Maintaining razor edge

Being new to the world of straights, I recently acquired two already honed. I've got an Illinois Razor 127 strop (has leather and linen) on the way and am looking at something to use to keep the edge when needed. I was wondering if it was worth purchasing a Naniwa 12k for this purpose or another similar hone. The reason I ask is Fendrihan is having a Father's Day promotion until the 17th for 10% off any orders and was looking at the hones they have wondering if, being so new to this, it would be worth the purchase. They also carry DMT, Shapton, belgian coticules and pastes. My biggest problem is not knowing what the best route to go will be. I don't own any other hones and this will probably be the only one I buy for a while and only brought out when I feel like the edge needs a bit of a touch up. That is until I get to the point where I feel the need to buy an entire line of stones/hones. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction and any suggestions.

Personaly I would look into a Norton 4/8k, reason being if you loose that edge for what ever reason a 12k will end up being useless. A polished chip/dull edge is still chipped and dull..

my advice would be coticule and TI rasoir paste aplied to canvas strop. You can touch up paste no problems. You rehone and touch up on coticule,followed by ti rasoir its all you will need . unless you damage your razor you will need to send it out or get a 1k stone .

I have to agree with Randy on the Norton 4/8. Lynn and Randy have been my honing mentors since I started and both have always praised the consistent and repeatable results that can be had with that combination. I don't disagree with the other suggestions in general but the Norton 4/8 has been a really good hone for me.

Naniwa also do a 3/8k combo stone that could be useful for this sort of thing. I believe SRD sell them.

Thanks everyone. Gives me something to think about now. I thought about the Norton but didn't know if it would be overkill if I just wanted to maintain an already honed edge. Thanks for the advice.

My opinion is that barber hones are vastly underutilized. They're not particularly effective for creating a whole new bevel because they're slow cutting, but for refreshing an edge, they're very good, indeed. They're small, very rarely if ever need flattened, are fairly inexpensive and tend to be pretty friendly. Because they're small, you learn to hold the hone in one hand and razor in the other and develop a really good touch that will serve you well for a multitude of honing chores. Between a good barber hone and pasted strop, there's no reason why a man can't maintain his own razors to a very high level of keenness.

That's the K.I.S.S. option for a guy who really only wants to maintain a razor or two or three. If you get into it more than that, you'll probably end up with a wide variety of hones and stuff, anyway, so nevermind, LOL.

But yeah... if you've got razors that are already honed and you just want to be able to maintain them for a lifetime, unless you damage the edge pretty bad, you can do very well with just a barber hone and maybe a pasted strop along with a regular strop.

For maintenance, I also recommend and use a barber hone. The Naniwa 12k will work too, as will anything else around that grit size.

So many choices to think about. I haven't decided how much I'm going to get into the straight shaving world, use DE right now, which makes me a little hesitant about putting out too much money right away. I did consider a barber hone but have heard they can be inconsitent with grit ratings which could lead to different results. This made me think that getting a higher grit hone to just maintain the egde may be the way to go. Honestly, don't know which way I want to go with this.

As Papabull stated, a barber hone and an abrasive pasted paddle strop is another viable alternative and probably costs less to start. 2 names in Barber hones that you can trust 1. Apart and 2. Swaty 3 line ( 3 lines of text stamped on the hone). There are many others but those we know very well.

Hopefully others will list other barber hones that they have had success with.
I would mention the Frictionite 00 and the Dubl Duck dry hone but those are expensive.

Hope this helps,:)

I think there is something to be said for the synchronicity of starting doing.

It was not long after I started I went around to some antique stores. One; going out of business, had everything I needed in a basket of old barber supplies. I left with 2 nice razors a combo barber hone and combo coticule for less than 20 bucks.

It does not happen every day, neither was I satisfied to leave well enough alone. But it will not hurt to see what awaits; rather than trying to decide what you need, go look around and see what needs you.

I also support the notion of starting with norton combo over a coticule, and I am a newbie when it comes to honing razors (probably only done about 30 at this point).

I can consistently get good results from my nortons, but the coticule is still proving a bit hit and miss in the results department (had it for a couple months now). As soon as I put the coticule-honed razors to the nortons, they come up to shave ready very quickly. Maybe I am just impatient, I dont know, but will persist with the coticule as it cost more than both norton combos together!! :)

Might just be a matter of what you get used to, but thats what has worked for me.

I am with Papabull and randydance 100% on this one. For years before I found SRP and got into honing, all I had was my 2 razors a strop and a barbers hone. You do not need to buy expensive rocks to maintain an edge when 4-6 laps on a barbers hone will do the trick. Here are a few more good names; Dublduk,Shapleigh, KeenKutter, VelvetEdge and Simmons. There are many more and Lynn has a great video that I highly recommend that covers this subject quite well.

BTW a couple of months ago I bought 2 swatys from a knife guy at a gun show for 2 bucks a piece, a whole lot cheaper than buying stones.

Wow, lots of good info here. I keep flipping back and forth between a barber hone/paste and the Naniwa depending on what I read. I know I could find a barber hone cheaper then the Naniwa which, for the moment, may be the decision breaker. I've spent a lot of money lately on razors and SWMBO has asked politely that I reel it in for bit. :nono:

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Originally Posted by bmc1979

Wow, lots of good info here. I keep flipping back and forth between a barber hone/paste and the Naniwa depending on what I read. I know I could find a barber hone cheaper then the Naniwa which, for the moment, may be the decision breaker. I've spent a lot of money lately on razors and SWMBO has asked politely that I reel it in for bit. :nono:

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Just keep in mind that razor hones aren't designed for serious stock removal and are at their apex of performance when an edge just needs refreshing and not a complete rebevel like on an Ebay special that's been used to open boxes.

Oh, and be careful with fingers and thumb when holding the hone. I've drawn blood more than a couple times using them carelessly. :)

I also recommend a dish soap and water mixture as the honing fluid on barber hones. Works like a champ. :)

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Originally Posted by PapaBull

I also recommend a dish soap and water mixture as the honing fluid on barber hones. Works like a champ. :)

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Best post i've read all day, thanks Robert!

I too am looking for the "best" way to maintain already-honed edges, so I will continue to read this thread with interest.

Like the OP, trying to avoid HAD....