Thread: Which Finishing Stone or Barber's hone should I get?

Basically I'm looking to just keep my straight-razor shave-ready.

I know this may sound odd but I got my Straight razor and strop + brush back in December for Christmas.
I've seen the logo "Vintage Blades" so I'm guessing that's where they got it from. The blade itself has a logo that reads, "Solingen Best Quality" and towards the handle it says Dovo "Made in germany" and the blade itself came flawless. Since then...I haven't honed it.

Before and after each shave I'd simply go through each part of the strop for a bit, cotton side around 15 strokes, canvas side about 20 and leather about 50. Basically I shave maybe...once or twice a week and generally have no problems at all. I do get a bit of razor burn towards the bottom right/left of my neck but my hair swirls and turns there so it's rather difficult to go with the grain...but I digress.

The blade still seems to work fine and shave well but evidently from everywhere I hear honing it will make things even smoother and give a more easy shave. I've read through the wiki that's commonly posted and it says for instances where a hone is needed to "refresh" a blade that, "you need only get a fine grit finishing stone or a barber's hone for this. Either of these hones can be used to keep your razor(s) shave-ready for years."

That being said...suggestions on a Finishing Stone or Barber's hone?

tl;dr version
- Have blade for many months
- Never honed, only stropped
- Don't need anything fancy, just want it to perform well
- Suggestions?


NOTE: I'm looking to get the most "bang for my buck" so to speak. I'd like to keep the price as far under $100 as possible while still having it perform well enough

Yep Crox, Diamond spray, CBN all good maintenance tools. I would however suggest a good barbers hone. Little more cash outlay but will do what you want and more. Won't hurt to read up on them while your looking but the short of it is you can take a non shaving blade and bring it back to life with the right barbers hone. They are out there and pop up in the classifieds here once in awhile. Place a want add or the shout out here might get somebody to offer you a good one.

Welcome aboard,,,,,,,,,
In your situation, I would go with any man made waterstone of 10K or higher,,, maybe even a Norton 8K,,, for maintaining your edge. I don't recommend a barber hone for you, JMO.

@Iceni

I've only one razor and strop so sending it out would likely take too long as my work requires me to be clean shaven. I can usually shave, then wait 3 days before it's noticeable and have to shave again. Also buying a second strop seems like it'd end up being quite pricey....my current strop though has 2 layers, one that's a nylon webbing and then the canvas/leather. Couldn't I simply just get the diamond spray and use it on one side of the nylon and designate that particular side as the "spray side"?

Also why the choice of spray over barbers hone?

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@10Pups

You claim Crox and spray and such are good but ultimately seem to suggest a barbers hone.
Any reason as to why?

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@Hirlau

Thanks for the welcome, but onto what you posted...
You go against what both previous posters have recommended and suggest a waterstone, reasons?
I also ready in the widely posted wiki that the Norton stones used to be all well and good but others have come out that render them..."less useful". Not to mention everywhere I look claims Norton Waterstones do not come flattened and I'd need to buy additional stones/surfacs in order to grind it down and make it useable. Something I'd rather not do as I'm trying NOT to spend a fortune.

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Thanks so far for the input guys, hope to keep it coming!

gotta agree with Hirlau,
I started with a barbers hone also for the lower initial outlay price,
but if you get a full sized 8"x3" 12K etc hone ( for not much more money really ) for pure touch ups it will be a hell of a lot easier to learn & use, as it covers the full blade & you won’t need to do anywhere near the number of strokes or such a big X stroke to achieve the same finish
then if you want to go further into restores etc invest in a lower grit hone to suit like the 8k etc


edit: I only use 320 Wet & Dry paper for lapping my hones ( 1k 4/8K & 12K ) flat on a thick sheet of glass you can use a flat bench top even for no extra outlay really

the hone is recomended over a pasted strop as the stone keeps your blade flat & crisp and the pasted strop will & does tend to roll the edge slightly over time, so you will need to resort back to a stone eventually anyway.

I do have & use a Chrox & Ferrox pasted Balsa strop after the 12K as my final step before going to felt & leather, but I don't use any pastes or sprays etc on my hanging strop to avoid rolling the edge
JMO

Hard to go wrong with a Naniwa 12k SS. It should do exactly what you want and then some. Another option would be a Zulu Grey which would perhaps allow you more (for lack of a better term) flexibility in that you can use a slurry or plain water to bring an edge back up to speed.

Originally Posted by Smac3223

Basically I'm looking to just keep my straight-razor shave-ready.

I know this may sound odd but I got my Straight razor and strop + brush back in December for Christmas.
I've seen the logo "Vintage Blades" so I'm guessing that's where they got it from. The blade itself has a logo that reads, "Solingen Best Quality" and towards the handle it says Dovo "Made in germany" and the blade itself came flawless. Since then...I haven't honed it.

Before and after each shave I'd simply go through each part of the strop for a bit, cotton side around 15 strokes, canvas side about 20 and leather about 50. Basically I shave maybe...once or twice a week and generally have no problems at all. I do get a bit of razor burn towards the bottom right/left of my neck but my hair swirls and turns there so it's rather difficult to go with the grain...but I digress.

The blade still seems to work fine and shave well but evidently from everywhere I hear honing it will make things even smoother and give a more easy shave. I've read through the wiki that's commonly posted and it says for instances where a hone is needed to "refresh" a blade that, "you need only get a fine grit finishing stone or a barber's hone for this. Either of these hones can be used to keep your razor(s) shave-ready for years."

That being said...suggestions on a Finishing Stone or Barber's hone?

tl;dr version
- Have blade for many months
- Never honed, only stropped
- Don't need anything fancy, just want it to perform well
- Suggestions?


NOTE: I'm looking to get the most "bang for my buck" so to speak. I'd like to keep the price as far under $100 as possible while still having it perform well enough

My friend I'm about 20 mins from you.. Any help u need ill help u out and hook u up,with the local guys that meet quite often.. Feel free to contact me

or,,,,,, he can get a Norton 4/8 & with the instructions available on SRP, he can fix any minor discrepancies with the bevel or a factory edge,,,, & touch up his edge,,,

@Substance

Definitely not looking to get into restores or anything like that. This is less of a hobby but more-so a solution to shaving for me.

Disposables were absolutely horrid and shed quite a bit of blood
Refillables were easy but didn't get as close, plus pricey to keep buying the cartridges
Straight razors need time which helps me relax and relieve stress, plus closer than any other method

Also again I'm not looking to spend too much dosh on this. If I'm to buy a waterstone of some sort I'd prefer a company that sends them flat from the factory and not require additional tools to be purchased. That being said if I was to purchase a 12K waterstone it'd be the only piece of equipment I'd be getting at this time as it's towards the height of my budget.

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@Phoenix51

Naniwa 12K is at the height of my budget so as mentioned above, it'd be the only thing I'd be purchasing.
As for the Zulu Grey for a 3 inch stone it's already $150 which is above my budget =/

I'll keep the Naniwa in mind however

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@Iceni

I decided to take a look at the website on the card that came with my razor and found it here.
Claims it's "Professionally Honed" so not sure how much that tells ya.

this service is provided by Lynn Abrams, one of most renowned “Honemeisters” in the world. Lynn has experience honing every type of quality razor made today as well as all vintage razors

Your golden on your honing Lynn is the most highly regarded honer on the face of the earth .

Your bevel is definitely set, Your clear for hones!