Thread: Should I hone or pay to hone? A noobs question...

I think u should buy a good finishing hone or a good barber hone for first. With each of them u can keep the blade(s) sharp for a long time...Later u can decide to take aditional hones depends on ur needs....
Good Luck!

Pay someone.

Originally Posted by rickboone

Pay someone.

+1 above.

You won't regret it.....

Learn to refresh first, it will naturally lead to successful honing in the future. You can learn a lot from the pros.

Pay the shipping and I will do it. You need a good shaving razor.

No question about it. Get a pro. I did. Wasn't going to take a chance as a newbie.

I read FIRST SHAVE http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ead-first.html

It states, if you're new, get it done by a pro. I want the challenge and pride in learning so I invested in some basic but necessary equip to learn. But until then... I got a guy to keep my SR super-tuned!

Yeah, there's a couple of ways you can view it.

Initially there's a lot to learn just to get a shave out of a straight razor - shaving technique and stropping technique play a big role there, assuming the razor is correctly honed. And that's the big assumption.

Giving honing a go yourself is a good thing to do, but many people find it a frustrating exercise particularly when their primary focus is using the razor to shave with. This is where sending it out for honing initially can be a great idea. It allows you to simply focus on the shaving and stropping without the extra "is it really honed right?" element added into the mix. There will be time down the track to learn honing.

But then, there are people who wish to be self-sufficient straight away and that is also a very valid point of view to take. But just remember that it will add an extra variable into the mix, and can confound things. For example, was that shave not so good because of your technique, sub-par stropping, or because the edge wasn't hone as well as it could have been? Or, a combination of all?

So, there are the basic pros and cons to consider. The choice is yours of course. But I'd probably side with the majority here and recommend an initial professional hone, and transition into self-honing once you get your shaving down.

James.

From the Master Honemeister:



"Maintaining" a straight razor is not, necessarily, honing it. As Lynn's video on "Refreshing Straight Razors" teaches, you can refresh a properly honed razor for a long, long time, using only hard-wool felt or cotton/linen-web strops (properly treated with diamond spray and chromium oxide). All of which is to say, leave honing and buying stones for much later. What to buy? I (and many others) recommend purchasing an SRD Modular Paddle Strop -- for information about and discussion of (by your fellow SRP members), use this site's Search function, and read, read, read (ask, ask, ask).

I'm still available for a honing lesson in person. Think of all the postage you'll save!

I guess it would all depend on how much of a hobby you want it to become. If your goal is purely to enjoy a shave weekly, I'd send it out. If however, it is a hobby, then I'd say take up Utopian on his offer. Imagine how much more enjoyable a hobby shave would be when YOU were the one to bring that edge up? If it were me, I'd take up Utopian on his offer and see how much time and effort goes into honing/maintaining the edge and go from there. If you like it, pick up a stone or two. If not, at least you know it's not for you and enjoy a great edge from one of the many greats on this site. Until you can meet up with Utopian, I'd jump all over rickboone's offer. gssixgun did that for me when I got my first straight, saved me a lot of pain and suffering while learning. No matter what all this advice says, do what will be the most enjoyable for you in the end. That is, after all, what this whole thing is about.