Having your razor honed by a professional

Hello all,

When I have send my razors to hone I have been asked how do I want my razors hone.

All I can think of answering is "shave ready please"!

What are my choices?

Any help on this will be greatly appreciated!​

I think they're asking if you want them to tape the spine.

Well, shave ready would be the main goal:)

I suppose what the honer is asking is if you have any preferences when it comes to sharpness/crispiness in feel versus smoother and perhaps not all that lethally sharp.

Different finishers yield a somewhat different feel for the experienced user, and I reckon that's what he is asking, if you have any preferences in that regard.

If you don't, go with sharp!!

Also, might he be asking if you want him to use tape to protect the spine?

If I hone for other people, the first question I ask is "do you want tape", so that is probably what they are asking.

When I send them out,(mine only go to the best of the best) How they get honed is left up to them,never a disapointment.

Definitely ask the "Honer" what he means. Of course you want it shave ready, that goes without saying. Some offer a choice of finishers, I.E. Jnat, Escher, Shapton, etc...that may be what he's talking about.

Find out if he uses tape or not. That way you'll know when comes to touch ups. It's more personal preference when it comes to tape then anything else.

On a personal note, I prefer the edge off an Escher, To me, it's buttery smooth, not harsh at all. Some guys find pastes to leave a harsh, but extremely sharp edge. Some don't like .25 diamond paste at all.

Just some examples....

I do have them label which are taped and which are not for the reason zib states.
Until I become a proficiant Honer (two yrs in,several more to Go I think),will let the pros decide whats best for each razor.
No two are the same.

What Is the purpose of taping?

Mainly, to protect the spine from hone wear. Some people put tape on for only the final passes, so your shaving edge has a secondary bevel. If the blade was honed on tape, you'll want to do any touch-up honing with the same number of tape layers. You do not, however, need tape to strop a blade that was honed on tape.

Tape is most commonly used on wedge blades, to lift the spine up just a little and keep the bevel (the sharpened area) as narrow as possible. This saves a lot of time and a fair amount of metal.

This is the kind of info that attracted me to SRP in the first place!