Thread: New to honing, where to find best instructions?

I know there is a lot of videos and reading materials. Wanted to see which ones the Cognocenti recommends? Want to learn things right to start. Thanks to everyone here I picked up a starter setup:

Naniwa specialty stones, 1000, 5000, 8000 and 12000 grit
Naniwa flattening stone
Naniwa stone holder
4 Gold Dollar 66 razors (unsharpened)

Thanks Greazy

Well, it looks like you have gotten the basics. Now you need to learn how to use them. I do not know which GD razors you obtained, but check the blades for warping. Also check to see if the heal of the blade will interfere with your honing stroke. On some GD razors, it is best to modify the heal before honing, but on others it might not be necessary.

Unless you purchased your GD razors shave ready, you will need to set the bevel. That is done on the 1K stone. There are different techniques for doing that (circles, axe strokes, x-strokes). I normally start with circles and finish with x-strokes. There are a lot of good honing videos. Some of the best are from Lynn Abrams and GSSIXGUN. Your higher grit hones won't do much good until you have the bevel set. That means that the two sides of the blade come together at an apex angle all the way from the heal to the toe of the blade. If there are any flat spots where the sides do not quite come together, you are not done yet. There are many ways of determining whether or not the bevel is set (thumb nail test, thumb pad test, three finger test, paper cut test, magnifier test, arm hair test, etc.). The problem is that all of these test are subjective, so you need some experience to figure out what they mean. If your blade won't shave arm hair at skin level, your bevel needs more work. There are also videos that show you how to test the bevel.

The best way to learn to hone is to work with a mentor who can show you how to do it and then monitor your progress as you try it yourself. You might search for forum members in the northern Ohio area that can help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKQPTNb2XVU&t=905s

he doesn't talk during video but uses a lot of the stones you have.

Tape is optional, I wouldn't use it unless it was a nice razor that I wanted to avoid hone wear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0kLxgkOtM4

This is good video for how much pressure you should be using when on finishing stone.
If you look at his channel he also has honing videos

the videos mentioned are a good ;place to start but nothing beats hands on training. There are some members in your area that would be willing to help also (hopefully one will check in and offer). I'd offer my help but i'm a little ways away. GDs can have some challenges of their own to overcome from what i've heard so be aware. A magic marker and a 30x loupe are good aids to see what is going on with the edge.

Look up gssixgun on youtube. I think its a good place to get some info. Atleast he explains what hes doing. But as what was said. Hands on trainning is worth weeks of trying to learn on your own. Preasure can not be seen on a vid.

In the begining I watch several videos by different presenter and settled on gssixgun. I then stuck with his videos only until I could get a repeatable edge. All the magic is in the bevel set. I have worked on my bevel set and my 1K edge a lot, and I can actually get a decent shave from the 1K. Once you have that mastered the rest is simple. I use a loupe to check my bevel set and progress. I am yet to see a good video on the use of a loupe, however there is this old thread https://straightrazorpalace.com/honi...ggestions.html and it has some pretty good pictures. There is nothing like hands on, one on one. Get to a meet if you can or meet with an experienced members. I learned on a new Dovo and a new TI and a couple of NOS vintage razors. With no geometry issues to deal with all I had to concentrate on was honing. If you tape the spine and keep from being ham fisted you will do just fine.

Once upon a time, people worked on this: https://shavelibrary.com/w/Category:Honing

Originally Posted by GreazyThumbs

I know there is a lot of videos and reading materials. Wanted to see which ones the Cognocenti recommends? Want to learn things right to start. Thanks to everyone here I picked up a starter setup:

Naniwa specialty stones, 1000, 5000, 8000 and 12000 grit
Naniwa flattening stone
Naniwa stone holder
4 Gold Dollar 66 razors (unsharpened)

Thanks Greazy

To my way of thinking, you are at a risk to start from the wrong end.
Like a lot of techniques in straight shaving, be also also prepared for some disappointments when you learn how to hone.

Starting by trying to set a bevel and then take a razor through the entire range is in my opinion the wrong way and will make the learning process unnecessarily difficult.
I suggest to start with a razor that was shave ready and just needs some touch-up, also known as a “refresher”, after it starts to pull during the shave.
For that purpose the 12,000, or maybe the 8,000 and 12,000 grit stones suffice.
Later you might even want to expand that range to a 20,000 grit (Gokumyo) stone to do the final polishing before the razor hits the strop.

This is the range that you use most frequently when you hone your razors.

The coarser grits are more for restoration and are used less often.

Once you have mastered touch-ups it may be appropriate to start using coarser grits.

The 1000 grit hone should be used only if you want to set the bevel, which is the first, the most important, but also the least often required or practised step of the entire honing cycle.
A 1000 grit is only necessary if a razor is (still) unfit for it’s purpose. I rarely use mine anymore and for many purposes that I used the 1000 grit Naniwa for I now use the 3000.

Starting to learn the entire process right from the 1000 grit stone all the way up is in my opinion not the most efficient way to learn honing, but I fully accept that not all members may agree with me on this point.


As a principle for learning through the Internet, I suggest to watch as many videos as you can, get an idea what the majority of experts agree on and (most importantly) ignore outlier advice that sounds “off” (hence the importance to see many videos).

I found that Lynn’s videos can be a great starting point.


I should also mention that I consider some of the suggested ways to test whether the razor has taken an edge fairly meaningless (e.g. hanging hair test), but found that after setting a bevel I tend to have less hair on my arm than before , because that is where I test the bevel. Beyond setting the bevel, if you get to know your hones and discover what works for you and what doesn’t, you may eventually develop a feel how the razor responds to the hone (e.g. beginning to “suck” to the stone when honing) thereby telling you when the time has come to go to the next higher stone.

Of course, the ultimate test is a shave, so getting a razor properly honed may be a process that in the beginning may stretch over a few days, as you tweak and learn to see whether you can get the edge just a little better honed.


Good luck.



B.

Originally Posted by RezDog

There is nothing like hands on, one on one. Get to a meet if you can or meet with an experienced members. \

^^^^^ This. The absolute best instruction will be in person.

I started three years ago with two Gold Dollars, a Norton 4/8k combo, then the Shapton Glass series 1k 2k 4K 8k 16k 30k. I now have over 30 razors, most of which I’ve honed myself, with my progressing knowledge and ability. I would not change a thing about my own development. You’ve got the right tools for a beginner - the Gold Dollar razors. Use them, hone them, trial and error. You make a mistake, no worries, it’s only a GD. Better to make a mistake on a GD than on any quality vintage or modern production razor.

Watch Lynn Abrams, Glenn (gssixgun), drmatt357 on YouTube, others at your discretion and discernment.