Thread: How to use my Barber's Hone?

Originally Posted by Utopian

I'm going to paraphrase Lynn on this one (though I've seen it for myself as well). He said that among the aborted honing attempts he has had to rescue, the worst damage was done by folks who tried to hone their edges with sandpaper.

Yes -- you can do a lot of damage in a short time. And if you don't have a flat surface to work on, or your "feel" is bad, or you don't constantly check your work, it's possible to make mistakes.

I suspect there's a "selection" bias:

People who want a "quick, cheap fix" for a dull razor will tend to use sandpaper and not perfect their technique.

People who have spent $100 (or much more!) on stones will tend to worry a lot more about their technique.

I worry a lot, and check frequently with a 10x loupe. I'll probably get a Norton 4K/8K (and a flattening plate) eventually, just to experiment with.

I'm not "in the razor business" -- I've just hit the magic "7 razors" point. Sandpaper / microabrasives / pasted strop has been a really cheap way to get started, and it's given me several nice blades.

I suspect the "sandpaper vs stone" debate is like the "pasted strop vs finishing stone" debate. It's not quite a 'religious debate', but not many people change their opinions.

Charles

PS -- and in this forum, I'm trying to argue with people who have immensely more experience and skill than I do. So I'd better shut up!

Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

PS -- and in this forum, I'm trying to argue with people who have immensely more experience and skill than I do. So I'd better shut up!

No, don't do that.
We have to laugh at something!

Originally Posted by Utopian

What was the starting condition of the razor? Did it used to shave just fine and now it's not, or did it never shave well? A barber hone is best used for maintaining a previously sharp razor. You should never need to do 60 laps on one.

What is the brand/model of the barber hone? What leads you to believe it to be 8k?

I can answer some of your questions but some I don't know the answers. This particular razor was shave ready, but it was my first razor so of course I thought it was horrible in the beginning. I got a second razor to compare and it was sharper; however, keep in mind by that time my first was dulled through improper stropping.

Both razors were sold as shave ready from whipped dog. The hone I also got from whipped dog and he told me it was 8000 grit. I can go dig up the packaging to let you know the company if you want me to. I know it's "Amalgamite" something something.

Originally Posted by gull

The razor is still pulling. Besides the shave test which leaves my face butchered, what other type of test can I use to make sure my blade is shave ready again? I know about the arm hair test, but none of my razors can cut my arm hair

Do you mean you can't shave arm hair with your razors or are you hovering the blade above the skin ?
Not all hair types are suitable for the hover test but it should shave any arm hair at skin level.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Do you mean you can't shave arm hair with your razors or are you hovering the blade above the skin ?
Not all hair types are suitable for the hover test but it should shave any arm hair at skin level.

It'll shave my hair but with a little effort. What angle should I be keeping the blade at when I'm shaving arm hair? With the spine at a lower angle, it's really hard to cut hair, but when I lift it up, I can cut hair a little easier.

I'll have to try this shaving arm hair thing where the blade is flat on the skin with a couple of my razors. I generally can shave arm hair with my freshly honed pocket knife so I'm not convinced this is a valid test for a razor. Then again, I've never tried shaving with my pocket knive either.

Generally I use the Thumb Pad Test-N-Guess which seems to work OK for me as a predictor of a pretty-much-shave-ready condition.

I"m going to offer an impression here based on my 6 months as a straight shaver and wanna-be honist, who started out doing everything wrong and finally is happy with how it all comes together--razors, honing, stropping, shaving, etc.

First, to Gull (the OP). You're actually making this way too hard. If you get a shave-ready razor from a reputable dealer as it sounds like you have, the first rule is "DON'T DO ANYTHING TO THAT RAZOR THAT ISN"T NECESSARY." Leave the hones alone, leave pastes alone, do nothing but shave and strop.

Second, don't put that nice razor on the strop until you have become confident you are stropping correctly. I have a dull razor I lend to the guys I know around here to practice stropping with so they get the light touch before messing up their razor.

Third--you sound like I was at the start. We want to be doing a lot of stuff--the idea of having a barber hone and just leaving it in the cupboard for 3 months while we just enjoy shaving and light stropping is hard to swallow! I wanted to be honing and stropping and spraying pastes…and just messed up 2 or 3 razors in the process. When Lynn and others say "less is more" that's true for the whole straight-shaving experience.

So here's the plan, which you might already by implementing. If I sound dogmatic here, please forgive me, but I had some painful experiences that taught me some things that now I realize folks were telling me but I just thought I knew better! Once you get your razors back to certain, no-doubt-about-it shave-ready:

• Put that hone away and don't touch it at all until you've logged at least 10-12 shaves, more or less depending on the razor and your beard.
• Put away any pastes or pasted anythings-no shave-ready razor needs to see a pasted anything for many, many shaves.
• Master the plain, unpasted fabric and leather strop. Master it. Light strokes, no nicks or bumps. Practice. Use a butter knife or dull razor but learn to strop light and tight. This is huge. You might want to buy an inexpensive starter like the Filly
• Work on your technique. Our forebears could watch dad or big-brothers shave every day, but not us. That's why YouTube is so great. There are some excellent shaving videos that aren't as good as growing up watching dad do it, but it's something.
• Go Slow. Incrementally expand your shaving, you know this, but it's the truth anyhow and deserves saying. You cannot swallow the whole world in one bite.
• Keep talking to experienced shavers and beginners who are succeeding.
• Do not yield to the temptation to pull out that hone until you have LOTS of shaves on that razor, are absolutely certain your stropping is right, and you know your technique is good and the razor still pulls. Only then, start with 4 strokes, strop and shave. Need more, try 6 strokes. If that doesn't do it, ask around here something isn't right.

Lawson,

Wonderfully sage advice, and well said.

Here is a dumb question. I've seen the Swaty Hones, three lines etc..etc.. Which side does one hone on, the marked side or unmarked side?

Some claim that the imprint side is more fine than the back side. This is described in the product insert for the Swaty Alumin, but I'm not sure if it applies to all Swatys. I have examined over 20 Swatys under a microscope and I have never been able to distinguish any difference between the two sides. I had a conversation with RandyDance062449 recently about this and proposed the theory that because most barber hones were lapped at the factory, then perhaps it was simply the differently coarse lapping material accounted for the difference. He didn't think so.
I have yet to find a Swaty with a discernible difference in grit between the two sides. I'm still looking.