First post- input needed about hones

A month ago I purchased one of those cheap straight razors that you put a half of a razor blade in to shave. I went fairly well and I picked up a used good quality real straight razor at a gun shop. I was planning on sending it out for honing but figured I would try some on my own so I made a few strops and rubbed compound into some of them. The finest stone I have is a 4000 grit japanese water stone. I honed the razor on that then did about 100 strokes on a balsa strop with cromium oxide, 100 more strokes on a leather strop with white compound and a 100 more on plain veg tanned leather. The razor passed the hanging hair test, so I shaved with it this morning. All went well and it shaved well, no razor burns or irritation. So finally to my question...Would you reccomend still purchasing finer grit stones for this razor or should I just strop it on a regular basis to maintain the current edge? What bennefits would I get from finer grit stones?

Thanks

John

If the shave was good, and you don't feel that you need a sharper edge, than you don't need anything else to hone your razor. There is always a better stone, and a sharper edge, but it is cheaper to not chase the best possible :)

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Originally Posted by jeness

There is always a better stone, and a sharper edge, but it is cheaper to not chase the best possible :)

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Good luck with that advice hanging around this place :)

But in all seriousness, congrats for getting a good edge, that is a great accomplishment!

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Originally Posted by Kingfish

Good luck with that advice hanging around this place :)

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Yes I know, I try to help people not to catch HAD, as I did :D

What kind of white compound did you use? Chromium oxide is already very fine, I think mine is 0,3 micron.

I think it's impressive you had a good shave with the materials used. You either have a fine beard or skills :)

Congrats on the successful edge! As has been pointed out, there's always a better/sharper/smoother edge attainable at the low, low cost of your child's college education.

That being said, I've never been a huge advocate for pastes for no other reason than that pastes do....eventually....run out. Best part about a hone is that it's there. Continually until the end of time. Unless you're honing an extremely large amount of razors each day. Again, this is just my personal preference with pastes. It's the same reason I stopped with cartridge razors: Hated having to buy more. For myself, I'd rather spend $80 on a good finisher. This is not inerrant truth, just my preference.

It is not surprising that a razor finished on a 4k waterstone further refined with CRO2 would give a more pleasant shave than a cartridge razor. This is true for me at least, for just under 3 years ago I was using only a Belgian Blue whetstone, which albeit a natural, is said to impart a 4K level scratch pattern. I actually believe it is greatly affected by the hand using the stone, not the stone itself, meaning that one more proficient with a hone than another could achieve a superior edge with a coarser hone than that other, ceteris paribus, again depending on the difference in ranges between those two hones.

When I first began, Steve the proprietor of The Invisible Edge advised me that he preferred the edges left by hones rather than pastes, but qualifying that it was largely personal. I have always been one for the hones. Notwithstanding that I have very little experience with pastes, 100 laps on CRO2 does seem rather alot from what I have read about them, but if it got you an edge that you were pleased with, congratulations, and it should only get better.

I would try and acquire a finisher such as a Barber hone, coticule, Naniwa 12K and see which finish you prefer. If you do go for a synthetic, check it is no more than double the grit of your 4K, or you will need an intermediate.

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Originally Posted by Piet

What kind of white compound did you use? Chromium oxide is already very fine, I think mine is 0,3 micron.

I think it's impressive you had a good shave with the materials used. You either have a fine beard or skills :)

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All three compounds were Sears buffing compounds. I loaded one balsa strop with black compound and was not able to cut a hanging hair after going through all the steps. I thought that black may be courser than 4000 so I skipped it and started over. I do think I will research a finishing hone just to reduce all the stropping.

woodcraft chinese 12k enroute.

Did you buy a slurry stone?

not yet? Do you have any recomendations?

question when shaving the razor didnt pull at all ?

If you are passing the HHT then you are good to go really. Don't rush into buying a bunch of stones that you potentially won't use. Although there is no substitute for actually trying things, you can learn lots by buying just one or two items.

The ONLY definitive test for a razor is a shave, NOT "HHT". Even then I am concerned as you don't have a "barometer" to gage your razor by. Over my first year of honing, I repeat, year, I kept a razor honed by one of the best in the business sitting around to gage my razors shaving ability. I would like to see you get off on the right foot & if you have a second razor I would offer to hone it if you cover shipping. Once you get to where your edge matches it, then you can send it to a pro to see if you can EVER match it...it's a fun journey!

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Originally Posted by JohnnyNorth

If you are passing the HHT then you are good to go really.

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What if there is a wire edge?

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Originally Posted by shooter74743

The ONLY definitive test for a razor is a shave, NOT "HHT". Even then I am concerned as you don't have a "barometer" to gage your razor by. Over my first year of honing, I repeat, year, I kept a razor honed by one of the best in the business sitting around to gage my razors shaving ability. I would like to see you get off on the right foot & if you have a second razor I would offer to hone it if you cover shipping. Once you get to where your edge matches it, then you can send it to a pro to see if you can EVER match it...it's a fun journey!

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I don't think that it is needed for every straight shaver to be able to hone like a pro. If the result he gets is good for him, why should he buy a lot of expensive hones, and try to match Lynns edges?

I'm not saying you need a lot of stones, I'm just saying that you need to know what a good sharp (shave ready) razor is all about...this is why I was offering the OP to hone a spare razor for the cost of shipping. This member has experience with a shavette and his freshly honed razor only...not a razor honed by someone who has been in this "game" for a bit. There is a great difference and I would like to see someone starting out to start out on the right foot knowing what a shave ready razor is all about. When we are honing, I would HOPE that each and every one of us wants to obtain the very best possible with what tools (both physical tools and mental tools) we have. Most of us aspiring to better our edges & skills will have a razor honed by someone better than theirselves to have a "goal" to try to attain.

Shooter, thank you for the info and the offer to hone. I just bought a second razor last weekend and would love to send it to you to hone. I will first hone it and try to get it the best I can to get some feedback from someone with experiance.

Sure, just PM me when you are ready. Do your best with it, shave with it and make some notes or even post them here. Then send it to me and I'll shave with it and give you feedback via PM. If it needs honed, I will hone it, ensure it shaves well, then send it back. This will at the least let you know more. The quest for knowledge (and of course a great shave) is what it's all about. If I ever stop learning...I'll more than likely be resting in a pine box...

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Originally Posted by pike3e

Shooter, thank you for the info and the offer to hone. I just bought a second razor last weekend and would love to send it to you to hone. I will first hone it and try to get it the best I can to get some feedback from someone with experiance.

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Great idea put an edge you find suitable on it and let shooter see it'd it's an okay edge. If it needs improvement shooter can give it a nice edge and hopefully some pointers. I've never used pastes after an 4k but I do know SRP is a rather stone-centric group. Historically many straight razor users only had access to pasted strops and it worked for them so who knows. A great offer from shooter, that's what makes SRP what it is!

Update:
It has been about four weeks since my initial post. In that time I have been shaving with the razor that I honed on an almost daily basis and have not experienced any issues like irritation, bumps ect. In that time Shooter74743 honed a second razor that I have and in truth was unable to get a satisfactory edge on myself. I received the razor back a few days ago and shaved with it.

The results:
The razor honed by Shooter was much easier to shave with. It shaved with less pressure and I could not even feel the hairs being cut. Although my razor was and continues to work fine, this is definitely noticeably better. I could really tell the difference when I shaved a little patch of skin dry. His razor still shaved easily, mine pulled like crazy.

Thanks everyone, especially Shooter for helping a newb start off on the right track.

Gah I need to get into stones...Been having the itch to try it out. Don't want to mess with pastes.