Thread: New to honing; about to give it a go.......

Hey Gents,

In the past few months I've dove head first into the world of Straight Razor shaving. All you folks at SRP have been AMAZING as far as getting us beginners on the right track, MUCH THANKS.

So right now I have a nice Torrey I sent to SRD to to get honed and it's the razor I use everyday. However, maybe it's out of boredom or plain curiosity but I have an painful desire to learn how to HONE.

Throughout the last few months I've acquired some decent vintage razors that are in need of some TLC and a new beginning. They were cheap enough to be able to try my hand at honing and won't be too much of a loss if I totally BOTCH my first honing attempts.

I just bought the Norton 3 piece combo set from SRD. It has the 220/1k stone, the 4/8 k stone, and a lapping/flattening stone. SRD has the best price on this combo set by far. Think all three were 125 bones. From what I hear it should be a great set to get started with and hopefully not do "too much" damage. I will still need to get a slurry/prep stone as well and have been looking for a decent old barber hone as well. I'm anxious to see how the sharpening of my old razors will go after watching countless videos and now realizing that the learning curve for honing seems to be a large one.

Also, I was going to buy a paddle strop already loaded with paste/chromium oxide but I think I have decided to attempt to build my own paddle strop. I read the forum within SRP from where a few members have built their own paddle strops for final honing and they turned out pretty nice. Thinking I may try felt, balsa, and leather but it seems that most folks have better luck with felt or balsa in regards to pasted strops. I may also attempt to load up the canvas strop that came with my leather strop with some .5 Chromium Oxide see how that works.

Updates of my first honings and hopefully some pics of my attempts at a home-made paddle strop soon to follow. Cheers gentlemen.....

Let us know and we will help you.

The nortons are awesome to start with and I am sure you will like them. The 4/8K was a staple for me when I first got it and I NEEDED it to hone my razors for a very long time. It's the work horse that most of us learned to hone on back in the day, which was a few years ago LOL>

I am a newb at honing myself. The Norton set is what I am using and I really like it. The only real complaint you ever hear about it is the fact that you have to soak the stones before you use them. Not a big deal at all. Enjoy and good luck.

Originally Posted by dtrain17

. . . I will still need to get a slurry/prep stone as well and have been looking for a decent old barber hone as well. I'm anxious to see how the sharpening of my old razors will go after watching countless videos and now realizing that the learning curve for honing seems to be a large one.

. . . I may also attempt to load up the canvas strop that came with my leather strop with some .5 Chromium Oxide see how that works.

It sounds like you're off to a good start.

FWIW:

a) Since you're using Norton stones, why do you need a slurry stone?

b) I put some CrOxide on my canvas strop -- it's worked very nicely to smooth out the edges off my Norton 8K. One side is light green, the other side is still white. I suppose the paste may work its way through the fabric eventually.

Charles

As far as needing the slurry stones I thought the slurry or my norton prep stone is what i would be using on my 8k. Again, new to honing so all this info is great.

Yeah i may just put some chromium oxide on the canvas part of my strop and give that a shot before making a paddle strop. Thanks all.......

just make sure you check the flatness before you start, it'll make a difference

Originally Posted by dtrain17

As far as needing the slurry stones I thought the slurry or my norton prep stone is what i would be using on my 8k. Again, new to honing so all this info is great..

I my opinion, slurry on the 4k is great but I would try just water on the 8k at first until you get a feel for how slurry changes the cutting efficacy of a stone.

If you want slurry just lap the stone before using it and leave the slurry on there, id dilute it as I go though.

Btw, the norton should be lapped totally smooth before you use it.

be sure to lapp your hone first if not it wont produce an even edge.

if you've never lapped before don't worry, it's easy.
there are some great examples in the wiki