How often will I need to hone. TI c-135 steel, I shave everyday, medium beard thickness, will refresh with diamond .5 micron spray. Rough estimate please.
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How often will I need to hone. TI c-135 steel, I shave everyday, medium beard thickness, will refresh with diamond .5 micron spray. Rough estimate please.
Can only say when the spray stops bringing it back to ready
Or you start changing the geometry of the blade etc to make it right again
How long is a piece of string? Initially anything from a few weeks to months and months. Once you are proficient it could be a long time, esp if you are using pastes/sprays to maintain the edge. I have been using a razor for 3 or more months now 2 weeks out of 3 and occasionally touching it up with a pasted strop and it is still going well. I think a few passes on a finisher wouldn't go amiss soon but probably isn't necessary.
I have read about experienced users keeping a razor good for 6 months or a year with pastes etc.
Probably one of the most asked questions on SRP :)
That and "What is the best __________" (insert product)
Unfortunately we can only give answers based on our experiences and not yours :(
But I can tell you whatever the amount of time is right now today for you is, it will be way longer next year at this time :D
I'm a beginner with zero stropping experience. Honing services cost £30-35 or $45 in UK, a brand new shave ready dovo costs £80. While I plan on honing myself in a few years if I'm going to hone more than 6 times a year I will just buy the hones and try to learn how to now.Quote:
Originally Posted by edhewitt
And in your experience? Time between your very first SR shave and when you needed to hone? I understand everyone is different and I'm not looking for an exact answer. More like 1-3, 3-6 or more in first year.Quote:
Originally Posted by gssixgun
I sent my first razor back after a month, but mainly for feedback on my edge care, i was told that I had done no harm.Quote:
Originally Posted by RedGladiator
I would expect to refresh a razor used daily after 2-3 months. Though using a pasted strop as a regular maintenance tool that should be longer.
RedGladiator,
As the other posters have said, the question is almost impossible to answer.
Your chops are the only guide you need as to when you touch-up or hone a razor.
For me, with my C135 TIs, I touch up on CrOx every seven shaves. Every twenty-eight shaves, it gets a refresh on a 12k Naniwa SuperStone.
Once a year, I will reset the bevel and re-hone up.
Do I need to do the maintenance that often ? Probably not :)
However, I beleive in the little and often approach to manitenance, and I like honing :)
For me (again), I have found my C135 TIs keep their edge longer than many of my other razors.
Have fun :)
Best regards
Russ
I originally thought my razors needed to be honed often - then I got better at stropping. I have one razor going on 6 months and still strong. I'm betting I could make it go at least 8 if not more, and that's almost daily shaving on a tough beard.
Unfortunately, learning straight razor shaving is all backwards. In the beginning, when your maintenance skills are the worst, you need those skills the most. After your shaving technique improves, your now improved maintenance skills are needed much less.Quote:
Originally Posted by RedGladiator
Assuming that your stropping skills are good and the fact that your planning to refresh with paste when needed, my optimistic guess would be 2 to 4 re hones in the first year. A second razor is a really good thing to have and that would cut out one of the re hones assuming it came 'really shave ready'.
My advice would be to put off buying stones at least until after your first professional re hone. By the time you need your second re hone you will have a better feel for how often you're going to need it and your shaving and stropping skills will have improved dramatically.
At the start most peoples skill set is at a low level. Poor shaving technique, a misstep stropping and possibly dinging the edge on the tap or dropping a razor are all more likely than later on. So, like everyone else has said more at the start less later on. I think bluesman7's estimate of 2-4 rehones in the first year might be pretty close.
If you dive right in to honing at the start on top of learning to shave and maintain a straight razor with stropping you are in for a can of worms. I pretty much did that and it wasn't pretty for the longest while. Nothing associated with shaving with a straight razor is as simple or easy as it looks at first glance. It is also not as cheap as it looks at first glance either.
How you proceed is up to you.
Bob
The amount of time and edge will last, is totally dependent on your stropping ability, as Glenn said the time will increase as your ability improves.
It is not unusual for an edge to last a month or two for a novice. It is improper stropping that damage the edge, not regular use.
Stropping is very under rated skill. A properly stropped razor will shave for up to a year, with a pasted strop, indefinitely.
The most common problem novice stroppers have is too much pressure, an edge can be damaged with a single stroke.
I've got a large rotation and I might not shave with the same razor twice for months. OTOH, I may have a few favorites that I use frequently. Once I forced myself to rotate between a Ralf Aust and a TI Super Gnome. Used one every other day to see how long they would last.
After a few weeks I got bored with shaving with the same razors and went back to my usual large rotation. I still shave with both of those every so often and they are still fine. So to answer your question, it depends. :)
+1...I agree with Marty. I've heard accounts (or rather 'read' accounts) of old time Barbers being able to get a hundred + ( or more!) customer shaves with the proper and efficient use of a quality linen/leather strop. When I have a razor that 'isn't quite right' I find that some extra laps (100-200) on the strops will more often than not solve the problem...assuming of course that there is no real obvious edge damage present.Quote:
Originally Posted by Euclid440
My opinion is that a 'shaver' only ( not a hobbyist or collector ) really doesn't need a set of hones. A rotation of 2-3 quality razors that were properly honed, a good quality strop, a pasted strop, and a quality ( rather inexpensive) Barber's hone for touch-ups will keep you going for quite a long time...as Marty says maybe indefinitely.
You guys are all awesome :) I was very tentative about posting this as I knew it was a YMMV thing but I'm glad I did now lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Wolfpack34
What is a barber's hone? A finishing stone?
My local barber said he would give me his straight razor, his strop and stone. He said the blade is 50 over 50 years old but in good condition. I'm not holding my breath on the quality of these and will probably stilll buy new ones.
I wanted to put it off for at least a year, I was thinking 2, just so I'll have a clear idea what shave ready means and how long it takes to dull etc...Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesman7
I'll be using the modular paddle which I hear is good for beginners.
This thread is an example of why I bought and started out with 2 razors.
Your face tells you what you need to know.
Each one with a different scale color.
Then I started with one and used it until my face felt the pain.
Switched to the next to see if the experience was me or the razor.
If my shave went well, that is when I sent in the razor to be honed.
I paid attention to the time in between hones and this gave me a general idea of when I would be honing myself and then what the feel was like with the razor needing to be honed.
i would think they would be ok, bear in mind they were tools of his trade, that would see a lot of service, so why would he buy poor quality or not look after his equipment?Quote:
Originally Posted by RedGladiator
Barber hones are a touch up hone basically.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RedGladiator
You might be surprised how nice that Barber's equipment is. A strop (and razor) can easily be recondition. The barbers hone could be all the refinishing stone that you need... I would be real friendly with that barber!:D
He's giving me this stuff for free, really hoping they are in good condition. He has been cutting my hair for 20+ years, top bloke. He uses a shavette for work and a DE for home.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChopperDave
On another note, should I consider 1.0 or 2.0 micron sprays? (I haven't ordered yet but will be ordering the modular paddle that comes with 0.5 macron spray included.)
Stay away from sprays for a while. Learn to shave, then learn to touch up a razor. Most of us will play with sprays and then stick with the stones...leaving the sprays in our past. Many new guys will rave about sprays and pastes, only to learn that stones are the way.Quote:
Originally Posted by RedGladiator
Given the question, I'll say the same thing I've said many times before.
I maintained a set of 7 razors with just a barber hone for nearly 10 years. No pastes, nothing fancy, just the razors, a strop, and the hone were stored and used from an old humid gym locker. They still shaved great.
I finally looked at them under a microscope and found small microchips but they still shaved just fine. After moving out of state I no longer store or use them in the same manner and primarily use them as my travel set. I have no doubt that I could have shaved with this set for the rest of my life by maintaining them with that single barber hone.
Of course, then I would not get to play with a few hundred other hones!
:w
Can't I use these to extend time between hones? A bottle cost $20 and honing costs me $45.Quote:
Originally Posted by shooter74743
Would you still need a flattening stone? I'm so confused about flattening stones :aargh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
A barber hone will almost indefinitely extend your needing a hone, especially as your skills grow.Quote:
Originally Posted by RedGladiator
Flattening plates like a DMT or Atoma keep stones flat as they wear a bit, barber hones are very hard and wear little.Quote:
Originally Posted by RedGladiator
RedGladiator,
As others have said, go easy on the diamond sprays - they are very aggresive.
To give an example, I use 0.5 micron diamond spray (StraightRazorDesigns) on a hard leather paddle strop - this will easily cut high carbide tool steel knife blades - imagine what the very, very fine edge on a razor would fare like - go easy !!
There are many choices for a finishing/refreshing hone - my favourite is the 12k Naniwa Superstone. If you pair this with a Norton 4/8 k combo stone, you will be well set. A DMT8C (325 'grit') is a very nice thing to have for stone flattening, though silicon carbide paper on a flat surface will do a good job.
Halfords do a very good range of silicon carbide papers (up to 2500 'grit').
Honing does take time to learn, and as has been said, the time you really need these skills you don't have them !
Once learned, honing (for me) is most satisfying. You may even develop HAD (Hone Acquisition Disorder) :)
Have fun :)
Best regards
Russ
You shouldnt need to flatten a barbers hone. Unless you damage the edge a finishing /barber hone is all you should need to refresh the edge. The bevel should still be set you are just re refining it.Quote:
Originally Posted by RedGladiator