I've been something of a lurker on SRP now for a while, and just started with straight razor shaving within the last week or so. Gotten a few nicks, but not letting that stop me. One thing I think I'm running into after reading many of the threads and watching a lot of your youtube videos, is the fact that I don’t think that my razor has quite the right edge. Anyhow, I'm here in Afghanistan now, and rather than go without a razor while mine is off getting honed, I'm looking to attempt honing myself. Rather than ruin what is a decent blade now, I've picked up a few less expensive used razors here and will probably pick up a couple from whippeddog to boot to practice on. I've spent quite a bit of time watching Lynn's honing videos on youtube, as well as other folks, including other members and to be honest, I still don't know which way to go. I'm leaning toward the Naniwa due to how easy it looks, and not having to make a mess with slurries (I'm probably going to do much of my honing at the office since there isn't much room to spread out at "home"), but they are nearly twice the price. For a guy that only knows what he has seen on youtube, do you think it'd really make a difference which way I went? I've already been to a number of sites pricing it all out, and it seems I'm looking at just over 300 bucks for the Naniwas and a nice strop. I'm not too concerned about the price, but I am concerned about what effect heavy dust and extremely dry conditions will have on the strop and the stones. So I guess so sum it up...
What stone(s) do you recommend for beginners?
And what effect is the dry, dusty conditions going to have on my equipment, since there is no possible way to keep the dust out of anything...
