Originally Posted by
Doxster
Thought I'd give a bit of an update, a success story so to speak.
I had been watching Lynn Abrams videos for a bit and was eager to go honing. I however, did not do as few strokes as he does on his videos about refreshing the edge.
First honing: I think I did around 30-40 strokes on the 3k side, and about as many on the 8k side. The razor did put a very bald spot on my arm, but it couldn't cut any hairs if raising the edge above the skin.
First shave: I had shaved the same day before my first honing session, and went away for a week the day after. I forgot ALL of my gear for my holiday, so the test shave was on 7-8 days worth of growth. Not an ideal situation to try my honing skills in... I wasn't impressed, it did the job but felt very harsh.
Second honing: After the first shave I decided I need to go back to the hones. While honing it felt much better, like I scored a better angle or something. Did 20 strokes on the 3k side and 20-30 strokes on the 8k side.
Second shave: Probably my best straight razor shave yet. Absolutley no irritation what so ever, almost BBS (not really going for BBS but when it happens it's nice). The only remark I had is that it still felt a bit harsh, might be my technique or that the previous owner who honed it for me the first time used a polishing stone.
Third shave: Basically an exact replica of the second shave.
I'm kind of curious, how is it possible to get a very nice shaving edge the second time you hone? Ever? I was dead certain that this will skill will take months to develop, I'm almost a bit dissapointed. (Do note that I am in no way saying that I'm any good at honing, I still have a very long way to go, but the edge that I maintained worked perfectly for me)