Newbie Honing Question

Hello all.

I just bought an old, inexpensive razor which I'll practice honing/ stropping on. The blade is in very good condition with no nicks, frowning, or pits near the cutting edge. It's somewhat sharp; if I run it down the back of my forearm, it'll cut most of the hairs it passes over in half, though it causes tugging and takes a bit of pressure.

What kind of hone or hones will i need to get it ready for stropping? Can I use the same type of hone that I would use to touch it up every couple months when it becomes too dull to strop? Or would I need something a little coarser to get it to that state? If possible, I would prefer to only have to purchase one hone (I'm on a limited budget), even if that means I'll have to hone it for a couple hours my first time.

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Originally Posted by NoComment

Hello all.

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What kind of hone or hones will i need to get it ready for stropping? Can I use the same type of hone that I would use to touch it up every couple months when it becomes too dull to strop? Or would I need something a little coarser to get it to that state? ,,,,,,,,,,,

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No Comment,,,,,,,,,,:beer2:

;)

Welcome aboard.

Read through the links that I'm going to provide about touching-up razors & honing.
This will give you examples with videos & photos.

I suggest that you have someone here "shave ready" your razor, so you have a standard to go by once you begin to tough-up, which is honing.

Category:Honing - Straight Razor Place Library

Straight Razor Place - Beginners Tips: November 2014

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Can I use the same type of hone that I would use to touch it up every couple months when it becomes too dull to strop?

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I guess that "refresh" would have been a better phrase to use than "touch up."

Thanks for the links, they have a lot of useful info. I'll get back to you or anyone else who wants to help if I still have questions once I'm finished reading.

Is this your first or only razor?

You CAN get by with just a single hone. Your first should be one that can be used for refreshing, or touch ups, or whatever else one chooses to call it.

There is a bit of info an another thread which I'll dig out for you tomorrow - assuming I remember. I can't do it from my phone. SRP library is pretty useless IMHO.

If all you want is a refresh, a cnat or barbers hone is a cheap place to start. >$50.

Hi and welcome. I would second getting a pro honing. Sounds like it needs the bevel set so from there to shave ready is probably 3 hones and for a new guy a reasonable amount of practice as well. Add to that you don't know what shave ready is and don't have a benchmark it's not going to go well.

Start with a shave ready razor and just use a high grit hone for maintenance refreshing at the first sign of tugging and you should be good for a long time as long as you don't damage the edge.

Definitely +1 on having someone hone for you, initially... There are just so many parameters and preferences to consider. You really need to understand all the intricacies of shaving first or you will just be taking two steps back for every one forward.

Barber's Hone or similar around 8-12k is what you will be looking for but, the trouble is, just like with Shave Ready, there is a wealth of subjectivity when it comes to information and recommendations about Honing.

My suggestion... 1) Get it Honed by someone in The Classifieds here or similar skill. 2) Get really good and comfortable with all aspects of ambidextrous wet shaving. Then, sometime down the road, acquire some gear and start Honing.

Not that I nor many others have followed this advice, but it really is the best way to go. :)

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Originally Posted by Prahston

Definitely +1 on having someone hone for you, initially... There are just so many parameters and preferences to consider. You really need to understand all the intricacies of shaving first or you will just be taking two steps back for every one forward.

Barber's Hone or similar around 8-12k is what you will be looking for but, the trouble is, just like with Shave Ready, there is a wealth of subjectivity when it comes to information and recommendations about Honing.

My suggestion... 1) Get it Honed by someone in The Classifieds here or similar skill. 2) Get really good and comfortable with all aspects of ambidextrous wet shaving. Then, sometime down the road, acquire some gear and start Honing.

Not that I nor many others have followed this advice, but it really is the best way to go. :)

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Hahahaha! :rofl2:

Yeah, I feel like straight razors draw a very specific type of person. The type that isn't afraid to roll up their sleeves, dig in, and learn by trial and (lots of) error.

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Originally Posted by Sxot

There is a bit of info an another thread which I'll dig out for you tomorrow - assuming I remember. I can't do it from my phone. SRP library is pretty useless IMHO.

If all you want is a refresh, a cnat or barbers hone is a cheap place to start. >$50.

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While your digging up that bit of information,,, explain why you feel the SRP Library is useless.

Thanks for the info, everyone.

If I go the professional honing route, how long will its bevel hold up (if I don't damage it) until I need to buy another, coarser hone (4000 grit) in addition to my refreshing hone?

Are the various "sharpness tests" at all adequate substitutes for seeing a proper, professionally- set bevel?

Sharpness tests are really only adequate for people that know how to hone. The user sharpness test is - is it pulling when I shave?

Bevels can hold up for years if cared for properly. As a beginner, just go ahead and plan on a rehone after 3 months (or if you have my luck, after the first stropping).

Many people use a finishing hone to refresh the edge. At x number of shaves you may do 10 laps on the hone. This will vary person to person but the premise is the same. Done like this as long as not damaged you can continue like this for years.

Once you have been shaving a while and truly understand shave ready then try some sharpness tests and calibrate them to yourself. That is when they start to mean something and are useful

Do you have a finishing stone?

If not, a 12k Super Stone is hard to beat, or a 4/8k combo Norton is an inexpensive stone that will handle most issues.

How long a pro honed edge will last, depend on how quickly and well you can learn to strop. Stropping, or better said improper stropping is what damages edges.

Photos of your razor will always get you better advice…

The Shave Test is the only one that matters.

Yep... Therein lies both the reward and frustration with Wet Shaving... Details matter and you may be shaving with the best edge one moment and make a ridiculous yet critical error the next and have to start over. This happens occasionally with nearly every stage: Lather, Skin Prep, Skin Stretching, Angles, Pressre, Stropping, etc. But, this is most frustrating with Honing as it often truly mean you absolutely and literally must start over. That is why so many recommend just waiting on the Honing.

I can tell you are reading and watching Videos and you are scratching at the surface for sure with the Honing Info and Questions. But, setting up Stones, Film or Media to Hone is completely individual and completely different from one another. What you are asking about (Refresh Stone & Coarse Stone) is a multiple stone/grit progression. But, as a comparison, with some Japanese Natural Stones you use varied coarseness Nagura (Prep-Stones) as you move through a progression but the Base Stone/Japanese Natural is used from start to finish and you mix grit from the base stone with the nagura or other similar stones.... More Art Form than followed recipe.

Easiest thing to do is start a savings for stones and give it some time... You will know when you are ready as it will simply be the next thing you are ready to try due to being so good with the other aspects of wet shaving.

Shave-Test is the only consistent (... though nealy wholly subjective as well...) Test you should focus on as the other Tests are moreso used to help refine honing direction. Most important thing, if you do get something honed by another person, is to just wipe any oil/protectant away then shave as normal to give you a benchmark for what their "Shave Ready" feels like to you... Don't Strop, Test or anything until you get that First Shave done as that alone will tell yiu when it is time to go back for a re-hone.

Edge Quality and how long it lasts depends on many factors. I have shaved with the same razor for 18 months now and have done 2 Refreshes on it in that time. One was because I got a New Stone and wanted to try it and the other was me noticing the edge dropping off. Even that all depends on various factors as I only shave a couple times per week whereas someone else may be daily.

“If I go the professional honing route, how long will its bevel hold up (if I don't damage it) until I need to buy another, coarser hone (4000 grit) in addition to my refreshing hone?”

You won’t need anything lower than a 12 or 8K finish stone unless you damage the edge with a chip, (large chip) or restoring razors.

You have to do what the razor/edge needs.

We as an edge obsessed group are trigger happy with the hones and often bevel setting. Unless the edge is damaged there is little a fine hone in capable hands can't fix.

And as said there is that learning curve thing, find a local mentor and cut that curve dramatically…

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Originally Posted by Marshal

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Hahahaha! :rofl2:

Yeah, I feel like straight razors draw a very specific type of person. The type that isn't afraid to roll up their sleeves, dig in, and learn by trial and (lots of) error.

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Couldn't have said it better :]

I concur with others about only really needing a12k or so after getting it pro honed. However I would just add to get a quality hone and not go cheap. Spending too much on a great tool will make you mad once. Buying a low quality tool will make you mad every time you use it.

I first started playing with straight razors about 15 years ago. All I had for hones was two barber hones--a Swaty and a Carborundum 102. After joining SRP in 2007 I got a set of Nortons and then various other hones followed, but I continued to maintain a set of razors I regularly used and kept at a gym with nothing but those two barber hones. I used the hones interchangeably and those razors have continued to shave just fine to this day.

I have not needed to reset the bevels or do any repair work. The edges have been maintained for 15 years with nothing but maintenance honing. I remember reading early on in SRP that it is easier to KEEP a razor sharp than it is to SHARPEN a razor. The point is that unless you damage your razor, a maintenance hone should be all you need to keep your razors sharp.

Haim, were you ever able to get any help from Manah?