Thread: So I want to start honing.. advice

Hi everyone!
I have been reading a ton and watching YouTube videos galore.
In the past I have made knives and sharpened too many to count, but my razor is a different animal.

I want to start honing to keep it nice and sharp, but I would like some knowledgeable gentlemen to give me some suggestions and advice.

Anyone know what kind I need, where to get them?

I know I will probably destroy a razor or two in learning - but I'm ok with practice and failure... you just fail better each time.

Thanks for taking the time to answer!
J

My standard recommendation about starting to learn how to hone is to wait At Least One Year.

You need to semi master, Stropping, Lathering and of course Shaving with a straight before you even think about putting steel to a hone.

You can bugger up an edge with just stropping and a single misplaced stroke on a hone will do a lot of damage.

Now about sharpening knives (please note that I said 'hone a razor' and I've said 'sharpen a knife') I was a meat cutter for several years and I when I went to hone a razor I got a Rude Awakening as I thought 'No Problem. Well guess what BIG PROBLEM!! The difference between the two is Night and Day/Black and White.

I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm trying to help you! I want you to have success!

Try doing what I did, send your razors off to a Pro or a reputable long time member for your honing for now. For one thing you will have something to compare your edges to once you have waited.

I've actually asked GSSISGUN to hone razors on exactly the same hones that I had so that I could see how I was doing.

For what it's worth you might read this:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ry-2016-a.html

Welcome aboard,,,,

If honing is what you want, start your journey in our "Library" section above. There is a wealth of knowledge in the Library to help you understand honing and wet shaving. There is also a section on how to purchase/find your first razor.

Straight Razor Place Library - Straight Razor Place Library

A lot of people started by buying everything in sight. It is one of those things, just because you have the very best fishing gear does not mean you can catch fish. Lets back up a little. Do you have many razors? Are you planning on restoring many razors? If you have a few razors and are happy with those are you are simply looking to maintain those blades, that is one thing. Maintenance of your razor can be done in a variety of ways. It can be as simple as a pasted strop that you do a few passes on once week and it keeps your edge keen and shaving. You can also maintain your edge with a good barbers hone, or a 12K synthetic. They are used similar to the pasted strop, a few asses once a week and it will keep you r razor and face happy. If what you are looking for is a complete hone job from bevel set up that gets to be more complicated and requires quite a lot more output, at that point you need to consider if you are wanting to learn and enough, or are going to use the gear often enough to warrant the costs. Then there is restoration, which is a little deeper in honing. It is where you take a blade that has just been worked fairly extensively and create an entire bevel where none existed before.
The answer is kind of complicated because the question was a little vague, and that is ok, you just need to forgive my long winded answer.
Learning to hone from videos and forums can be done. Many have done it before. The fasted and most sure fire way to learn to hone, no matter what you are looking to do, is to go to a meet. Almost all of the meets have a strong learning element to them and people are there learning and teaching at all levels. They are also a heck of a good time. If you choose to learn by video, I suggest you pick one presenter and follow that one persons technique until you can get consistent edges. There are many many ways to get a perfect shave ready edge, but you need to follow one method at a time. Trying to follow too many people at the same time is just confusing. In part because we contradict one another all the time, yet we are all correct.

If you choose to start honing sooner rather than later, the best thing you can do is to find someone to give you hands-on teaching.
You can find someone on this site or you can make the acquaintance of a local barber.
Have fun.

I think I saw a heads up for a NC meet might want to see if you can make that

Sitting down with somebody in person REALLY helps

But that guys have given great advice already

Take Lynn's DVD and follow his teachings. He started off with a 4K/8K Norton and CrOx paddle strop IIRC. Basically that is all you need and will keep your initial outlay to a minimum.

Nothing much to add, except maybe: have you shaved with a truly well-prepared straight razor yet? You'll have to test the edge once you start honing, and you need to know what a well-prepared razor feels like on your face. Also, you must be proficient with the use of said razor so any issue you feel would be solely related to the honing, not your technique/beard preparation.

Don't know how to strop and shave, even a well honed razor won't shave, walk then run. Tc

Welcome, glad you want to learn this art. You are correct razors are not knives.
One on one reduces the learning curve exponentially.
How do I, what is this supposed to feel like?
All cured at a meet.
If you must buy a hone. Bevel setter is the foundation.
The only thing worse than doing nothing, is doing it wrong and not knowing it.
We want to help,and you to become very successful.