit paper because I have plenty of it but if somebody could come along and either confirm or correct my ways, that might be quite useful.

Maintenance -vs- Honing

These are two different things, we here at SRP tend to believe in the power of the Hone :) we tend to believe that everyone will fall victim to RAD and will need "Hones" just as many of us did..

If you are truly just a "Shaver" then you will need to learn a maintenance system, nothing more, if I knew then what I know now I would simply find a Swaty or an equal quality Barber's Hone and a Good strop and be done..

I maintained my first two Straights for over 20 years on a Fine Grained Arkansas and a Illinois Linen/Leather strop, I would have done better with a quality Barber Hone but didn't know that then.. There are plenty of people that do this, it really isn't that hard at all..

These people that simply shave, tend to come here to SRP, learn what they need to get started, ask questions when they have an issue, and go about their lives, they don't tend to post a lot :hmmm:

So Yes I can take a Quality Barber's Hone and a Quality strop and shave for the rest of my days with just a couple of shave ready razors to start with, if I damage one or drop one I can get it fixed by a Pro, or buy a new shave ready razor and continue on... Now I know I can do that, the only question you have to answer is, will You take the time to learn to do that ?????

This maintenance can also be done for years using a proper strop and paste, but honestly the barber's hone is easier IMHO

Thank you for your thorough response.

Might I ask your opinion of the looks of this particular stone? (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...pf_rd_i=468294)

Do you think this combined with a strop could keep my shave ready razor sharp indefinitely?

Anybody else with an opinion on this would also be valuable to me.

James

I have never even heard of that stone, let alone used it, there is not enough info to even know what scale they are rating the grit from, basically :shrug:

But I am pretty sure you can snag up a 3/8 Naniwa SS combo over in the UK for even less, or the same price and that is a Proved performer on Straight Razors by many people

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Maintenance -vs- Honing

These are two different things, we here at SRP tend to believe in the power of the Hone :) we tend to believe that everyone will fall victim to RAD and will need "Hones" just as many of us did..

If you are truly just a "Shaver" then you will need to learn a maintenance system, nothing more, if I knew then what I know now I would simply find a Swaty or an equal quality Barber's Hone and a Good strop and be done with it.

These people that simply shave, tend to come here to SRP, learn what they need to get started, ask questions when they have an issue, and go about their lives, they don't tend to post a lot :hmmm:

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Glen, you are so The Man.
I have my Barber's hone et al, and I'm still trying to figure out what kind of 'Shaver' I am.
With that said, I've got another razor to send to you and will give you the details in a separate email. This one is from/for yet another brother. I swear to Heaven that I have two brothers!!! Lol
Maybe someday I'll be fixing their razors but I I learned my lesson after reloading ammo for them....