Thread: Cheapest way to keep your razor sharp

Thanks,

I don't think I can find someone who will donate a hone unfortunately:P heh

I can't find a chinese hone locally.

Originally Posted by Dups

I can't find a chinese hone locally.

Have you looked online?
Buy Natural Water Stone, 8" x 2" x 1", Natural Polishing Water Stone, Water

I'd like to find something in Canada. I'm worried of the duties if I order from the US.

bummer. well, hopefully you will find what you need

I can get three syringes 6,3,1 micron from Lee Valley for $36
I think I might get that plus their paddle strop and veritas honing compound. All of that for $71 cdn.

THe syringes are only 2g each though..How long do you think that would last me?

Originally Posted by Dups

I can get three syringes 6,3,1 micron from Lee Valley for $36
I think I might get that plus their paddle strop and veritas honing compound. All of that for $71 cdn.

THe syringes are only 2g each though..How long do you think that would last me?

Dude, I'm like: "Uhhhh... doesn't that paste stuff work well for, like, a really long time or somethin'?"

You would probably watch a video or view an mpg (like youtube) of someone actually doing their own, seeing as how this is the internet and all.

Well that was the point of my question:P

I'm new to this and I was just wondering how long would it last.

I'm sorry if my questions are stupid, but I thought the point of this forum was for us beginners to learn from experienced people.

Well I'll just kick my two cents in here.

I have two honing systems that I have used and neither of them cost more than fifty bucks total.

I have a Swaty barbers hone I got this for $15.00 off e-bay, you might get lucky and find one for this price but it will require patience. I use this hone to keep all my shave ready razors going as they start to dull. It's a great touch up hone, I keep it right in my shave den and use it whenever I feel the need. The problem is that this only goes so far. Sooner or later you need something a bit more aggressive to restore the edge to full keenness.

For the full sharpening I first purchased a pair of these (one in 4000 and one in 8000) slipstones. They work quite well for putting an edge on a razor. Their main drawback is their size, you will get good at the x stroke using them, they also (because of the size and agressivness) take about four times as many strokes as a Norton would to do the same job. I still use these sometimes.

I also use the Honing film on glass method of putting an edge on a razor as illustrated in this thread:
3M Micro Abrasive Film, A Usage Guide and Review
This methods main drawback is the requirement of re-making your hones every once in a while and the costs associated with that.

Using the 1000 grit paper finishing with a comfortable shaving edge off the Swaty using either of the ideas in the middle and for the bulk of the work to take any razor from dull to shave sharp for a budget price.

Interesting suggestion! The slipstones you mentioned...are they flat? it seems from the pictures that they have quite a slop to them? Would those be good out of the box or would you need to lap them?

thanks

I would strongly recommend buying a Chinese 12K from Chris L here if he haven't sold his last hone. I was in the same boat and bought one. No need to lap or worry about anything. It's ready to use out of the box (actually, he ships in a big envelope...) and I wouldn't worry much about the custom. Mine when through without a glitch even if the declare value exceeded 20$CAN. In the eventuallity that the customs did catch it, it is 5$ plus taxes (federal and provicial). The waiting time is the killer when it happens though.