Thread: Honing now vs long ago

It is not that far past in history that people lived in one of two groups, the very wealthy and the very poor. For most of the very poor there was likely one razor per house. The very wealthy unlikely would have done their own sharpening. Sharpening was a profession and that is likely who would set a bevel or refined an edge. Except barbers I cannot see anyone else having their own hone. Middle class is a very new concept, and so is disposable income, except for the very elite.

Originally Posted by RezDog

It is not that far past in history that people lived in one of two groups, the very wealthy and the very poor. For most of the very poor there was likely one razor per house. The very wealthy unlikely would have done their own sharpening. Sharpening was a profession and that is likely who would set a bevel or refined an edge. Except barbers I cannot see anyone else having their own hone. Middle class is a very new concept, and so is disposable income, except for the very elite.

+1. If you grew up with depression era parents they were always talking about the value of a dollar and 'save your money.' They knew about rainy days. Thirty years ago I was in my late 30s, had a good friend in his mid 60s.

He had just rented an apartment in Newark, NJ and I was doing a walk through with him. Apartments in those old buildings in North Jersey had cubby holes for closets compared with the walk in closets we see in later construction. He asked me if I knew why that was, and I said I didn't. Because, he said, in the days when these were built average folk had one suit for special occasions, maybe another for work, if they required a suit to go to work. They didn't have a lot of clothes so they didn't need large closet space.

Extravagance was a sin at worst, and foolishness at best. An old fellow I worked for in my teens, hanging canvas awnings, told me his grandmother impressed upon him,"He who buys what he does not need, will someday need what he cannot buy." Sobering thoughts in this day and age. Nothing has changed but the mindset.

@ eKretz,

Your post reminded me of my grandfather (also a machinist), who would treat his files with the same reverence that a cabinet maker would treat his chisels.

Each file was individually separated in an oil soaked roll, when needed he would select the right file, take it to the work piece and use it with a pronounced deliberateness. When finished he would immediately clean it with a file card and return it to the roll.

The file would never touch anything other than the work piece, file card or the roll. I once (and only once) made the mistake of letting two files touch each other on the bench, he was not amused.

He hardly ever used a grinder, opinioning that the right file in the right hands was just as quick, as the file cut and finished at the same time, and far less messy.

Indeed, sounds like he and I would get on wonderfully. I bet any money he wouldn't take one of his files to a weld either, lol. Mine are treated much the same as his;I shudder every time I see someone using a file without a card handy, and even more so when the file is being scrubbed back and forth on the workpiece like a brush! Files cut on the forward stroke only, they should be lifted for the return stroke. Thanks for the anecdote!

Back in the 1920s and before period most shavers had one hone which could be bought for pennies and was probably around 6K-8K and that is how they maintained their razors with that one hone and of course they owned 1 strop. For people with a little more money they would either have one of the itinerant sharpeners or a barber or a barber supply store do the work. They were one of the services Bresnick offered. He had people just honing razors all day. Think they were competent? Har har.

No doubt some poor folk were not so hot with a hone and they suffered. My dad used to tell me when his father was shaving the family would hear yelling and cursing coming from the bathroom. The experience was such when he started shaving (in the 1920s) he wouldn't touch a straight.

Oh this is all just a bunch of speculation...The real story is that Christopher Columbus was really trying to corner the world market for Jnats by procuring them straight from the quarry.

Originally Posted by Splashone

Oh this is all just a bunch of speculation...The real story is that Christopher Columbus was really trying to corner the world market for Jnats by procuring them straight from the quarry.

Poor Bastard! He returned with a pile of India stones!

I have been using that closet example for several decades now. Hit the nail square on the head and sunk it home in one swing.

When I turn off the TV for just a night, I become so much more productive. Change the pace and pay attention to details because of lack of external distractions and I amaze myself with what gets accomplished and the quality there in. No where to go, just time by oneself a hone and wanting to look good on payday, seems like plenty of motivation for a young man back in the day