Thread: Do I have to buy a hone?

Hi all,

I could really use your help. I'm about to make the plunge to Straight Razor. I need to make this as economical as possible. I have spent hours and hours on the forums and dealer's sites. I know that I don't want to buy a cheap blade so I'm skipping over the "Best Quality" Dovos like the wiki suggested in favor of a "Silver Steel" Dovo or a Thiers-Issard. I'll get one that is Presharpened by a pro. Do I really have to buy a hone? The one that is recommended is 90 bucks and I just don't have 350 dollars to spend on this whole switch-over. I know that the switch will pay for itself in time. I just don't want to have to wait 10 years for it to pay off.

Actually it is more like 3 years at yer $350 mark...
But no you really can keep a straight razor going just fine with a strop and a barbers hone, people did it for years... You have to learn how a barbers hone (about $10 on e-bay) works though...
And even if you need an occasional re-hone it costs about the same as a package of Fusion blades

and welcome to the straight train

Don't buy a hone right away. Start with a pre-sharpened razor and
strop, and in 3-4 months buy another pre-sharpened razor and a
hone or a pasted strop. You can then evaluate where your razor is
at and try to get it back up to par with the new sharp razor.

- Scott

No, a hone is not necessary. You should be able to maintain your razor just fine with your strop for at least three months. If you wanted to augment your basic setup, you might want to add a paddle or strop for Cromium Oxide to maintain the finish or polish on the blade.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Actually it is more like 3 years at yer $350 mark...
But no you really can keep a straight razor going just fine with a strop and a barbers hone, people did it for years... You have to learn how a barbers hone (about $10 on e-bay) works though...
And even if you need an occasional re-hone it costs about the same as a package of Fusion blades

and welcome to the straight train

It would take you 3 years to make it up using mach 3 but I currently use old broken pottery shards to shave. They are free except for the cost of gas to get to the archaeological excavation site. Snicker. Sorry. I'm addicted to hyperbole.

Short answer, yes. But not right away. Unless you need to reset the bevel a barbers hone will satisfied your needs for quite some time.

everybody needs a belgian hone, even if they live on a mountaintop and don't shave. the folks who have belgians very often have duplicates.. wonder why? Lust. Pure Lust. 'jes sayin..

Originally Posted by calamusink

I'm addicted to hyperbole.

Never tried that ... where can I get some?

Originally Posted by dward

Short answer, yes. But not right away. Unless you need to reset the bevel a barbers hone will satisfied your needs for quite some time.

+1 to that ... before I found SRP that's all I had for 28 years. Of course, after I found SRP I purchased a Northon 4K/8K, three coticules, a Chinese 12K and a 4-sided paddle strop and pastes, but not because I needed it.

So I'm having a hard time finding a good barber's hone. Can I get away with using just a 12k from Woodcraft?

At the risk of you not liking this answer, I am going to tell you what I think. Why don't you start by buying one shave ready razor, a strop and a brush; make sure that you like shaving with a straight before you venture into the hone universe? If you want economical, neither a new razor nor an ebay special would do. Perhaps a visit to the classified would help you find one in shave ready condition at a low price.

Al raz.