hello, intro and a question!

hello, my name is ben and i am currently 21.

i would really like to get into straight shaving but currently dont have any equipment to do so... in time... maybe ill find a deal on here, maybe ill attempt picking up one of the noobie packs... heck, maybe ill in the noobie give away (crosses fingers)

anyways -

my question is - how often does a blade need to be honed? im sorry if thats a stupid question, i just never hear "you should try to hone your blade every ::: shaves" or anything like that.

reason for me asking is - if i buy a razor i want to know if i have to get a stone right away, for instance if i buy one from someone who hones them on here would i need one pretty much right away or what?

any other information you can give me as far as basic stuff would be awesome.

thanks!
-ben

Hi Ben and welcome :)

To answer your question, it depends on a few things, but a general rule of thumb would be that a razor needs a touch up every few months, give or take. So if you got a shave ready razor from someone here, for example, you wouldn't need to buy a hone straight away.

You would, however, need to get a decent strop straight away, as they are used each time you shave.

James.

thank you very much.

BTW - if anyone is on right now and sees this - i am in the chat room if you want to chat!

No problems Ben.

Like I said, there's a few factors involved concerning the longevity of an edge - things like the type of steel (eg stainless, or harder steels, tend to last longer than high carbon, other things being equal).

A strop is essential though - learning how to use one effectively does take time and practice, and it's not uncommon that a new user can roll the edge of their razor on the strop if not careful (and sometimes even if they *are* careful...). If that happens your razor will need to be honed again. But happily, there are people here who offer honing services at very reasonable prices IMO - I can't remember who it was now, but someone actually will do free re-honing of the razor they sell you if you happen to roll the edge on the strop for a certain period of time. You just pay postage to and from. That's a wonderful and very generous offer :bow

James.

Hello Ben,

I'm Bruce and am currently 61. It's my opinion that preparing the shave readiness of a razor, or most aggressive honing, only needs to be done once. Touching up the edge with something like a barber hone or a pasted paddle strop needs to be done when you feel the quality of the shave is degraded. if the edge gets away from you, more involved honing may be necessary, but it's not an immediate concern.

:OT I have some John Deeres that came from Waterloo. Of those my favorites are an "A" and a "70". And like a razor, they too need touching up from time to time.:nj

yep yep john deere is like 4 minutes from my house, my grandpa used to work there... i dont have any deere products of any type though.. a few shirts i think...

hah.

thanks guys. now i just need to start saving up!
-ben