Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 20
  1. #1
    Senior Member cabo_sailor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    SW Florida
    Posts
    140
    Thanked: 2

    Default Importance of a honemeister

    A recurring theme that you will see here is the importance of having your first blade or two, at least, honed by one of the board's honemeisters.
    A primary reason is that the beginner needs to know what "shave ready" feels like in order to judge whether a blade is properly honed.

    A recent experience of mine may help to illustrate why. A short time ago I received a brand spankin new Wacker INOX that I paid a bit extra for to have it sent already honed.

    Now the INOX steel is supposed to be harder than carbon steel but perhaps not quite as hard as stainless. The advantage to me is that the salt air on my boat would be less of a concern for corrosion.

    Anyway, I received the blade and tried my first shave. Yucky pew, it grabbed and yanked all over the place. Obviously the blade needed more honing. How do I know - well because my first blades were honed by SRP members and I know how its supposed to feel.

    Well after about 30 strokes on a spyderco ultra fine hone and about 40 passes on the pasted strop over several days, it feels like it should - a smooth glide.

    So - a new razor from a reputable vendor - honing service added is no guarantee. If I were completely new I might have given up on straights. I suspect that whoever honed it did not take into account the harder steel. Most of the honemeisters here would have tried shaving with it themselves and would have caught the difference. Thus ends my message.

    Good luck to all of you

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chicagoland
    Posts
    844
    Thanked: 155

    Default

    You should be aware that most grades of stainless used for cutlery (e.g. 440 stainless) are actually less hard than carbon steel. INOX is just a European term for stainless steel (it's short for INOXdable. There are seveal types of stainless, but the most common used for edged tools are the martesitic grades (type 400). These contain some carbon, are magnetic and can be heat hardened (though not as hard as high carbon steel or high carbon steel alloys.
    Last edited by fccexpert; 03-05-2008 at 07:42 PM.

  3. #3
    Senior Member cabo_sailor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    SW Florida
    Posts
    140
    Thanked: 2

    Default

    No I wasn't aware of that. However, based upon the threads stainless razors can be a bear to sharpen. In this case for the INOX blade, the website states that they are tougher to get a good edge on compared to carbon steel. On the other hand, they also state that with a bit of care they will take a wicked edge that lasts. We'll see.

    Of course the main point of the story is the importance of learning on a truly shave ready razor to be able to judge when it is properly honed.

  4. #4
    A Newbie....Forever! zepplin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Nampa, Idaho
    Posts
    783
    Thanked: 77

    Default

    I've experienced the same thing you have, although, not from the vendor you bought yours from. It is very frustrating! If you inquire about what happened (or didn't happen), usually you will get, "Send it back and I'll hone it (again or rehone??)". I don't want to go that, repackaging and mailing it out, and waiting another 3 weeks +. I just want what I payed for in the first place. and, of course, if you're a newbee (and you're not), your credability is in question: What did he do to it? The first one is poor stropping, of course. Then poor shaving technique, poor lathering, etc...

    Sorry this happened. I don't buy blades that much anymore, but when and if I do, I'll hone them up myself. I have bought a few from members here that were supposed to have been "shave ready", although, IMO, the edges were not up to my standards.

    In this case, you paid for the service and didn't get it.

    You need to contact the vendor. Maybe it was an honest mistake. - of course you did rehone it. No sense sending it back now. I guess this will have to be one of those "live and learn" kind of deals, but you should let your vendor know what happened, so maybe it wont happen to someone else in the future.

    Regards,

    Steve
    Last edited by zepplin; 03-05-2008 at 07:53 PM. Reason: forgot some words

  5. #5
    Senior Member cabo_sailor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    SW Florida
    Posts
    140
    Thanked: 2

    Default

    Good idea Steve,

    I wasn't going to make a big deal out of it but your point that need to be a bit more careful is a good one.

    I started this to help newbies but fccexpert has given me some pretty interesting info. For example, I wondered what INOX stood for.

    Just when you think you have the bases covered ya learn something new.

  6. #6
    Junior Honemeister Mike_ratliff's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Central California
    Posts
    1,023
    Thanked: 82

    Default

    All good points, the real problem is how do you define shave ready?
    a blade that shaves well for one member might not be sharp enough for another, and too sharp for someone else's tastes...

    The only true test is to shave with it, but like I said if your hair is coarser than mine, or your prep is different...

    I can't come up with a definitive benchmark of what is shave ready for everybody, can you?

    I've even had a couple of my razors honed by "the experts" and the results varied greatly between them.

    We all learn to hone a razor so that if feels right on our own face.

    I do agree though that if learning to shave, or to hone for yourself... a properly hand honed razor is an invaluable tool to have in your arsenal.

  7. #7
      Lynn's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    St. Louis, Missouri, United States
    Posts
    8,454
    Thanked: 4941
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by zepplin View Post
    I've experienced the same thing you have, although, not from the vendor you bought yours from. It is very frustrating! If you inquire about what happened (or didn't happen), usually you will get, "Send it back and I'll hone it (again or rehone??)". I don't want to go that, repackaging and mailing it out, and waiting another 3 weeks +. I just want what I payed for in the first place. and, of course, if you're a newbee (and you're not), your credability is in question: What did he do to it? The first one is poor stropping, of course. Then poor shaving technique, poor lathering, etc...

    Sorry this happened. I don't buy blades that much anymore, but when and if I do, I'll hone them up myself. I have bought a few from members here that were supposed to have been "shave ready", although, IMO, the edges were not up to my standards.

    In this case, you paid for the service and didn't get it.

    You need to contact the vendor. Maybe it was an honest mistake. - of course you did rehone it. No sense sending it back now. I guess this will have to be one of those "live and learn" kind of deals, but you should let your vendor know what happened, so maybe it wont happen to someone else in the future.

    Regards,

    Steve
    I've looked at this post a couple of times today. I think I'll respond tomorrow when I'm sure it will be a more civil post.

    Thanks,

    Lynn

  8. #8
    Senior Member blabbermouth
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    2,516
    Thanked: 369

    Default

    I tend to agree with much of Mike's post above. Just what is "shave ready" anyway? I was thinking about this tonight.
    My razor isn't shave ready until I've stropped it just before shaving. It seems that I've read several posts by newbies disapointed in their shave with a razor prepped by a "honemeister."

    While said razor may in fact be "shave ready" for someone with a bit of experience, it may just be that the new user is not quite shave ready.

    Just a thought.


    Scott

  9. #9
    Senior Member Kenrup's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    San Antonio, Texas
    Posts
    1,271
    Thanked: 125
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    My classic INOX story is that I have a Fritz Bracht pre WWII Dovo INOX #41. It would sharpen, strop up but not give a good shave. At the Texas I talk to John Crowley and he recommending sending to Texas Knife Makers Supply for cryogenic hardening. I did, it cost $4.00 plus shipping. It did the trick. It shaves like a champ now.

    This is an example of not all razors are created equal. Not all razors will hone up to shave a fly's bottom as it wing by. I've two razors identical models one was far superior to the other and I honed them at the same time. It doesn't matter how long you have been honing some razors don't cooperate.
    Last edited by Kenrup; 03-07-2008 at 11:15 PM.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Kenrup's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    San Antonio, Texas
    Posts
    1,271
    Thanked: 125
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    I'm going to throw something in here tonight. I received a TI 1040 6/8 Silver Steel Stamina from Classic this afternoon. It was to replace one I had returned. With all the bad press TI has received lately, inspected the razor very closely. The box was sealed. When I opened I noticed immediately that the finish on the scales was far superior to the first one. The pins and all were as they should be. The real surprise was when I checked the edge. I was expecting to have to hone it as it was straight out of the box. To my surprise and delight it is shave ready. It's sharp! The edge is perfect! I'm tomorrow morning I'm going to just strop and shave. This is the very first time any new razor I have purchased has even come close to what I would consider shave ready just trying it out of the box. I honed four other razors this evening for customers so I am very picky about what I call shave ready. What a treat. I'll let yaw'll know how it goes tomorrow.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •