Thread: Hello Everyone

I've been around the site for a little while. Still trying to learn the navigation of it all. My name is Rick. I know, not too creative with the username.

Where/ how are we notified of events and gatherings and how are they created? I live in S.Carolina, so one in North Carolina or Georgia would be ideal for a lot of members, I think.

Where do I find out how to hone? I am looking through the hone section and what I need is real remedial training. I don't even know how to hold the blade on the hone.

I have Lynn's DVD of which I will revisit again and again before attempting to hone anything. I have a barber's hone. I have not yet rec'd it nor used it. Just trying to educate myself on it.

Well, that's me...that's what I'm after at this point. Thanks.

Hello Rick, I'm not that creative with usernames either. This article in the Wiki on choosing a hone may be useful and this page has some links to articles you may find interesting.

Rick, there is a member map here where you can find who is in your general area. The best way to learn to hone IME is to have an experienced member show you up close and personal. If you're lucky as I was there will be someone close enough willing to share that knowledge with you.

If not Lynn's DVD is a good place to start. There are more honing videos here with David Polan's being particularly informative here. The 1961 barber manual excerpt here is a short treatise that I have found very useful on honing and on stropping. It is illustrated, short and to the point.

A barber hone is good for touching up an already sharp razor that is falling off a bit in keenness. If you wanted to sharpen a dull razor you would be a long time and maybe spinning your wheels. Depending on what you want to do you might look into a Norton starter set like this here.

Hello Rick,

Welcome to SRP...

I am fairly new to SRP myself, so I can't answer all of your questions, but I think you can obtain a wealth of information about honing a razor by consulting the SRP wiki, selected forums on honing as well as Lynn's dvd, which I have watched a great deal myself since Christmas. He has an entire section devoted to hones and strops and discusses his own collection of barber hones. I also know that during my surfing on SRP, I came across a section that showed how to lap a hone to insure that it was perfectly flat.

You might also consider calling or emailing Don at Straight Razor Designs. SRD has a lot of individual hones and honing sets on its website. Don and/or Lynn may be able to help you select a starter set that lets you begin honing without too much difficulty.

Vintage Blades LLC also has hones for sale. That webstore promotes Norton hones. One is the Norton 4000/8000 hone, which Vintage Blades alleges is the basic hone for str8 razor users to keep their razors sharp. It may be all you need at first to begin developing your honing skills. I think you will have to lap (insure that it is perfectly flat) the Norton stone before honing your first razor on it, however. There are lapping stones available for purchase at SRD, Vintage Blades, SRP, and possibly Ebay. In fact, you may need to lap whatever stone(s) you purchase before honing your first razor. Again, I would consult with either Don or Lynn about characteristics, preparing and using a hone before purchasing any of them.

Finally, the classifieds forum at SRP may offer some relatively inexpensive str8 razors for purchase that you will be able to practice on to develop your honing skills. If you have the patience and develop the skill, you will be able to restore their blades to their original sharpness.

Let us know how things go...

Good luck with your honing and Happy New Year.