Thread: Shapening Hones and all

Do you tape the spine?
I heard you want the spine and bevel to wear down at the same time to keep the same angle.

Norton 8000/4000 is a good starter right?

What about a 10,000?

Of course I need a strop. (just leather? canvas?) Where do you get pastes? Do you need pastes?

Hi shavingsamurai,

I am a newbie myself, but have you checked out Lynn's DVD? There is a sticky in the buy/sell/trade forum, I think. It has something like an hour and a half on honing and stropping technique that would probably answer many of your questions. I don't mean to be unhelpful, just pointing you to an awesome resource in case you have not seen it yet.

Hope this helps!

The Buy Sell Trade forum is a great place to start. Also, Diamond Pastes are fabulous for the Noob. You'll need a dedicated strop for these. They've gotta be the easiest way to get that super-keen edge for the newer honer.
Welcome aboard!

Originally Posted by shavingsamurai

Do you tape the spine?
I heard you want the spine and bevel to wear down at the same time to keep the same angle.

Norton 8000/4000 is a good starter right?

What about a 10,000?

Of course I need a strop. (just leather? canvas?) Where do you get pastes? Do you need pastes?

I've only been shaving with a str8 for 5-1/2 months , but I get decent shaves , and my razors are sharp enough for me . I'm still a newbie , and have only honed 3 razors , so take what I say for whatever you think it's worth . First let me say that I don't tape the spine , for the same reason you mentioned . It would take a whole lot of honing to wear down the spine . If the edge of a razor is so bad , that I would be worried about wearing down the spine , I would not waste my time honing it . I use a Norton 4k/8k and I am very pleased with it . I have a homemade paddle strop pasted with Theirs Issard paste , I got from Classic Shaving . I use the paddle strop after honing , and to refresh the edge of my razors when needed , 5-10 light laps is all it takes . I have a linen/leather hanging strop , and before every shave I give the razor 30 laps on the linen and 40 laps on the leather . That's what I do and it works for me , but everyone has thier own way of doing things , and you will need to find yours . The bottom line is , getting a good shave , and having fun doing it . BTW , those 3 razors I honed took at least 6 honings (maybe more , I really don't remember) before they were sharp enough to give me a good shave . I would shave , hone all three again , and repeat until they were properly sharp . I found that lifting the edge of the blade before I finished a pass on the hone , really improved my results . Hope I helped a little . .....Dave

Unless you are going to be doing some really intense honing on the 1K or 4K I wouldn't tape the spine, its unnecessary unless the razor has some gold leaf or other decoration on the spine.

I would get the 4K/8K and master that. Its all you really need anyway. After you master that then you can worry about a 10K or 12K hone.

Yes you need a plain leather strop to use before shaving. Most come with a linen strop also. Some use the linen and some don't. You just have to experiment and see if it makes a difference for you.

No you don't need pastes. If you do use them you need a dedicated strop for each paste you are going to use. yes they are easier to use then a hone to keep an already sharpened razor at its best but I find when I use paste the edge just does not stay sharp as long as when I use a hone. I guess its the old story about the easy way is not always the best way.

personally. ill tape the spine if:
- it had some kind of gold etching / inscription on it that i don't want to ruin.
- its a wedge becuase those tend to take me more sessions on the stones
- its a complete hardcore restoration/ebay that i had to do alot of work at the edge, becuase then i know the bevel is way off and going to take work.

90% of my honing(which is normal razors), i do not tape the spine at all. those are the pyramids 4k/8k ..and never tape on my finishing hone.

~J