Thread: Honing, The Journey

You know I was thinking about this today while I was getting ready, going through my prep, making my "Mama Bear's Uber Lather. I used a Fily 13 btw, BBS guys, it's a great shaver....I thought about why we do this.
It is the Journey, not really the destination. If we wanted to be done 1,2,3, We'd get a Mach 4 or Fusion. It is about the Journey. I think the same holds true with honing. So many people ask me for a "Fast Hone", not the best hone, but a fast hone, Why? Me, I enjoy the hell out of sharpening stuff, I have knives, swords, Str8's, etc...and I think it has a zen like quality to it. I love taking something dull and making it razor sharp. I also feel that a slower cutter sometimes provides a superior cutting edge than something you did in 15 lapps. Maybe it's just sweeter when it takes you a long time to do it. Also, there are so many variations in steel, that no two blades are alike. So, again, it's hard to pinpoint how a hone performs for every blade. You can get pretty close, but to me, it's semantics. Especially with Coticules, by nature, they are slow. You have to make a slurry, and water it down, and there's a whole procedure to sharpening with with one. It is an art form, once mastered, very enjoyable, as I said, it has a zen like quality to it. For touch up's you can use one like a Barber's hone, but for sharpening, they take some practice.

Naniwa's are a fast hone.

Coticules are natural, unique, and each is beautiful in it's own way. I have many, and I love each and every one of them. It's the Journey guys, not a race to the finish.......