Thread: Did barber hones ever work?!

Great post by McKie ! So I don't need 28 hones? I have an old Swaty that I lapped with a D8C 325. It was a bear to lap. I used it as a finisher after my Norton 8K before I got other finishing stones. It worked well but not as well as what I have now.

In the early 1970's I bought four barber hones:

1. Swaty
2. Moravian
3. Super Punjab
4.00 Frictionite

Bought the hones from American Hone Company - Success Barber Supply - Moravia, Iowa.

After much expiermentation, I now use the Swaty and Moravian.

If I had only one hone it would be the Moravian. This is a two sided hone, one side slightly finer than the other. I have maintained a Dubl Duck Wonderedge all these years with just those two stones.

My grandfather shaved for over 50 years with a Case Razor, Horsehide strop and a small black stone which he called his razor rock.

I would enjoy having many of the stones, but I do not really need them to maintain a razor.

I love this jolt of reality and perspective. Thanks, newer experienced shaving guys for adding your info here. I still want to go out and buy some more hones though.

Chris L

Originally Posted by randydance062449

P.S. I will not be lapping barber hones again unless it is needed.

Prior to the Swatys, my only experience with barber hones was Tilly's beginner set, which was comprised of three NOS hones which had never been used. None of the three was perfectly flat, and two of them (the C.S. and the Lithide) seemed to have some kind of slick surface glazing, & would not cut very well until I removed it. In this day & age, you're unlikely to find a barber hone that's never been used, but if you do, you probably will have to lap it, at least until you knock the glaze off.

for some reason the C.S. hones were particularly non-flat. They're pretty thin & I did not want to remove enough material to get the whole thing flat, so I lapped them enough to create a large flat area in the center & stopped. The fact that the flat area does not quite reach the edges doesn't bother me (especially with a rolling X stroke).

The Lithide and Gem hones were pretty flat & didn't need much lapping.

The Swatys had bizarre wear patterns on them when I got them. One was mostly glazed like the NOS hones, but had a rough, matte spot in the middle. The other was similarly shiny, but had two discolored spots close to each other in the middle. I have no idea how they got that way. At least now the texture on both is nice & uniform now.

I have had no need to lap any of my three beginner-set hones since the initial lapping three years ago. They may never need to be lapped again.

Addendum:

just in case this thread gets stickied & turns into the de facto barber hone bible, I suppose I should mention that barber hones are particularly prone to raising a burr, and you should end your honing with 2-4 toe-leading back strokes, then a few more forward strokes. That will remove the burr. This was brought to my attention by Puffah, and independently confirmed by another member who claims that a very old barber told him this as well.

Originally Posted by McKie

Hi !

My father was born in 1903 and shaved all his life with a straight razor, he died at 78.
He had only had one stone, a Swaty marked :

FRANZ SWATY
WAHRING BEI WIEN
(AUSTRIA)

I saw him use it once in all my life (I was around 6 or 7) he then told me that he used it once or twice a year and only gave 5 to 6 laps using shaving cream as a lubricant.

He had 3 razors. A King Cutter - a Red Point 917 (marked Anton Wingen Jr) and a Carl Rader 87.

I never saw him use anything but the Carl Rader and he shaved every day. He also had only one hanging strop and he only rubbed it with his hands to maintain it (he may have put shaving lather on it from time to time, I'm not shure anymore).

In his 70's he felt his strop was too slick, so he simply turned it over (it was the same leather throughout).

Just to show that shaving with a straight razor doesn't need to be complicated. We (I at least) just complicate things for fun).

I'm now 55, I still use only the Swaty (which is still in mint condition) and still does a great job and to my knowledge has never been lapped. I also have a C-MON barber hone I bought 1976 (I wrote the date March 15, 1976 in the cover of the box). I used it only a couple of times, I don't like it very much.

And BTW, I prefer the Red Point.

Nice day to you all !

McKie

This is the kind of the post with which we can excuse our "condition".

"Yes, I bought a 100 dollar razor, but I'm actually saving money. It will last for a lifetime! Just look at the mach 3 cartrige price. It will pay off in 4 months!"
"But you bought another razor 2 weeks ago and said the same thing"
""

Originally Posted by napoleon

This is the kind of the post with which we can excuse our "condition".

"Yes, I bought a 100 dollar razor, but I'm actually saving money. It will last for a lifetime! Just look at the mach 3 cartrige price. It will pay off in 4 months!"
"But you bought another razor 2 weeks ago and said the same thing"
""

HAHAHA! Yes, I've probably spent enough to buy DE blades for 100 years. But my "condition" has transformed shaving from a chore that I hated, to a luxury that I look forward to every morning. Considering the money I spend on stuff that buys me nothing (e.g. taxes), my "condition" is a bargain indeed. How's that for rationalization?

I just joined SRP a few days ago and have learned more about honing than in the previous 55 years of my life! I learned to shave with a straight Red Imp in high school. My great uncle taught me and I still use his horsehide strop that he left me when he died.

I have used the "Three Line" Swaty as my only hone but now have a couple of others. I bought a Norton 4/8K a couple of years ago but if I had known I was supposed to flatten my Swaty, I might never have done so! I also bought a Thuringian and love it. Man, how ignorant a guy can become if he doesn't ask questions.

Thanks to all for this thread. I agree with Randy. This ought to be a Sticky.

I tried many barbers hones before I purchased my first Coticule.

The Austrian Swaty removed metal well but a hone I purchased from Tilly called "Itsapeech was a finer finisher. All the others I tried did not match these two as finishing hones.

The coticule I found to be more flexible a tool and In my opinion everybody who uses a straight should own a coticule if they intend to hone there own razors. The Yellow Green Escher definately gives a smoother and sharper edge then the coticule and is now my go to finishing hone but to be honest if you finalise with chromium oxide on a leather strop, I really don't think it matters if you finish with a swaty or coticule or escher, the chromium oxide will smooth out any roughness these three hones might have left.

There are many routes to shave ready razors and barbers hones and stropping pastes certainly work well in experienced hands.

Originally Posted by McKie

Hi !

My father was born in 1903 and shaved all his life with a straight razor, he died at 78.
He had only had one stone, a Swaty marked :

FRANZ SWATY
WAHRING BEI WIEN
(AUSTRIA)

I saw him use it once in all my life (I was around 6 or 7) he then told me that he used it once or twice a year and only gave 5 to 6 laps using shaving cream as a lubricant.

He had 3 razors. A King Cutter - a Red Point 917 (marked Anton Wingen Jr) and a Carl Rader 87.

I never saw him use anything but the Carl Rader and he shaved every day. He also had only one hanging strop and he only rubbed it with his hands to maintain it (he may have put shaving lather on it from time to time, I'm not shure anymore).

In his 70's he felt his strop was too slick, so he simply turned it over (it was the same leather throughout).

Just to show that shaving with a straight razor doesn't need to be complicated. We (I at least) just complicate things for fun).

I'm now 55, I still use only the Swaty (which is still in mint condition) and still does a great job and to my knowledge has never been lapped. I also have a C-MON barber hone I bought 1976 (I wrote the date March 15, 1976 in the cover of the box). I used it only a couple of times, I don't like it very much.

And BTW, I prefer the Red Point.

Nice day to you all !

McKie

Gents,
I only use a boss barber hone, that I lapped on an industrial ceramic tile, and two stones, both natural, the fine grey soft stone whicn belonged to my late father who sharpened his mulesing and other lamb marking knives on it ! the other in a natural stone pretty much identical to the one used by an old time barber here in Perth who will still give a straight shave. Not to mention my antique Keen Edge strop.
Thanks, Mckie,a man after my own heart !!!

Cheers


Gordon