Thread: honemeisters getting it shave ready... time?

I was always wondering. How long does it take for a honemeister to get a razor shave ready. Is it 2-4 hours, 4-6... how much? Days, weeks? I know it depends on the razor but lets talk about the average time.

And I'm talking about normal and new razors (like you get in a shop not e-bay).

Good razor, no problems . . . 1/2 hour. Testing, backlog, mailing, etc. adds time as well.

Ebay razors often have some problem, somewhere; requiring diagnosis and fixing.

Turn around times are usually 2-3 weeks, even though that wasn't your question.

If a razor has reasonable bevels and no edge danage, it can be as quick as 1/2 hour, or even less if it is already close to sharp.

But if it is damaged, then all bets are off and it can take several hours of hard work

Rehoning a razor with no damage from the 1000 grit-hone up takes around 1/2 of an hour. But then there are razors with chips or steel one has to experiment with with different hones to "get there", these take a little to considerably longer.

If you are talking actual time working on the blade, it can be as little as 5 minutes for a really simple touchup...
A new razor that has never been sharpened can take anywhere from 15 minutes to over an hour depending on how well the razor was made.
I just honed a beautiful double duck for a member here, it took me nearly 3 hours to get several very small chips out of the blade. The blade was very hard steel, and my 1k hone just didn't want to scratch it.

On average a new (good) Wapi will take me 30 minutes. Not counting stropping testing and sterilization. a poorly ground Wapi can take much longer.
A good Dovo or TI can take around the same time... average about maybe 20 minutes.

But keep in mind this is actual hone time, not counting all the other stuff we have to do to the blades.
It's not unusual for me to give an old blade a quick polish, and tighten pins.
sometimes a blade may feel right in honing, but not pass a test shave, and you have to take it back and adjust it.
followed by more cleaning, oil etc...

Hmmmmm I really shy away from answering questions like these, I always worry that some New guy out there is thinking well heck I honed for 1 hour so it should be sharp ......
I'm going to answer in a little different way, From a nice sticky sharp bevel to shave ready about 20 min....
Getting a razor to that nice sticky sharp bevel???????????????????????????????? That's the work, it could take 20 laps, it could take 100's of laps, it might take circles, it might take rocking stokes, or swooping strokes, or a few other techniques to finally get to a nice sharp bevel....

Also one other point, time is relative to how fast you hone, it's the lap count that really matter's, after going to the NC meet up I saw that new guys on the hone go way slower then experienced people... 20 laps to me, and 20 laps to you, are two totally different times.....

+1 Glen

It is also relative to the varied degrees of pressure applied to the blade on the hone.

20mins of x-pressure might be 30mins of y-pressure

Originally Posted by gssixgun

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That's the work, it could take 20 laps, it could take 100's of laps, it might take circles, it might take rocking stokes, or swooping strokes, or a few other techniques to finally get to a nice sharp bevel....

Would you explain "Rocking Strokes" and "Swooping Strokes"
Thanks,
Steve

Originally Posted by zepplin

Would you explain "Rocking Strokes" and "Swooping Strokes"
Thanks,
Steve

I could type for an hour and never explain it right, Check out Heavyduty's 9 part honing video on here, he does a great job of showing a lot of this...
Also Steve yer close enough to me that we should get together and I'll just show ya... Hmmmmmm maybe a Pacific NW "Gathering" between WA ID OR there might be enough interest...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I could type for an hour and never explain it right, Check out Heavyduty's 9 part honing video on here, he does a great job of showing a lot of this...
Also Steve yer close enough to me that we should get together and I'll just show ya... Hmmmmmm maybe a Pacific NW "Gathering" between WA ID OR there might be enough interest...

I have a good idea on the "terms" except for a "swooping stroke"? That's Okay, though. I no doubt use it, but just didn't know the name. Everything I sharpen comes through Ebay. Most of the time there is not problem and I consider myself very successful honing Ebay razors, but every once in a while, I'll get a razor that has unique problems that requires me to do some gymnastics in regard to technique, strokes, pressure, etc., etc.. these that you mentioned, probably fit in to that category.

BTW, I got a lot out of that video! Well, I naturally was familiar with most of everything that took place on the video, but there were a couple of Allen's techniques that has helped me tremendously. It had to do with the speed of my strokes and this has helped me duplicate my "up" stroke with my "down" stroke + for some reason it has improved my edges and the quality of my bevels tremendously. Of course, all this came along when I switched to the Shapton on glass system and put in a Japanese finishing stone( a Maruichi Nakayama), which has really made the difference between night and day with my edges. Probably a combination of all of the above is what has made such an improvement in the quality of my razors' edges! Sorry to go on and on - I will do that. (don't get me started on the quality of music appreciation, and today's young people )

* A N.W. get together would be really cool. I live in a tiny house that doesn't have the space for a get together. it's a great idea, though. Maybe we can pursue this idea.

Steve