Thread: How to use my Barber's Hone?

Originally Posted by Alembic

Thanks, that was helpful for me as well. I have a nice old Swaty, but have never used it. I go my full set of Naniwas before I got the chance.

But I think it is worth the experimentation to try it so I can speak from an informed voice.

I have a suggestion for you. Pick a razor and hone it on a Swaty using just 4 to 6 strokes. Shave with it in whatever rotation you use but use only the Swaty to maintain that particular razor. This will give you an insight into what men used last century to maintain their razors and will give you a better sense of the quality of the shave that the average man experienced.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I have a suggestion for you. Pick a razor and hone it on a Swaty using just 4 to 6 strokes. Shave with it in whatever rotation you use but use only the Swaty to maintain that particular razor. This will give you an insight into what men used last century to maintain their razors and will give you a better sense of the quality of the shave that the average man experienced.

That's a cool idea and a nice experiment.

Originally Posted by Shoki

That's a cool idea and a nice experiment.

Since you are new, I'll tell my story again...

I started straight shaving about 8 years ago. I lucked out and started with a Swaty and a Carborundum 102, which happen to be two of the best barber hones ever made. I fully honed some of my razors with the Swaty. That means I even set the bevel with the damn thing!

Anyway, for the past eight years, I have maintained some of my razors with nothing barber hones. Even after I found SRP and discovered Nortons, Naniwas, coticules, Eschers, etc., I continued to maintain a set of 7 razors in my locker at the gym. Even though I had hones at home that produced better edges, I continued to maintain my locker razors with just my barber hones. This gave me a means of comparison. I sort of felt that the locker razors were my pure old school razors. They are not as sharp or as comfortable as what I have at home, but I feel that they keep me honest and grounded with the old days.

Thanks for the responses! I'm going to test out my hone this weekend and see how it goes.

EDIT:Oh wait one last question, do I have to tape the spine?

Originally Posted by Utopian

I have a suggestion for you. Pick a razor and hone it on a Swaty using just 4 to 6 strokes. Shave with it in whatever rotation you use but use only the Swaty to maintain that particular razor. This will give you an insight into what men used last century to maintain their razors and will give you a better sense of the quality of the shave that the average man experienced.

Do you mean a razor that was previously shave ready? Bevel set and all?

Originally Posted by gull

Thanks for the responses! I'm going to test out my hone this weekend and see how it goes.

EDIT:Oh wait one last question, do I have to tape the spine?

It depends on how it was honed previously. If it was honed with tape, then touch it up with tape. If not, then don't use tape.

Originally Posted by Alembic

Do you mean a razor that was previously shave ready? Bevel set and all?

Yes. Trust me, you don't want to set a bevel with a Swaty. If it was already shave ready, then you can use the Swaty for indefinite touch ups. If you start with a shave ready razor, then you can use a barber hone as soon as you notice any diminishment in the quality of the shave. Do a few laps on the barber hone, strop, and shave. Repeat as needed to maintain the quality of the shave.

+1 to everything Utopian said....

I too use a Swaty on a regular basis to maintain my "Shave Ready" razors. I use mine dry, that's up to you..To me, it's just easier...You'll be surprised how well they work...Just 3-5 strokes before you shave will keep your razors shave ready. Try doing one razor, as Utopian said, You'll see it will outlast your other razors when it comes time to hone...

Originally Posted by Utopian

It depends on how it was honed previously. If it was honed with tape, then touch it up with tape. If not, then don't use tape.


Yes. Trust me, you don't want to set a bevel with a Swaty. If it was already shave ready, then you can use the Swaty for indefinite touch ups. If you start with a shave ready razor, then you can use a barber hone as soon as you notice any diminishment in the quality of the shave. Do a few laps on the barber hone, strop, and shave. Repeat as needed to maintain the quality of the shave.

I have obviously been neglecting an important piece of equipment in my arsenal.

I just picked out my shave ready Genco to start this with - thanks.

I have two barber hones I especially like, and both are combination hones. One is the "Winner" hone and the folklore on it is that the two sides are roughly in the 3-5K range for the brown side and 8-10K range for the white side. I think of it as a portable, mini-Norton 4K/8K combo.

Then I have a hone that was sold under many name-brands-Dubl Duck, Reliance, Tonsorial Gem, O.V.B. and others. The surface of the hone is slick, and I tend to think of it as more strictly a touch-up hone. Mine happens to be the "Reliance" brand which I like because the brand is not embossed into the surface of the hone, meaning the whole hone is usable.

For lather, if I'm not shaving, I just wet my brush and swish it on the soap a few turns and that's it. Like Utopian said, just enough to break the surface tension of the water.

For fun, here are a couple pics:

Both the Winner and Reliance hones are excellent. Each can produce perfectly good shaving edges.