Thread: Honing Help.

Hi guys, if I want to learn honing would a flea market offer me a cheap avenue of picking up old straight razors that are dull and could use a hone. I have a DMT 325 as a lapping stone. I also have acquired a 600/1200 DMT for bevel setting. I have also picked up a 4/8k combo cuticle with BBW on one side and the famous COticule on the other. In theory I could bring a razor to shave ready correct? I have no experience what so ever in honing but would like to take it up to sharpen my own razor and eventually any one who needs it in my area. What are your thoughts and opinions I don't want to use it on the razor I am using now because I am learning to strop and shave with it and wouldn't benefit from over honing or damaging my edge with improper technique. Should I start out with pocket knives or anything. I don't want to rush into it but it would give me another hobby while I was waiting for my beard to grow back. Thanks guys!

Thank you for posting your location!
The best you could do is find a mentor or a shaver from the group near to you. Even a couple hours drive is worth the trip! Hands on is the best honing help and will save many hours of not being able to tell if you are doing it right. These folks have been there and done that and like to help other folks!
SRP Staff - Straight Razor Place Forum
~Richard

Finding straight razors are a 'Hit & Miss" in most all locations , other than Ebay or a retailer. Our flea markets are a miss 95% of the time, antique stores are an option, so is our classified section. Inexpensive , good razors come through the classified section daily. Pick one that you can afford & use it to practice your honing skills on,,, just take your time & expect that razor to be the next razor in your rotation. The razor that you pick, from wherever, may not need the bevel set,,,, each razor that you get is an individual, examine it , then decide on what path to take in honing it.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

Hi guys, if I want to learn honing would a flea market offer me a cheap avenue of picking up old straight razors that are dull and could use a hone. I have a DMT 325 as a lapping stone. I also have acquired a 600/1200 DMT for bevel setting. I have also picked up a 4/8k combo cuticle with BBW on one side and the famous COticule on the other. In theory I could bring a razor to shave ready correct? I have no experience what so ever in honing but would like to take it up to sharpen my own razor and eventually any one who needs it in my area. What are your thoughts and opinions I don't want to use it on the razor I am using now because I am learning to strop and shave with it and wouldn't benefit from over honing or damaging my edge with improper technique. Should I start out with pocket knives or anything. I don't want to rush into it but it would give me another hobby while I was waiting for my beard to grow back. Thanks guys!

I have a few questions for you. First, do you know what you should be looking for in a flea market razor? That is a whole different kettle of fish, you could spend a lot more money buying useless razors that wouldn't benefit you one bit. Even buying cheap Gold Dollars can be and is a crap shoot not knowing what to look for as far as flaws in the grind and such. You should become more knowlegeable about how a SR is designed and the different types before going out and buying the first ones you find in an antique store.

Second, how long have you been straight razor shaving? Have you mapped your face so that you know how the hair grows? How well do you lather? What is your stropping "technique" doing to your razor?

You have told us about the stones that you have but absolutely nothing about your shaving experience unless I have missed it in another thread or something. My recommendation then would be to focus on the shaving part, get the stropping, lathering and shaving down pat first before even thinking about honing. As 10pups said, find a mentor near you and get together with him to learn the first part and then work slowly into honing. I'm not trying to be negative, I just want you to be successful in your endeavor and jumping into the deep end before learning how to swim is a BIG leap. Take a few baby steps to build up the confidence before moving on to the larger tasks.

I don't get out very often. So I have over time learned to shop eBay and watch and see what is going on. It took me a long time and a lot of watching to get a nice razor that I was certain only needed a little cleaning and had no obvious issues. I read a lot here and looked at thousands of razors and picked at the details and watched the prices. Eventually I bought and have built a nice little collection and have learned to hone. This all went on over quite a bit of time. That is kind of where I'm going. I doubt that there is a magic place to always be able to find quality blades for small price tags. If you check the flea markets and antique stores and put the time in you will find the good values on good razors. That also works with eBay. Richard made a post recently about he had been cultivating a deal for three years to get specific razors at the deal he wanted. I think if you hang out and do some research here and look for some razors eventually you will find what you are looking for. I think you should look, but don't be hasty. I am a firm believer in learning to hone on quality razors. They are out there in the $30 to $50 range that are nice razors from quality manufacturers. Those are good practice razors. I don't recommend buying junky razors or razors from companies that are known to be of unpredictable quality. Learn with a sound blade with good geometry. You may also want to change up your hones a little before you start. A 1K hone would be a big advantage. They other approach to learning to hone is to come at it from the other side. You begging with quality shave ready razors and learn to touch them up and over time get a title better and work your way down to the more tricky job of bevel setting and up the hone ladder. The advantage of the second route is you get the smaller jobs behind you and get a little muscle memory going on. Finding a mentor would be boss! Attending a meet or two would elevate your learning at an amazing rate. There are a lot of options, but go slow, remember the journey!

I would be looking for a blade that is not frowning or pitted, rusted or cracked. I could buy a GD since I shave with one now as I haven't got a better one. I have only been shaving for less then a week with one. I do know how my hair grows I had time to do a lot of research before my blade arrived. I lather pretty well I learned a lot from reading the posts in our library here on SRP. I strop properly according to the articles here and watching youtube videos. I am not the greatest at shaving but as with anything you get better with practice. I just wanted to hone to give me something to do. I was asking for a future reference because I will be able to leap a shave ready blade with just my strop for a long time. I just want to be prepared for when the time comes.

RezDog you are a genius. Instead of working my way from the bottom to the top. Work my way from top to bottom. Just doing little touch ups and then working on bevel setting. I will keep an eye on ebay as well. Great advice as always

I presume that you are in Burlington. There are quite a few members out your way and there are get togethers and meets. I understand your ambition, and I think you should meet some of the other guys and find a comfortable path.
SRP Staff - Straight Razor Place Forum
Look at the mentor list and find one close to you and private message them.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

I would be looking for a blade that is not frowning or pitted, rusted or cracked. I could buy a GD since I shave with one now as I haven't got a better one. I have only been shaving for less then a week with one. I do know how my hair grows I had time to do a lot of research before my blade arrived. I lather pretty well I learned a lot from reading the posts in our library here on SRP. I strop properly according to the articles here and watching youtube videos. I am not the greatest at shaving but as with anything you get better with practice. I just wanted to hone to give me something to do. I was asking for a future reference because I will be able to leap a shave ready blade with just my strop for a long time. I just want to be prepared for when the time comes.

RezDog you are a genius. Instead of working my way from the bottom to the top. Work my way from top to bottom. Just doing little touch ups and then working on bevel setting. I will keep an eye on ebay as well. Great advice as always

They say that "practice makes perfect" but I disagree with that saying because if your practice is not correct then it will not be perfect only "perfect" practice makes perfect. Before you delve into honing a razor you need to find out what a perfectly honed razor is like, needless to say, your GD is not perfect unless it was purchased from a vendor that takes the time to correct the inherent flaws that they posses. I would suggest that you purchase, if funds are available, a shave ready razor from one of the members here in the vendors section to see what a truly honed razor is like. If you would care to, PM me and I will see about sending you a razor that I have honed for comparison to the GD you now have. You will prevail even if I have to come up to Canada and kick you in the butt to do so.

+1 on all the advice... the only problem with working from the top down is not knowing if the bevel was properly set and how - with tape or without? Also, I find that razors take a "shape" depending on who hones them - everyone has a different stroke and while the geometry of the razor mostly dictates the bevel, different honing styles can also affect the shape and profile of the edge.

I think the coticule has to go on the back burner for now - even if you lucked out and got a decent one, it takes a skilled and experienced honer to learn how to use one effectively. You're much better off with standard, off the shelf, proven synthetic hones for learning - Nortons, Ninawas, Shaptons etc. Leave the natural hones for when you've "mastered" the "easier" hones.

If you want to pick a razor to learn on, you have to know a little about razor geometry and what razors are typically "easy" to hone and which one's aren't. I half hollow grind 5/8 (or thereabouts) with a very straight and even edge is a good razor to learn on IMO - it won't flex too much and you won't need to use any fancy strokes to get the whole edge.

I'd be more than happy to send you a great starter razor with a properly set bevel heel to tip (with tape) finished on whatever you want - Shapton, Coticule, Zulu Grey (very nice!), JNat (also very very nice), Escher, 20K, 12K, etc etc. I will also strop it correctly so that you can shave with it right away and feel what a sharp and well-honed razor should feel like.

-john

Well welcome to the forum and wet shaving in general! Exciting!

I started with a brand new Dovo "Best" and a coticule. I am glad I went with a new blade to start. The coticule in retrospect might not have been the best derision for me to start off with. The consistency of synthetics saved me. But again that was me.

Either way, this whole hobby takes some time to learn - and a lifetime to nuance, so its great to hear your taking it slow!! Trying to speed it up leads to angst lol!

Again, welcome to the forum! Look forward to hearing of your progression.