Thread: new to this all

I just bought my razor and strop from razor designs....hwen should I hone? what collection and by who (of stones should I get...I want to get the best I can right off the bat....Thanks for all your help!!

Probably no need to even think about hones for a while until you've been straight razor shaving for a while.You can get along for a month or more with just stropping.By then you will know if it's for you,and you won't have spent your money if you don't like it.

that is good advice....and i will wait, but if you had to buy a set would it be the shapton ceramic or naniwa and in what courses?

I've not tried Naniwa's, but I have Shaptons. The original white ones. I find them to be fast, as I learned to hone on naturals. They achieve consistently good results with a wide range of steels & grinds.

That said, I only replied as I believe you should have your question answered.

Don't buy hones at this stage. There's too much else to learn, you don't need them, you'll do more harm than good.

I would probably go for the Norton Waterstones in combos.The 220/1000 and the 4000/8000 work for most needs and don't break the bank.Here's where I got mine.

http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/N!LWS.htm

I'm 4 months into straight shaving and have yet to hone due to space in my condo..but...whats $20 2-3x a year ;-)...it takes time and space to master honing...if I were you...try getting cheap blades from eBay and practice getting edges on them

pcdad

I agree with the "wait awhile" advice. Get an abrasive pasted paddle strop with 0.5 micron chrome oxide first. That will help you keep the razors edge in tip top shape for some time.

Best hones? It is more a question of task but thats for heavy users. If I had to do it over again I would go with either the Shapton Glass or Naniwa Super line of hones.