Thread: getting things together

I ordered a straight razor set with all the bells and whistles, should be here next week. A brand new Dovo professionally honed is the blade. I also ordered 2 used ones off another site so I could get some practice at honing. So my question is how much different is honing a straight compared to a knife? I sharpen all my own knives, as a cook I have a lot of them, and get them to the point of being able to shave my arm hair. I assume that the angles are a bit closer but a little guidance would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

Welcome to SRP. Honing a straight razor is quite a bit different. The spine/edge relationship dictates the honing angle. Pressure is the main difference. Knowing how much and how little and when to apply it is the trick. Other nuances of stroke, when to move from one hone to the next and learning how to calculate sharpness from the thumb nail test (TNT), thumb pad test (TPT) and from shaving hair on the arm or leg. Popping hair above the skin on the arm or leg and finally the hanging hair test (HHT).

Much of this is gone over in the SRP Wiki honing guide here . Waterstones are best for straight razors and there are many to chose from. Here is a video that may be helpful and ask questions as they come up and you'll get responses from members here. Use that pro honed Dovo to shave with and as a benchmark to judge your own efforts on the other razors you've picked up. IOW, don't put it to a hone until you've gotten some experience.