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so i am rather new to straight shaving but know that i would like to hone my own razors. would it be better to get something like a barber hone, since you use it as more of a touch up, to start with or would you guys recommend something else?? thanks!!!!
Honing is worth it, and it's good that you're looking to DIY. There are many threads on this topic in this forum. Just do a search or a peruse the recent threads.
The quick answer (from the perspective of a lot of people here) is get a norton 4k/8k combo stone (it's white and yellow) and learn on that. With practice and testing, you should be able to shave reasonably comfortable off the 8k side. You can read about honing progressions in the honing wiki. Beyond that it can get fancy. Higher grit hones give you a smoother shave, but they are more challenging to get a feel for. Examples include naniwa super stone 12k, shaptons, and natural stones such as belgian yellow coticule (my favorite), japanese naturals (tough and expensive and perhaps mythical?), barber hones, the list goes on and on. And if you want to restore damaged edges, you'll need a coarser 1k grit stone (examples include DMT 1200 plate, or naniwa 1k among others). This stuff can quickly become like religion and politics. Can be tough to separate BS from what is real based on your own experience.
Just remember you can't go wrong with starting with Norton 4k/8k. An essential stone.
Good luck!
instantcrow
I always feel like the wet blanket & hypocrit on this - 'cause I ignored this cousel also - and paid for it in blood for the first 6 mo. of shaving.
From the honorable Sixgunner's excellent October post:
"First off I always recommend 6 months of Straight Razor shaving before you start doing anything other than learning to shave After 6 months you should have enough experience to know if you are going to continue using SR's, and at least stand a chance of knowing if your honing is getting there ..."
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...er-2011-a.html
Getting your first razors touched up by someone else the first 6 mo is either inexpensive or free. I don't counsel against your learning to hone, but the 'when to begin' part I got very wrong. I honed up my 238th blade last night. Quite often, it still seems like voodoo. In addition to the stones, you'll need either patience or stupidity - both work. I've used stupidity to good effect - too dumb to know when to quit. A strong sense of humor & irony helps, and a beer or two. When it comes to finishing on a coticule, I've gotten just enough thrills of victory to keep me flailing away and rubbing rocks together, hoping for magic.
For now, I'd rather hear of you sampling edges from several pros, so when you DO start honing, you'll know what 'excellent' is. (keep those beers handy).
I'm in dues-paying mode. When you don't have talent, alot of hard work and practice makes up for alot of it. My AD is skills acqusition disorder. Whether I learn fast or slow doesn't matter - as long as I remain diligent or stupid, and humble enough to ask questions, get help, etc. I'd love several other gucci rocks, but none of them will help me as much as doing another 500 blades.
Should you ever desire any touch-up work, pm me.
Lot's of choices when it comes to honing, and eveyone seems to have their personal favorite.
Check this post by Gssixgun. It pretty much covers it all, What hone(s), paste(s), or spray(s) do I need? - Straight Razor Place Wiki