Thread: Question Regarding Buying A Hone and eBay

So it seems like a good 4k/8k hone is going to cost $100 or more which is a big investment right now (though one that will pay off in the long term). I was wondering about buying a used, "vintage" hone off of ebay. They commonly go for $40 and below and seem to be the hones that were used 60 years ago. Any thoughts?


Also, if buying a straight razor off of ebay (I've seen "shave ready" used razors go for $15), anythings I should make sure to look for?

Thanks!!

Most of those hones on ebay are old knife or tool hones that will do more harm than good to your razor. If you cant afford new(no shame in that) watch the classifieds here at SRP, be patient, what you want/need will show up sooner or later. In the meantime read up as best you can and ask lots of questions.
Unless an ebay razor is being sold by a member of SRP I would not consider it shave ready!

First, regarding the ebay razor, check the wiki via the link at the top of the page. It has a good list of brands to buy and brands not to buy. Chanced are a 15 dollar "shave ready" razor is not going to be a quality razor unless it's a newbie special offered through this site by one of the members. I would recommend getting your razor off the classifieds here, that way you can pretty much guarantee a quality razor that is indeed "shave ready."

Now with regards to the hone, if you get a shave ready razor then a quality barber hone from ebay will suffice. The thing is the grits can vary and you want to make sure you get a high enough grit hone. Typically all the swaty's will be good. Also keep in mind that you will probably need to lap(flatten) any hone you buy before using it. There is a ton on info on lapping if you do a search.

You may want to think about a small coticule, it will be more than the ebay barber hones but is a lot more versatile. Do a search on coticules and you will see what I mean.

And lastly, welcome!

The Razor I am thinking about is a Vintage The Diamond Co. Of Chicago Ill. I couldn't find the list of companies on the wiki. Any thoughts? Thanks!

I don't know much about that brand personally. Though my experience has been that the vintage American razors are good. They tend to be cheap because most of them aren't the big names that people look for. Now as far as whether or not it's shave ready that's a judgment call until you can test shave with it. Though if it's a good razor even if it isn't shave ready you can send it to a member to have honed for pretty cheap. If that's the 15 dollar razor you mentioned, plus 20 or so for a honing and then some more for shipping, you're still getting a good deal. If it is in fact shave ready, even better. l

Used hones pop up often in the classified section.In fact, there may be a few good ones at the moment. Also Amazon sells this starting kit which may be of interest to you:

Amazon.com: Norton Waterstone Starter Kit: 1) 220/1000 grit stone and 1) 4000/8000 grit stone, 1) SiC flattening stone: Home Improvement

Being a newbie myself, I have not bought hones yet, although I suspect that Santa has one in his bag for me. A Chinese 12k, if I am correct, that is ;-). I only want this hone to maintain the edge on my blades not to set bevels, restore, etc. Before you buy anything, you may want ot ask yourself the question: what would I use a hone for? This is, of course, in the case that you have not already done so. Many people whose interest in straights is only shaving do not own hones. Some only use strop pastes. Sorry for going off topic ;-).

Al raz.

Hi TJ,

Can't really tell if you have already started using straight razors or not. If not, may I make a suggestion? Rather than sinking your money into used hones (or new ones for that matter) and into a razor that may not be salvageable, visit the classifieds and browse through the straight razors there. There are many that are under the total price you are willing to pay for an ebay razor and hone(s). They will be marked as shave ready in the ad. There are 2 advantages to this. First, the razor will truly be shave ready; and, second, you will be getting a quality razor at a very reasonable price. Our members have reputations to protect so they are not dumping crappy razors. I have sold 2 of mine because I wanted to go in a different direction with my razors and those 2 did not fit into my plans. Another advantage is that you will be already shaving instead of learning the skill set for honing.

You will also need a few other things. You definitely need a strop. Some people use leather belts and found them to be just fine. A few of our members also have their own businesses that deal with straight razors and accessories. Check Kenrup and a few others (in the Vendor's Corner forum at the bottom) who sell inexpensive but very nice starter strops. You will also need some shave soap or cream. Those can be had for as little as a few dollars. In addition you can find a brush for under $10. I would think it would be better to get a shave ready razor and invest those savings into your other accessories.

Just a few thoughts...

I really appreciate all the advice, I'm going to hold off on the ebay razor for now and keep looking through the classifieds. I've been shaving with a shavette for about 6 months now and have the straight razor routine down pretty good. Have my brush, strop and other stuff. Think its time for me to move into the big leagues. Thanks a lot!

Ebay is a fun place to play, but you are apt to get burned to at least a small extent until you know how and what to buy there. Don’t trust any razor on Ebay that claims to be prehoned or shave ready. Some I have bought have been close, but even those have needed hone on the stone time. Most don’t come close. Not a big deal if part of the fun is getting something inexpensively and making it awesome on your own. Big deal if you are on a limited budget of both money and experience and thought you were going to squeegeeing whiskers off your face minutes after the box arrived. Good idea to pick up something shave ready by a member known here. Stones are good investments if you are in this for the long haul. If you are not needing to do any actual sharpening and honing right now (say, assuming you possess/get a true shave ready razor) you can get by quite nicely for many months with just a paddle strop pasted with .5 micron Chromium Oxide. It will do the same as a very high grit honing stone, and is much more forgiving to use. Best of all, it can be very inexpensive. Scrap cowhide glued onto a flat piece of wood, smear on some CrOx powder or diamond paste and you have a great tool to learn how to maintain that edge. And you will still want that paddle even when you do go over the edge with stones.

yes, i agree, ebay is good option if you will be buying many razors and honing them - you'll get some very good deals and some bad losses but with large numbers the average will be in your favor, esp. as you get more experienced. don't factor in the time you'll spend though, as then you'll get depressed.
but if you feel lucky, nothing wrong to pick up a razor on ebay. as long as you stay out of the 'bad brands' of new razors you'll likely be alright.
the same is true for the hones as well - a bit unlikely you'll get a real score on them - there are plenty of hone addicts here that bid on every coticule that pops up.