Thread: Newbie question

He actually has utube video I believe.

i was in your position a few years ago...I'd buy a naniwa 12k. Easy to use. It's more expensive than a chinese 12k. Sometimes the chinese stones aren't actually 12k. Natural stones aren't as user friendly either.

+1 to the Naniwa's. Great stones, Good feedback, and fast. Steve at the invisible edge sells them here:
Razor Hones

good news! i asked my dad and he has two honing stones, each with two sides with different grit. the problem is that they're quite small, might be able to get a picture with the razor tomorrow. what is the safest way to use the smaller stone? in respect to keeping it in place? to stop slippages, cuts etc.

Do you have any experience with honing-sharpening? I don't know the circumstances, but the fact that you didn't know this already is not a very good sign, and for honing a razor to an acceptable degree needs experience no matter how gifted we are.

my idea was to start slowly by touching up my razor when needed. I'm not looking to fully hone a blunt razor yet, i know i dont have the experience.

Originally Posted by Bren

good news! i asked my dad and he has two honing stones, each with two sides with different grit. the problem is that they're quite small, might be able to get a picture with the razor tomorrow. what is the safest way to use the smaller stone? in respect to keeping it in place? to stop slippages, cuts etc.

Be careful, I have a two sided hone that is on the smallish side that is for knives, tools, and other things. It is NOT for razors. The grit is to low and we mess your razor up in a hurry. Please don't put a razor to it until you are sure of the grit. For touchups, you want at last 8k.

ok, you guys have persuaded me! so, either continue getting it honed professionaly when needed, or invest in a hone.
were i to invest, what grit do i go for? just to touch up the razor, looking at the naniwa stones.
My razor is still perfectly sharp, i wont need a hone for a while, just would like to explore my options and think about everything before i commit to buying something.

Start with the 12k, In can be used in lieu of a Barber's hone.

Bren, Greetings.

Judging by your join date, I'm assuming you're fairly new to the str8 shave. If this is true, I'd counsel to listen to the experienced guys that say to first 'learn the shave' (with professional quality edges). I didn't do that, and it greatly retarded my learning. There are numerous ways to get free or low cost honing. The coticule boys used to offer free honing, and everyone I've spoken with that got one of their edges gave it the greatest of praise. It used to be coticule.be, now something like artisanshaving.com. A thread here asking if there are guys near you that hone for little or free would be another approach.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...er-2011-a.html
(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 ...)

To extend time between honing, pasted strops are popular, but I like the stropping on newsprint backed by a hard, flat, smooth surface, such as another hone, a pc of plate glass, polished marble or stone floor tile. One member here w/ the toughest beard I've ever seen, does 70 strokes on hard backed newsprint, then normal linen/leather stropping, and he hasn't had to send a blade out for honing in the last 6 wks or so. When I honed his razor after about a month of shaving, it looked like a cross-cut saw. The newsprint stropping keeps the edge/bevel flat and straight, unlike the pasted strop. Don't let it get too dull or it won't help much.

If you really have a chance to hang w/ Liam, you're one lucky, lucky guy. I'd make the coffee, sweep the floors just to be able to hang out and learn from so skilled a guy. Getting time there might be more valuable than most other sources of learning.

Have alot of fun while you do it.