Thread: What kind of hone?

Originally Posted by funklab

Thanks for the reply mark.

Did you find it very difficult to learn to hone?

What was difficult for me was getting my hone flat to begin with, and after that trying to figure if I was making any progress.

I had to lap my stone 3 times before the pencil marks came off in an even manner. Before that there was a slight hill in the center, which meant that I could get all the pencil marks off, but it still wasn't flat.

Honing wise, it wasn't hard. I just read the wiki and did what it said. No pressure, X strokes, watch the water (this is what gave me the first clue that my stone wasn't flat after my first lapping.)

What was difficult was that the 12k is so fine, it didn't feel like I was doing anything. Thinking about it again, I think the norton 4k/8k would be a better choice to start out. 8k is already polishing level, and 12k so much finer its hard to say if I was doing much. I ended up doing about 30 strokes before stopping. It did shave much better afterward, so that was satisfying.

Originally Posted by funklab

I have been stropping before and after shaving, though my technique could still use a lot of improvement.

I have an irrational distaste for pastes... something I cannot really justify in my head, it just seems to go against my theology of straight shaving. It just seems somehow.... not pure... I know it doesn't make any sense, but I feel like pastes are kind of cheating. Perhaps in the future I will change my mind though....

Hey, that's what makes the world go around, differences of opinions. I used to shave for the most part with my dominant hand and started to think I was "cheating" by not learning to use my left hand. I can now shave with both hands. I don't feel any different inside so... Anyhow, whatever gives you the edge you want is what is important.

As an aside, what appeals to me about str8 razor shaving is how we all bring our individuality to the task(s). If we all thought and did the same thing, Lynn would probably have no reason to keep SRP up and running. Happy Shaving.