Thread: Why Beginners Shouldn't Try To Hone

Gugi - you know, it's funny, I love to hone. I have to be [so] careful not to always jump the gun and prematurely hone my razors. But I really hate - and I mean HATE - stropping; [almost] always doing the minimum of 50 laps, and only occasionally doing the recommended 100. It's also the pasted stropping I enjoy as well. It's the leather at the end that just drives me crazy. And, don't know why...can't explain it.

oh, I know why - you just need some good stropping, that's all

If I recall, you're really into the "finishing" aspect - correct? Myself, I can hone all day long. I love trying different techniques. I'm envious that someone like Lynn has had the pleasure of honing somewhere in the many (40,000?) thousands of razors. Then again, maybe I should probably walk a mile or three in his moccasins before making that statement. He's probably sick to death of it by now.

Me, no not really. That's the simplest and easiest part, that's why I think beginners without masochistic tendencies should start by touching up their razors and build on that tackling progressively more difficult tasks.
Most of the time I've spend honing has been fixing the messed up edges and sometimes the rotten steel from previous incompetent honing and care. But that's because I like vintage razors and sometimes it's pretty hard to get my favorites in great condition.
Once the foundation is set taking the razor up the grits is simple, straightforward and quick no matter if it's via hone progression or slurry dilution, as long as you have a bit of experience.

Originally Posted by cflaageriv

[almost] always doing the minimum of 50 laps, and only occasionally doing the recommended 100.

Who's recommending 100 (per side?) on a strop?
I strop mostly on a hard-backed strops and 15 per side is about all I need. (5 on diamond, 5 on chrome, 5 on plain leather.)
I only strop before shaving and when I'm in a hurry I'll just do 5 on the leather with no problem.

Originally Posted by xuz

Who's recommending 100 (per side?) on a strop?
I strop mostly on a hard-backed strops and 15 per side is about all I need. (5 on diamond, 5 on chrome, 5 on plain leather.)
I only strop before shaving and when I'm in a hurry I'll just do 5 on the leather with no problem.

I can tell you/promise you that your edges will not last very long.

Why? You aren't stropping after the shave, so your edge is going to have micro-crud on the edge & is going to cause the edge to oxidize...I don't care if it's a stainless blade.

For me (after seeing what the least I could get by with) I strop about 40x after a shave & 60x before the shave. These are my minimums. This combination works for "ME" and all of the various razors in my rotation.

You had better get to stropping or learn to touch up a razor with your current method...

Originally Posted by xuz

Who's recommending 100 (per side?) on a strop?
I strop mostly on a hard-backed strops and 15 per side is about all I need. (5 on diamond, 5 on chrome, 5 on plain leather.)
I only strop before shaving and when I'm in a hurry I'll just do 5 on the leather with no problem.

well 20/50 linen/leather is a great before the shave routine. Using pasted strops before every shave is not really the best of practices and stropping after a shave I've never been convinced it is needed or even worthwhile doing if you dry your razor on a towel or tissue.
If your blades are new or recently restored then you can start off just learning how to touch up with say just one stone and slowly build into a honing arsenal, but some want it all now so let them. the learning curve for the impatient is longer than that of the patient man.
and if a new guy buy $6k in fancy unneeded stones and razors and decides that they are too difficult to master we might lose a member and there will be a bunch of discounted hones for sale or he could put them all aside learn to use a finisher and acquire patience and be all the better for it.

{syslight} Well, I think I've tried it all ways; i.e., just 50/100 linen to leather; then paste every time; you name it, I've tried it. About the only thing I do routinely every time is, after I wipe down a razor following a shave, I always run it about 20-30 times on the linen before storing it. And, of course, the older I get, the less likely I am to remember if indeed it has been through the whole stropping routine. But another thing I will point out - and I think most will agree - is that 100 laps on the strop (done properly, of course) will invariably produce a super smooth(er) shave. But, like most lazy people out there, I often settle for 50 - - and that's my bare minimum. And, I absolutely agree with shooter74743, that's the recommended amount of stropping...and it's for a reason.

Originally Posted by cflaageriv

{syslight} Well, I think I've tried it all ways; i.e., just 50/100 linen to leather; then paste every time; you name it, I've tried it. About the only thing I do routinely every time is, after I wipe down a razor following a shave, I always run it about 20-30 times on the linen before storing it. And, of course, the older I get, the less likely I am to remember if indeed it has been through the whole stropping routine. But another thing I will point out - and I think most will agree - is that 100 laps on the strop (done properly, of course) will invariably produce a super smooth(er) shave. But, like most lazy people out there, I often settle for 50 - - and that's my bare minimum. And, I absolutely agree with shooter74743, that's the recommended amount of stropping...and it's for a reason.

To be honest, i almost never count the laps when stropping, i just stand there and strop for a while about a minute between the 2 sides... that and it works well for me and has for quite a while. i tell people 20/50 because they like numbers and if they do not have a minimum count they will try and find it.

like many things regarding shaving the things we learn when we start out are the habits we tend to keep, i strop the way i do because that is how my my dad did, and he probably learned it from his dad. i know i strop more than the barber does when i used to get a shave... he was a 10/20 stropper if that much but he
always used a coticule before the strop.

perhaps i should go away again, you lads had "discovered" lots of new things about razors and shaving in the last couple of years, stropping regimens, dulling the edge on a glass before honing, wales is in the thuringian region of germany and who know what else.

YMMV,
jim

Way to scare off a noob,thanks guys!Maybe you forgot what this forum is about.