Printable View
It was recommended that I re-post this question as a poll. So the question is, how many straight users also hone their own blades? Now I'm separating honing for the purposes of maintaining their own blades versus restoration (they are different beasts).
- I send my blades elsewhere for honing (I am new to the hobby and not ready yet)
- I send my blades elsewhere for honing (I am seasoned - just choose not to hone)
- I hone my own blades for maintenance
- I hone my own blades as well as restore them
You forgot the voting poll tho
;)
lol - you were way too fast. I was just filling in the poll details as you replied :) It's a two step process.Quote:
Originally Posted by aespo
haha - oh man you guys are too fast.Quote:
Originally Posted by gssixgun
Yes we are :)Quote:
Originally Posted by EggSuckingLeech
Although I have a 12k grit stone I touch my blades up on, from time to time I voted for option two. Like many things in life I find interesting, I must weigh out what hobbys and interests I collect.
Well I don't want to get ticky tacky with an answer but after almost 4 months of doing this..I honed my first razor just the other night from an ebay pick up. I am waiting to get a decent stubble to try it out to see how the shave test works. I will be maintaining my own hopefully from here on in.
I have a Norton 4K/8K stone but I will wait until a while before I try my hand in honing. For now I will send my razors off to be honed professionally. I did buy a couple of inexpensive but decent quality razors to practice honing on when the time comes. I eventually want to get into making scales and reconditioning.
I maintain my own blades. I started with just a Naniwa 12k and thought that's all I need because I'm not going to set a bevel. Then one day I noticed I had a Naniwa 5, 8, 10 & 12k. What happened?!!! ;) I'm thinking I won't go any lower than the 5k for awhile. I just finished my first 5 & 8k pyramid yesterday and that's all I need to sharpen a blade in good condition. Any lower than that I feel like you are doing Bevel work and I'm not ready for that yet. I also bought a Swaty but haven't had a chance to use it yet.
I voted yes....however there is a caveat! I have only started recently....but only with cheap razors. I bought quite a few GDs. Terrible QC, but the steel is ok, and it is certainly good enough for me to learn with. I trashed one with my first attempt but was successful with the second. The razor gives a really good shave ...although just a little harsher than my professionally honed razors. Once I gain some consistency and learn to polish the edge to a higher degree I intend to put my more expensive steel to stone.
I maintain my own blades, but I have restored a few edges. Only just a few though, so even though I know I have the skill to restore, to a point, I answered maintaining my own, as that is all I really aspire to doing.
Mick
I restore my own razors. But I only buy razors that need minimal restoration. I like the rustic look (maybe I'm lazy) and so don't spend days polishing. I have tried this in the past and I don't have the time. But for every new razor I buy I reset the bevel to overcome problems like rust, pitting, and chips.
Also, living in a cash money situation I can't afford to pay anyone to do it for me, so I have to do it myself.
I made what was a tough decision for me when I started. I told myself that "You aren't going to shave with a straight unless you maintain them."
I do not work well with my hands so that was a pretty important decision. I thought I was going to risk ruining them because I took a metal shop class in junior high school and couldn't make the class project (I studied extra hard for the written tests so I could pass!) When my first couple of razors needed attention, I put it off and bought a couple more vintage razors. Then I said that I can't keep on doing this.
The World of Straight Shaving DVD gave me the confidence to try. It presented honing in a non-threatening manner, as something that even I could do. That's the reason why I recommend that new people get this video. It's not to brown nose Lynn Abrams. It is because it gives you an awareness of everything involved. If you know what you're getting into, and it looks like something even a clumsy person like me can do, the apprehension is removed and you can do it. So I started doing it myself and nothing feels better than getting a great shave from a razor you sharpened up yourself.
Down the road I did a few honings that didn't result in the kind of shave I anticipated. That's where this forum comes in. You can ask questions and try something that people with a lot of experience recommend.
Getting a great hone job from one of the people who offer their services in the Classified section is a great teaching tool, but for me, shaving this way required that I learn to at least know how to maintain my own blades.
It's the challenges and feelings of accomplishment that keep straight razor shaving exciting and something I never get tired of doing. This is the definitive site for straight razor shaving.
I voted for the fourth option in the poll. For the most part, I'm only interested in maintaining the blades, but there have been a few occasions where I bought a used razor (from sites like ebay) that required me to start all over and bring it to shave ready status from scratch. And I did it!
I maintain my blades only, on a 12K shapton pro and on to an Escher.
Even If I do a resto or re-scale on a perfect blade (as far as geometry) I send them to a pro one time.
Once the bevels are set properly,IMO it is very simple to maintain them I feel perhaps forever barring no accidents or damage occurs.