Thread: A razor to learn to hone with

It hasn't been long since I started shaving with a straight, much less since I started honing razors for myself, so I don't have ton of wisdom to bestow on anyone just yet. One thing, though, that there seems to be a lot of lately are threads in which someone posts that they intend to learn to hone using a razor that is less than ideal for the purpose, probably a vintage razor that has seen better days. The idea is that there's no harm if they mess the razor up. A couple things that you should know:

You shouldn't expect to ruin a razor learning to hone. It's possible, but so was badly cutting yourself when you started shaving, and you managed to learn enough from this site to avoid that, right? So read some more and watch some more videos and don't expect to ruin your razor.

Cheap vintage eBay razors are not cheap just because they need honed. Learning how to hone is not about learning how to grind back bad spots on the edge and hone out chips. These things can be learned once you know you can put that edge back on, which is not the same thing as touching up your razor.

I'm not saying don't try. A lot of guys get bent out of shape because they think more experienced guys here are telling them not to try. Just try on a razor that only needs honed, rather than trying to hone a razor that needs significant restoration work.

Pick a razor that's reasonably easy to hone. Buying that big worn Sheffield wedge that you want to restore is not the best place to start. A hollow-ground 5/8 with the name of an old hardware store on it is more up your alley, assuming it's in decent shape. If you don't know how to tell what decent shape is, read more before you buy.