Thread: Honing advice in NYC/NJ

I'm visiting NYC from Iowa-y and I was wondering if there are any old hands who'd like to give a newbie some tips on honing.

I brought along a few of my razors and hones for the trip. A funny story: a Simpsons brush was in my carry-on and they thought it was a bottle full of liquid (or plastic explosive) so I had to go through the scanner four times as they selectively removed fountain pens and hard disks from my carryon -- I was waiting for the increasingly flustered TSA agent to tell me a fountain pen was a weapon, but it turned out to be the brush that was causing all the trouble!

The equipment I have is:

1 WB razor and 2 Polish practice razors
1 Polish 4k grit black slate hone
1 Polish Arkansas stone 6-8k grit
1 Swaty barbers hone (not sure if I should lap this or not)
diamond pasted and regular strops

If there's anyone around I'd love to meet and get some tips. I did a good job on the first polish razor I tried, but the one I'm working on now (trying to use a pyramid and fewer strokes) just isn't getting sharp.

Also I've never been able to get a HHT, though my razors will slice a hair just fine, with a little tink sound.

Anyone?

(I'm in Jersey City, a 15 minute ride from NYC, but anywhere in NJ is also fine.)

If I were you I would look at the googlemap on the SRP homepage and see who lives in the area that you will be visiting (there looks to be several members from my quick glance). Then you can send some of the members a pm or email. I am sure that several people would be more than willing to help you out.

The pyramid method that you are describing was devised to be used with the 4K/8K Norton, not the polish hones that you have. It could take a long time to get a razor shave ready using just those stones because they cut MUCH slower than the Norton. When people use barber hones or natural stones they usually don't do a pyramid, they move from the lower grit stones to the higher grit stones. Only experience can tell you when it is time to move to the next level.

I live in Queens and work in Manhattan. I would love to help however I am a sporatic honer. I wouldn't unfortunately be much help. I have been doing this for 2 1/2 years but smetimes it works and sometimes not so well.

thanks sarge. I think Lynn's DVD and a Norton are the next steps for me. I live out in Iowa where there aren't any members so thought I'd get help while I was here. I honed my first razor on the arkansas and polish slate, just by feel and got it shaving sharp for a comfortable shave. Not as sharp as my others, but it was my first. I had wondered why the pyramid was so few strokes!

richz, thanks for the offer. may I ask what hones you use? I go to Jamaica to visit some friends in Queens, so perhaps that could work.