Thread: Thanks To a Great Member of SRP.

Back in March, I posted a question on how to get my eBay 11/16 Henckels Twinworks 401 to shave more smoothly. I had honed it on a Swaty and although it seemed sharp, it wasn't giving great shaves. I got great advice on how to proceed.

One of the experienced members offered to look at the razor and, if necessary, hone it free of charge. All I needed to do was pay the postage. I would mention his name but he doesn't want to get in the business of honing. You know who you are. THANK YOU!!! When he got the razor, he said a bevel had probably never been set on the razor. He set the bevel and honed it to shave ready condition. He would not accept any payment.

I shaved with it today and it was fantastic. As a Newbie, it confirmed how much difference it makes when the razor is at its optimum. In my ignorance, I would have evaluated the razor as "not very good" when, in fact, it is a superb razor that just needed proper honing. This experience has challenged and inspired me to now explore and learn how to effectively hone my own razors in the future.

I posted this in the General section just to say thank you to all the members of SRP. This site has so many helpful and generous members like the member who helped me solve my problem. I will try to make sure that I PIF.

THANK YOU!

It's great to hear of your experience here on the forums. It re-enforces what many of us here already know. We have the best , most helpful membership anywhere that whats everyone to get the best straight razor knowledge available anywhere. Thanks for sharing your story and thanks to the great member that came to your aide.

Glad to hear of your great experience, there are many folks on this forum who will go above and beyond. I too have been the recepient of such great assistance in regards to time and patience with the sharing of knowledge and the key to keeping this site so wonderful is the Pay It Forward concept. The cool thing is that the person who did PIF gets their payment simply via the satisfaction of hearing that they have been of assistance to someone in need.

Sadly, a properly honed razor, usually by someone with vast experience, is the difference in many people's view on the "quality" of a razor. Most guys, at best, hone the razor, make it sharper, and still don't realize that they are missing the boat. When Arthur Boon stated several years ago that it takes "10 years" to really learn how to hone, I suppose he might have had a point.

All of my razors that I consider good shavers certainly contribute to my problems in understanding why beginners have so much trouble shaving with a straight, wondering if DEs are closer, or asking about things like irritation.

All of my razors that are "shave ready" and still are not PERFECT, contribute to my understanding of why people drop out of straight shaving.

There is no other factor that more directly leads to success.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

When Arthur Boon stated several years ago that it takes "10 years" to really learn how to hone, I suppose he might have had a point.

I had not heard this before, but I also think he was on to something. I honed my razors myself from the start, but luckily I thought I got an acceptable shave right from the beginning. I am getting better at it tho, all the time - so much so that the deciding factor when choosing my favorite razor is "which did I hone last"