Beginners Tips: July 2010

Well another month has marched by us, I am very very late with this month's tips as I was in Colorado on vacation for 2 weeks...

Here are some things that I noticed on the boards this past month:

HONES:

What hone, and in particular tons of questions about Natural stones....

Before I go any farther I highly recommend 6 months of just learning to shave, before you even think of honing.....

Here is the most often seen question about Naturals "What is the best"????

OK first, that really can't be answered, it doesn't matter what you personally think is the best hone in the world, that you might be using, unless you are selling that stone in particular, it doesn't really matter much...

So every single time we see the question 20 people all answer with different suggestions for the New guy with their own personal opinion... Leaving the poor Newbie as confused as when he started...

Natural stones vary, in fact they vary quite a bit...

Things I have learned...

Japanese Naturals have probably a hundred or more different types of stones and each of them are slightly different in use and performance..

Coticules have about a dozen different grades and only maybe 4 (some say 2)are razor finishers...

Eschers have probably at least 6 different grades..

Thuringens have about 6 also and only the best are good for razors the lower grades are for tools...

There are some Arkansas stones out there that are more then capable of being used on razors.. Good luck finding them!!!

It took me 4 different Ch12k's before I found one that really worked well on razors..

There are stones I have barely touched, let alone learned to use correctly

Water of Ayre
Charnley Forest
Dragon's Tongue
Tam o Shanter
Belgian Blue
and many more I am forgetting

All these naturals are different from each other, and even from one stone of the same type to another of the same type....
If I had used only one Chinese Stone, I would have thought they all sucked for razors, but by continuing the hunt I found one that will perform very well...

Each natural stone has to be learned and worked before you even begin to get top performance... It takes me about 100 razors to even begin to think I know how to use that one stone, not master, just use...

So when you new guys ask, just make sure you understand that the answer is very personal, and has nothing to do with the actual stone you might find and buy...

Lapping Hones:

First off, every hone needs lapping to use on razors, the only question is how often... New hones should always be at least checked, I lap every one anyway...
Barber's hones fall in the "Hmmmmm Category" they are so small that the flatness doesn't really come into play, but most are used, and glazed over, so a light lapping won't hurt...

Most Lapping plates come in the 200-400 grit range so whether you use one of those, or just Wet-r-Dry sandpaper those are the grit ranges you want to target... (Some people go much higher)


Hope some of this helps, as always please feel free to add to this with more thoughts, we all see things from a different angle and all of them help the new guys out...

+1 on that..!

The other thing I've read often here is that different people like different things in an edge. Some people prefer the smooth/soft feel and other guys like that ultra sharp, ultra polished Feather type edge. Some people prefer a Feather edge thats dulled a bit and so on.

So not only do you have all the variations between the different stones to consider, and learning how to use them to their optimal performance, you're also trying to match the finish a particular hone gives with your personal preferences in edge feel.

But thats what keeps this hobby fun and interesting IMO..! :)

Great thread Glen, thanks for sharing!

I went to both Lowe's and Home Depot and could only find the 400, 600, and 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper, and that cut in sanding block sheets, not much larger than my Nortons.:popcorn:

My dear Glen:

I must commend you for addressing this topic. Proper honing is essential to the world of the straight razors, but I dare say most newbies jump into it without the basic knowledge necessary to hone properly. Your well thought out and presented post will be helpful to many of us.

I especially like what you say in the following:

"Before I go any farther I highly recommend 6 months of just learning to shave, before you even think of honing....."

This is what I believe, and I am no expert on honing.

Thank you for what I believe to be a useful and educational series, Glen.

Regards,
Obie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jeffegg2

I went to both Lowe's and Home Depot and could only find the 400, 600, and 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper, and that cut in sanding block sheets, not much larger than my Nortons.:popcorn:

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Check out the auto parts stores close to you. They usually have a full assortment of wet/dry sandpapers.

Have fun,

Lynn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jeffegg2

I went to both Lowe's and Home Depot and could only find the 400, 600, and 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper, and that cut in sanding block sheets, not much larger than my Nortons.:popcorn:

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lynn

Check out the auto parts stores close to you. They usually have a full assortment of wet/dry sandpapers.

Have fun,

Lynn

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+1 Also if you have a woodworking supply store around or check out the on-line providers as well.

I still consider myself a newbie to straight razors. Been at it...a year I guess? In the past few months I've started to play around with the hones. Very slowly. It's been out of great fun. When I started out, I had a very good mentor from this board. That has helped me a TON. I encourage a newbie to send someone a PM, ask them questions, pick their brain. My mentor relaxed me a bit when I had a question about honing. His opinion was a properly honed and cared for blade should rarely is ever need to be rehoned. Perhaps just a touch up here and there. I'm not attempting to start a debate on how often something should be honed or not, I am simply saying this advice relaxed me a bit to know I was good for a while. I took the time to really focus on my shave technique and my stropping. Because, after all, that was what would keep my blade in good order....using it properly and caring for it properly.

Now, honing IS fun. All the pretty stones, the techniques it's pure madness. Anyone that's put steel to a rock could attest to that. I have yet to make a blade entirely shave ready from dullness. I did touch one up and made it where I like it. But, one thing I would suggest is before you get an assortment of stones and overwhelm yourself stick with one stone, perhaps a barber's hone or C12K (as those are inexpensive enough) and practice your stroke. I am going back and doing this now, just spending more time just practicing over and over my stroke on the hone.

But, yes, definetely spend 6+ months shaving before going to the hones. I think that is stellar advice. You need to know how the blades work and how the steel feels. You need to have experienced (I think) an assortment of steels and grinds and edges from different people helps you really nail your preferences. Not necessary though. What is helpful with the experience mostly is learning technique. Too often a new person will get a blade, shave with it and swear it wasn't shave ready. Investigation will reveal it was, but their technique was poor and their prep was off. :gl:

Very good post, Thank you Glen.

I found wet-or-dry SiCarbide paper, 2000 grit, in the 'auto body supplies' section of my local auto parts store (Canadian Tire up here, probably Pep Boys or Western Auto in the US).

Charles

Caswell Plating has had the cheapest prices on wet/dry paper I have found if you don't mind Aluminum Oxide: Caswell Inc. - Wet and Dry Paper

I found all the grits I could ever use, and 3M at the local auto parts store. Thanks for the tips!

I'll chime in to agree on waiting.

After a catastrophic start, I found this board and spent a whole weekend reading and learning.

Then I went all in: 3 new, pro-honed razors, Norton starter kit, the works.

Promptly nearly ruined my perfectly shave-ready razors. Smashing the into the stones with TWO HANDS, stropping the daylights out of them…no wonder the shaving was rough!

So then I backed off. Used a barber hone to get the edge back on the razors, then just stuck to stropping, working at going lighter and lighter. My razors began to feel better, work better.

Now I have got a few eBay razors that are good makes, in good shape, but need honing, and I have someone guiding me and advising me, checking out the blade when I'm done, so I think now I'm on the right track.

So yes: get well honed razors to start with. Learn to shave and learn to strop lightly and effectively. Then maybe get a barber hone or 10-12K stone for light touch ups. Then, if one wishes, they can learn the whole process. Then again, it's just $20 or so to get a professional honing…