Thread: Beginner Hone Setup

Hi All,

I have been shaving with a straight razor for about 6 months now, and want to be able to maintain my edges without sending them out each time. I also want to get into maintaining the edges on my kitchen (victornix fibrox) and pocket knives (opniel) as well, so I have a few questions on what setup to get started on without breaking the bank. My current plan is to get a Shapton pro 12k and pasted strop to maintain the edges on my straight razor, a norton 220/1000 for sharpening my knives, and then a marble or granite slab with sandpaper to lap them. I don't plan on taking my straight razors from dull to shave ready, but instead plan to have a professional hone them, and then maintain them myself. Am I on the right track here? I am trying to keep the cost as low as possible, while still getting quality stones. If I enjoy it enough, I plan to expand my collection to something like a 4/8k norton in the future, but don't really see the need for it right now. My last question would be, as a beginner to honing, would refreshing a razor on a 12k be simple enough to learn on and not have to worry about ruining the blade?

Thanks for any and all help.