Thread: Best Tips

I extracted this "tip" from the honing demo Dylan gave at the recent NYC meet. Dylan went from setting the bevel up through a finishing stone, and we all had a chance to feel the edge each stone put on the razor. This made the learning curve so much steeper, at least for me, and I would suggest anyone new to honing watch an experienced person hone a razor and feel the edge along the way.

The tip is, you have to "calibrate" the way a razor feels when you cut arm hair off of each stone. (Or in my case leg hair.) Each stone will cut a little different, and if you pay attention you can feel it. Without this, it'll be tough to know when to move to a higher grit because in my limited experience, the numbers game won't work the same on every razor, or even the whole edge on the same razor. Having a way to test the edge is tremendously helpful.

As I hone, I'll cut a few leg hairs to see if the edge I get off a particular stone is even across the edge and if it's "right." I doubt anyone can really explain this since everyone's hairs are different, so you really should just learn what works on your hairs and gets you the shave you want.

Hollow Ground razors rock.

Dont cheap out on your soap/cream. A bad lather will cause you to have a bad shave from a lynn honed livi at the end of the rainbow.

Yup. Just like with shave ready, it's good to have references. At the bevel level, this is particularly important.

If you can't sit down with an experienced honer, I think the best way to see if you are getting the most out of a razor is to try cutting arm hair, do 15 more X's on the hone and try again. If you get an improvement, do some circles and X's or even just some X's, then test again. Keep repeating till you have no more improvement.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Too many people keep buying ever more expensive and often finer hones thinking it will make attaining a good edge easier. It becomes a crutch after a while and in the end you never really master anything (but you have a nice collection).

Hmm, so does that make your handle a cautionary tale?

I would agree, with one addition: I've realized that one reason that having several of something (razor, strop, hone) helps is precisely so that you can isolate what comes from your technique and what from the tool. For instance, how can I know whether I like my W&B Bow Razor better than my Utica Red Point because it is only a 1/4 hollow, or because of something else (the honing, the steel, the weight, etc) unless I have other razors to help isolate different factors. And soemtimes a new hone *can* be a revelation : "Wow! I thought I just had to sweat and moan for weeks, but all I needed was this Magic Stone!" Partly I feel this is a product of the fact that you *have* to learn by doing, and taking the advice and preferences of others (while invaluable) can only take you so far.

Certainly as you amass more and more razors you find certain razors seem to do better on certain hones and differing types of steel also do better on certain honing mediums. But in general I was talking about the average Joe who has just a few razors and is figuring out how to hone them and doesn't bother to really learn to use what he has before moving on.

Actually for a few years I had only one hone and that was a Norton 4K/8K and it was only as I started getting more razors that I acquired more. I had a bunch of barber hones but I never used them and eventually gave away all but one.

The best way to learn is to try it. Be prepared to make mistakes.
(this applies more to honing and restoration than to shaving, as shaving mistakes are paid for with blood)

Obviously reading and having an idea of what you're doing is a wonderful thing, but nothing beats experience. Learn from every mistake, ask what you did wrong, and how you can do it better the next time. I've screwed up all kinds of stuff on my short journey thus far, but feel like every mistake I've made has been a learning experience.

Never place a razor down on a hard surface without first fully closing it or at least closing it into V shape. A fully open razor inevitably finds something to contact.
One of Murphy's laws

My tip is when you try to hone razors you should lap your hones often. Between every razor you hone you should give the hone a few laps to clean off the black stuff. This becomes a lot easier when you use a lapping plate instead of a plate of glass and wet n dry paper.

Buying Lynns Vidio The World Of Straight Shaving .Especially The Shave Part. When I First Started Using A Straight Razor I Didnt Have A Clue About Straight Razors It Really Helped Alot

How did that Kenny Rogers' song go? "Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run" As an apprentice honer like myself, it's probably good advice that one should realize when the challenges presented by a recalcitrant razor are best left to the "fold 'em and walk away" method.

I'm currently in the process of doing just that before I wear the darned thing to a continuing non-shaivng nubbin. Dunno what I'm doing (that is all too obvious), but I will try my strokes on some other blades to see if it mostly is I or mostly that fine piece of steel, or maybe mostly both.

Thanks, Kenny, for that sound advice. (and he has a beard)