Thread: Honing and stropping decision on a tight budget

Hello all, I am new to this forum and using a straight razor. So far I’m a month in and love it and will never go back to disposables again. Getting to my question... I have been a chef all my life and have a Naniwa chosera 1000 grit stone and a Shapton glass 4000 grit. Never go higher than 4000 with my chef knives. Just a few swipes after on the 14000 strop at the end. When I got my razor I honed it on the 4000 then went from there to the strop with 14000 grit paste. Then to felt, then denim, then a raw leather belt that’s 1.5 inches wide. Is jumping from 4000 to 14000 ok or would 4000 to 8000 to 14000 be better? It works great but my question is what should I buy next in order of importance? A nice 3 inch strop that’s around 100 bucks or an 8000 grit stone that’s around the same price and continue using the thin belt that I already have and get the better strop later? What’s more important when buying one or the other maybe months apart? I know it may be a silly question but I’m a newbie. I appreciate any help and thank you all in advance.

Jeff

You can get a very nice strop for less than $100. I would start there and get an 8k stone next. Good luck.

Originally Posted by Mrchick

You can get a very nice strop for less than $100. I would start there and get an 8k stone next. Good luck.

This is what I would do as well.

Also investigate barber hones, they are in the +8k range and can usually bought very reasonably. Swaty, Aparte and Panama are a few of the good ones and there are many others

Definitely strop first. Straight Razor Design have a nice selection (with replaceable components), from what I've heard high quality and within your budget.

Thank you guys so very much! Thank you for the help!

Might be a weird question, but after honing and stropping your razor using that progression, how does it shave?
Have you had a shave ready razor before this one?

Welcome to SRP Jeff.

A barber hone and strop is all you will need.

If you haven't already, check out the library Shave Library

Also, if you have gotten by on a 1-1/2" wide strop, you might consider a 2"-wide or 2-1/2"-wide strop to save a little. I find 3"-wide to be a bit too much real estate.

OK guys, I am going to walk on thin ice giving an opinion that goes against the ones above by respected senior members. I would buy an 8K or barber hone first. First a question: what is a 14000 strop? Does it have a 14K paste on it? Bench strop or hanging strop?
First, I think the jump up the grit ladder from 4 K to 14K is too high. I don't think that even the best quality leather strop can produce a shave-ready edge on a razor that came off a 4K. Not even after 1000 roundtrips. 2nd: you don't really need a leather strop IMHO (yes, I know, this is blasphemy to many members). For a long time I have shaved as an experiment using a linen strop only. Went really well.
So I would recommend an 8K first.

My 2 cts, YMMV.

Originally Posted by TristanLudlow

Might be a weird question, but after honing and stropping your razor using that progression, how does it shave?
Have you had a shave ready razor before this one?

Yes, I was wondering that also. I mean what exactly are you trying to achieve that you are not already getting?

Bob