Beginner honing!

Good Day Gentlemen,

This year so far I have managed to start my straight razor journey, it's 2 wins for me and the razor has won 2 battles (blood drawn). However, I'm looking to start honing so I can look after my razor and refurb potential new razors.. I can't send a lot of money and kinda saw these from The whipped dog - Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment
I know they're quarters but it covers most grits.. just wondered if anyone had purchased these before? Or had any opinion on this as a purchase?

Take care all...

Loving the razor..

Bayaz

Make sure you have the shave somewhat mastered first. If you Strop properly your razors should need a touch up now and then not a full hone.
We're your razors professionally honed? If not get them pro honed. That way you know what a well honed razor feels like.
Try to find some member in your area that is willing to mentor you.

Those should work fine. I use hones that small and have purchased a finishing hone that small from Whipped Dog.

My razor wasn't SR it's ok and second hand. I've stropped it a few times and I'm getting better at it. As you said I might get it professionally sharpened so I know what SR feels like and then jump into honing.

Thanks for the reply..

Bayaz

I love the feel of steel on stone, but if you do not have much money to spend, I suggest getting a finishing hone as your first hone. You should purchase your first few razors from someone who can put a "shave ready" edge on it. There are plenty of places you can purchase such razors, both new and vintage.

Once you learn the proper techniques of shaving and stropping with a blade that already has a decent edge, then the next step is learning how to refresh that edge when it starts to tug or feel rough and stropping alone won't get the job done. You refresh the edge with a finishing hone. That can be either a synthetic stone such as a Naniwa 12K or natural stones. The least expensive natural finishing hone is probably the Chinese Guangxi hone sometimes called the CNAT, C12K or PHIG. However, they vary in quality and you may or may not get a suitable hone for finishing. I have two CNATS: one is a suitable finisher and the other is not fine enough, but makes a nice pre-finishing hone.

As with many people who hone their own razors, I am always looking for the finishing hone that will put an even better edge on my razors. Although I have several hones that can be used for finishing, I have just ordered a Zulu Grey hone from South Africa to see how it compares to my other hones. The persuit of perfection is an endless one.

Once you know how to maintain a decent edge, then you can purchase a set of hones that will allow you to set the bevel and go through a full honing sequence. Once you have the proper hones and learn the proper techniques, you should be able to take an edge from "butter knife dull" all the way to shave ready as long as the razor has decent steel.

I googled that for you. Pages & pages on this topic.
Personally I wouldn't use a small stone for anything other than a few strokes to finish on.

https://straightrazorpalace.com/hone...r-nortons.html
https://straightrazorpalace.com/hone...-1-4-hone.html
https://straightrazorpalace.com/hone...oning-set.html

I like small stones, but those are perhaps too small for a beginner. One small "bevel-setting" combo I've been enjoying has been a 40mm x 130mm Suehiro 1k/3k combo. As you are in the UK, you could also follow this with one of AJ's 35mm x 125mm Welsh slate dragon's tongue and purple two-stone deals on ebay, but sadly, he doesn't appear to be offering any right now. The purple slate is a good finisher from my experience and the dragon's tongue can be used instead of a coticule off the 3k synth (no slurries, just water for me). 320x wet/dry sandpaper used wet on a thick piece of plate glass will work well for flattening all of them for starters.

Id say to stay away from the tiny hones. JMO. Get a good finisher of decent size. It will be easier to use and learning to use a finisher is the first step in honing. Having your razors pro honed to start with is key to knowing what a real edge should been like, then when it starts to pull, you touch it up on the finishing stone. The need for a full set of stones is only needed if you plan to restore razors or buy then from from ebay or second hand stores. But then again, your new to all this so learning to shave and strop is the first step.

Now if you want to restor razors then buy a real set of stones and not bits of stones. Keeping the razor flat on the stone is very important. One missed stroke and you have to start over so the little ones are risky.

I could hone a razor with a hone half that size, but beginners' most common struggle is keeping the blade flat on the hone. Those quarter nortons are going to be a challenge for most people.

I see nothing wrong with them as an option as long as you know going in that they are a very poor compromise.

What is wrong, and what I have posted repeatedly, is the blatant lie put in bold in the listing. They are NOT 50% larger than the average barber hone.

The average size of a barber hone is that of a Swaty, which is 2x5 inches, with an area of 10 square inches. The quarter Norton is 1.5x4 which is 6 square inches. IF he were telling the truth, then the average size of a barber hone would be 4 square inches, not the actual 10 square inches. The average barber hone is NOT 1x4 NOR 2x2 NOR anything close to that.

Save your money and buy larger hones. The Naniwa series comes in half thickness for less money, if you are going to go with a lesser item, get the thinner ones. Those little Norton will be a giant pain to learn on.

:aargh: :banghead: :gaah:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

I could hone a razor with a hone half that size, but beginners' most common struggle is keeping the blade flat on the hone. Those quarter nortons are going to be a challenge for most people.

I see nothing wrong with them as an option as long as you know going in that they are a very poor compromise.

What is wrong, and what I have posted repeatedly, is the blatant lie put in bold in the listing. They are NOT 50% larger than the average barber hone.

The average size of a barber hone is that of a Swaty, which is 2x5 inches, with an area of 10 square inches. The quarter Norton is 1.5x4 which is 6 square inches. IF he were telling the truth, then the average size of a barber hone would be 4 square inches, not the actual 10 square inches. The average barber hone is NOT 1x4 NOR 2x2 NOR anything close to that.

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Years back, Larry was cutting these in half, rather than in quarters. He has not updated the text to reflect the change in some cases, so I wonder if it applies to applies to the 3" x 4" pieces he was selling. But then, it would be 12 sq. inches rather than 10. That's a gain of what, 20%?

You can maintain a good professionally honed edge a long time using a good paddle strop and some chromium oxide on a balsa strop. In the beginning of your SR journey, using a 3” wide leather paddle strop saves you the expense of a high quality hanging strop and allows you to develop good stropping action and muscle memory and spine positioning of the razor without having to worry about correctly tensioning a hanging strop or using an x-stroke or putting a slice into your purchase. A container of CrOx will last you a long time and can restore a deteriorating edge fairly quickly.

Buy a decent barber hone, their cheap and work. Tc

I do believe a nice barber hone is for sale in the b/s/t thread.

You're in the UK, right? Any chance you can get a Charnley Forest at a reasonable price?

When I first started shaving with a straight razor there was no internet. No information on where to purchase a razor, strop, and all the hones used today weren’t available. My wife’s Father and Grandfather were Barbers. They gave me a razor, a strop from the 50s and a Barber Hone. A Barber hone was all either of them had ever used. Today, I use Naniwa Super Stones in 1000, 3000, 5000, 8000, and 12,000. When Straight Razor Designs offered the first strops in English Bridle Leather I ordered the long version. I also use a 3” wide felt strip sprayed with Chromium Oxide. I go from the 12,000 to the felt for ten strokes, then the leather for 50 strokes. If the shave isn’t good I drop back to the 8000 for a few strokes then ten on the 12,000 felt, leather and shave test again.

Legman, maybe you should dig out that barber hone and give it another try, just to see how much or little all those other hones are doing for you.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Legman, maybe you should dig out that barber hone and give it another try, just to see how much or little all those other hones are doing for you.

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I have a half dozen Barber Hones I purchased on Ebay back in the day. I actually developed a really nice touch with a Barber Hone (it was all there was). I can take a brand new razor out of the box from the factory and get it really shave ready using only a Barber Hone and a strop. I keep them around. They are great for when your razor just needs a light touch up. I brush on a thin coat of lather and do about 5 strokes then go to the felt woth chromimum oxide and then to the strop for about 50 strokes.

Legman, maybe you can post your reviews of them. That could help others. I know there are a few BH reviews on SRP already.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Legman

I have a half dozen Barber Hones I purchased on Ebay back in the day. I actually developed a really nice touch with a Barber Hone (it was all there was). I can take a brand new razor out of the box from the factory and get it really shave ready using only a Barber Hone and a strop. I keep them around. They are great for when your razor just needs a light touch up. I brush on a thin coat of lather and do about 5 strokes then go to the felt woth chromimum oxide and then to the strop for about 50 strokes.

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I'm glad to hear it. Too many people think they are useless relics. When I mention barber hones on Reddit they insist that they are far too coarse to be of any use. They simply are ignorant.