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I recently got my first razor from a relative. It is an older blade, but appears to be in decent condition. It is not shave ready however. Is there someone that can help me with honing in the Dallas area.
Also, being a beginner I am ignorant to many aspects of the process, but is stropping with a paste an alternative to honing or are both methods done from time to time? Thanks guys and happy to be on the forum with you.
One of the Dallas guys will probably send you a "personal message".
Pastes can be used instead of hones. But -- especially at coarser grits -- they tend to round the edge slightly.
At finer grits (1 micron and smaller), they work nicely to polish and smooth out the edge left by a hone.
You don't say whether you've ever shaved with a straight razor before. There's a general piece of advice here:
. . . Don't try to learn to shave, and learn to hone, at the same time, with the same razor.
You're better off learning to shave with a razor which you _know_ is sharp.
. . Charles
Thanks Charles. To clarify, I have never shaved with a straight razor before, nor do I intend on honing and learning to shave at the same time. I would like to acquire a hone in the future, but I agree with you when you say to learn to shave with a blade that is guaranteed to be sharp. Thanks again for the info.
Btw, do you guys recommend maintaining a honed blade with periodic paste stroppings or should I periodically hone, or both?