Thread: How often should you hone?

I currently have 16 straights in rotation and honed all of them at the beginning of 2017 and I shaved everyday for the whole year using a different razor everyday and just stropped so it came out to be about twice a month for each and even though they still shave very well I proceeded to tape the spine on each and have began to hone again from 4 k to JNAT finish just to see if there is a huge difference with a slightly different angle with tape so as far as shaving goes I have started to grow out a close cut beard and more than likely will only use a straight for my neck and keeping the hair line straight or until I break down and goes back to shaving everyday

I don't tolerate any degradation in the edge or performance. I polish to 20k and the edges cut effortlessly. As soon as I feel a change, I take it back to the stones for a few passes and bring it right back. Once you get into a groove, you know how your blades should feel. It gets more complex when your honing regimen and finishing stones are all over the place. All of my razors are honed and finished the same way in a very simple progression with no pastes. I see no point in waiting until the edge needs a lot more work. The shave experience is dropping off during this time.

My first line defense for a tugging razor is a CrOx paddle, if that doesn't work then off to the 8k or my finishing hone

Originally Posted by RayClem

I have two Chinese Guangxi hones. One of them polishes the edge similar to my Naniwa 12K. The second one of them leaves a scratch pattern more similar to an 8K Naniwa. I find the Naniwa 12K to produce a rather harsh edge, so I prefer the better Guangxi to the Naniwa for finishing. I would never try finishing on the other Guangxi, but it is a great prefinisher. I have since purchased other finishing hones that I prefer to the Guangxi hones.


Whenever my edges tug even a little bit, I first try to improve the edge by stropping, using pasted strops and clean fabric and leather. If that does not restore the edge, I then do about ten laps on my favorite finishing hone and then strop the edge. If that still does not get the edge where it needs to be, I go back to the hones, perhaps starting with a prefinisher.

My coarse, white beard is very hard on steel edges. It is unusual for me to get more than 4-5 shaves off an edge before it needs to be refreshed. Thus, I keep my finishing hone on the sink counter where I can grab it any time I need to improve the edge.

If you are young and have a fine beard, your edges will last a lot longer. Some people can go for weeks or even months between honings using nothing more than clean fabric and leather strops. For me, that ship sailed decades ago.

This right here! Although I don't use any type of pastes or spray, only a coticule. When I started straight shaving, I found that I could get 4-5, maybe 6 shaves before I could tell my edge was dropping off my inexpensive Dovo 5/8 hollowground. Recently I added a new 6/8 Brian Brown razor that came shave ready with a very nice Jnat edge, that to my face, was very comparable to my coticule edge. After 5-6 shaves, I felt I needed a touch-up as it was getting tougher to shave as close as I like on my chin area. I think that everyone is different, in how their beard is, shave prep, technique, etc, and there is really no definitive answer, other than what works well for you.

All that's been said is good advice. only thing i'd add is that a chinese hone is hit or miss as far as grit goes. I spent enough on them because i wanted to save money (and none worked for me) to buy a good Naniwa 12k which i ended up doing anyway. Hope you have better luck.