Thread: A couple of quetions about hones

Originally Posted by DZEC

Steve, I think most of us have been where you are.

There is a great initial tendency to get really excited about straight razor shaving, acquisition, honing, acquisition, stropping, acquisition etc. That often led me to match my eagerness with frustration with my inability to reproduce what many of the SRP members were able to do with apparent ease.

What I found helped me was to slow it all down a few steps. For example, taking a long breath before starting to hone and visualizing what it was I was trying to do and how I was going to do it. Then doing it slowly and deliberately to build up the muscle memory and develop a feeling for what the stone and the razor were telling me.

Malcolm Gladwell writes that it takes 10,000 repetitions to become expert at something - that’s 100 honing strokes 100 times. Be patient. You’re pretty far along already. The improvement you are looking for will come with time and practice.

Great advice, thank you.

I must admit that I have been sort of going for it on the hones which actually seems to take longer and cost more steel so slowing down, visualizing and feeling is definiately something I will do.

Originally Posted by STF

my edges are fine, they shave comfortably enough but I know that I could make them so much better.

Once you've gotten to this point, you're on your way! It's just a matter of hone shave repeat from here. Since you know how to make a usable edge you can always get back to a baseline that you can compare your work to. Make your worst shaver shave better than your present best, now take your new worst and make it shave the best. And on and on.