Thread: Keeping my blade sharp

So, I know many experienced members here hone their own blades, but I have a question for the other noobs: how do you keep your blades sharp?

I've been shaving with my Dovo "Best Quality" 5/8 for a few months and it has just started to tug. I've got some 0.5 diamond spray and a felt strop on the way, but what do you do when it needs more than a 'refresh'?

Do you have a second straight or are you learning to hone your only razor?

-Erik

You can send them to a pro to have them honed, $15-20 and 2-3 weeks, or invest some time and money for a nominal hone set. (You can also have more than one razor, but it could be costly for several new ones. They do have a classifieds on here)
If you are stropping properly, you should get some time on your edge, you said your Dovo is just now getting a little rough after a few months. Not the expert, but stropping will extend the life of your edge. Good luck on stropping, go slow, and read up on the process.

A second razor is a fairly common method, its what I did before I started honing, that way you have one to shave with while you send the other out to be honed. Some diamond or crox used properly would keep your edge going for quite some time however and you may find that a barbers hone or similar finishing hone will soon find its way into your possession as you start getting deeper into this addiction. Just my two cents, if you decide honing isn't for you then I would recommend the two razor method so you always have a sharp one. Have fun and happy shaving

I bought a $5 straight and a $10 strop on eBay to practice (and pretty much destroy) before taking a chance at destroying the edge on my Dovo and that's why I believe it's lasted so long.

Right now, I'm just trying to decide whether I should invest in some honing stones and gamble that I don't destroy my only razor or buy a second and let a pro bring back my edge to its full potential.

One thing that intrigued me when I was looking for my straight was the deal that WhippedDog.com has going where you can send them $7 and they'll send you a straight to practice honing on and then, when you finish you send it back to him and he emails you feedback on how you did. This would probably only be useful if you already have a honing set though, but would be useful nonetheless.

I have a quick question:

Does/should one use pastes/sprays on leather or canvas and why -- what difference does it make?

Originally Posted by Erikisadangertohimself

So, I know many experienced members here hone their own blades, but I have a question for the other noobs: how do you keep your blades sharp?

I've been shaving with my Dovo "Best Quality" 5/8 for a few months and it has just started to tug. I've got some 0.5 diamond spray and a felt strop on the way, but what do you do when it needs more than a 'refresh'?

Do you have a second straight or are you learning to hone your only razor?

-Erik

If you have only one razor and intend to stay that way investing in a touch up hone may be the way to go as it will prolong the period between needing a re-hone. I would also consider buying another shave ready razor - some are as little as $30 on the classified section so that you have a replacement for when your Dovo is away.

Originally Posted by PigHog

I have a quick question:

Does/should one use pastes/sprays on leather or canvas and why -- what difference does it make?

Paste and sprays contain abrasives that will refresh an edge that's become dulled through use. There's lots of information about the pros and cons of various types but remember you can only use one type on a strop - once it's on, you can't use a different type so there is an investment in strops.

Personally I made the investment of buying the naniwa hone set from srd right away. I have Mondays off so that would be my project... Sit at the table and watch YouTube videos on Honing and copying them. I dealt with my bad work and after about 4 or 5 Mondays something just clicked and all of a sudden I was able to pop hairs on my forearm so much I looked like I had mange. Now when I need a refresh I try to strop it a bit more first, then if that doesn't work I pull out the naniwa 12k and give it 5 or 6 strokes and strop 30,60.

While most people seem to dislike the idea of honing their own razor right away, especially with their only/super nice razor, I actually kinda liked the learning curve. The rough shaves led me to appreciate my growing honing skills and when I got better I felt a lot more pride of ownership. And I did it all with my first and best razor because even if I did scratch it up a bit, me and the old girl would have some memories down the road.

Fairly new at this myself...maybe 2 months in. I took the plunge and bought the Naniwa Super Stones, 1k,5k,8k,12k from SRD. I watched Lynn's video on said stones and honed a near wedge to shave ready...and wedges aren't the easiest to hone. The 12k should be all you need to keep a razor with a proper bevel sharp, for a long time. I admit, it took me 3-4 tries to get it right and there is always room for improvement. Also ggsixguns has some great honing videos. Happy shaves.

This will tell you all you need:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/video...our-razor.html