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

Hey guys,
I have had my straight razor for about a year and have shaved 15-20 times with it. My goal is to shave with it, as a hobby, once a week. However, I have noticed that my "Shave Ready" Dovo from the Art of Shaving is probably not sharp enough to be considered shave ready. It hurts to shave, even with pre-shave lotion. and even after 3 passes I still do not have as close of a shave as I get daily with my safety razor. I think I need to get the razor honed (and I am sure things will get better with practice).

So, do I need to hone it, or just strop the heck out of it? Should I get a finishing hone (If so, can you suggest one for me to buy) or should I just pay someone to hone it for me? I love to learn new skills and save money, but is it worth it for me?

For one razor or three, I suggest sending one at a time to the guys that know how.

In the mean time, learn to strop. Get a Gold Dollar or such an soften what edge there is. Watch videos and practice stropping...in slow motion!.
One of the hardest lessons my students have is to keep the spine on the strop and stop completely before turning the blade for the reverse pass.

If there is a mentor in your area...You did not show your location which makes it hard to be of service, they often are good at honing and if not, again, send it to someone who is or they reccommend.
~Richard

Originally Posted by Geezer

For one razor or three, I suggest sending one at a time to the guys that know how.

In the mean time, learn to strop. Get a Gold Dollar or such an soften what edge there is. Watch videos and practice stropping...in slow motion!.
One of the hardest lessons my students have is to keep the spine on the strop and stop completely before turning the blade for the reverse pass.

If there is a mentor in your area...You did not show your location which makes it hard to be of service, they often are good at honing and if not, again, send it to someone who is or they reccommend.
~Richard

Wise words

I am in Cedar Rapids Iowa

If you are only looking to use the straight razor once a week, then you should be able to go a pretty long time between honing. Considering this, sending it out is actually cheaper too: it might be years before you send the razor out enough times to justify the price of the stones. You might consider getting a barbers hone and/or CrOx (on balsa or an extra strop) to keep the razor "touched up," and then still send the razor out for a proper honing when needed.

Unless you plan on getting a pile of razors the simple math says it's cheaper to send them out. You could also look into a barbers hone for just keeping a nice shave ready condition on a few blades.

When I hone razors for guys just starting out, I always recommend they get a Barber's hone for quick touch ups. There's many out there, but I like Swaty. It'll help out big time in between honings.

Agree With the above.
Get Crox/paste and a cheap extra strop and you dont have to hone nor pay for honing.

Touchup of this kind you can maintain for years.

send it to a pro....period.

Wow! So glad so much basic truth was recorded here!. One razor = one Swaty or one Crox on fabric and strop-a-lot = years of inexpensive maintainence. And do send it to a pro for initial honing.