Thread: Barber Hone Question

I've been reading more posts on honing lately as I try to decide if I want to try my hand at it.

I don't restore razors and so what I really want is something to just maintain the edge on my blades.

I keep hearing that a barber hone is all that's really needed. At 1/3 to 1/2 the price of a 12K finishing stone, what am I giving up by going to a barber hone and how do I actually use it? Wet? Dry?

check out some recent posts on them...just search barbers hone and it should bring up a few threads that will answer all your questions. They can be great to maintain a razors edge. you can use most with water or lather.

They are not sexy enough to be the hot topic of conversation

Simply put they flat do their job, no muss no fuss no BS

I have a simple straight forward Vid up on my Youtube channel on some ways to use them just google "gssixgun, barber's hone"

For maintaining your razors they are simple, easy, and cost effective...

Originally Posted by joebehar

I've been reading more posts on honing lately as I try to decide if I want to try my hand at it.

I don't restore razors and so what I really want is something to just maintain the edge on my blades.

I keep hearing that a barber hone is all that's really needed. At 1/3 to 1/2 the price of a 12K finishing stone, what am I giving up by going to a barber hone and how do I actually use it? Wet? Dry?

the only issues likely with a barber's hone is the vintage one might need to be lapped first, but odds are you will only have to do that once every few year or less often. and their size if you are used the the big 8x3" hones the barber's hones are much smaller my largest is 6.5x2.5" and my smallest is 4.5x1.5" smaller sizes means more laps usually.

jim

Originally Posted by gssixgun

They are not sexy enough to be the hot topic of conversation

Simply put they flat do their job, no muss no fuss no BS

I have a simple straight forward Vid up on my Youtube channel on some ways to use them just google "gssixgun, barber's hone"

For maintaining your razors they are simple, easy, and cost effective...

by "sexy" glen means they are cheap and relatively easy to find and they get the job done without being flashy. nobody wants them because of the modern mentality of "goods and products that cost more are inherently better than less expensive ones" if somebody on the bay started a trend of listing$200+ for a barber hone... all of a sudden they would be the talk of all the shaving forums

enjoy,
jim

Thanks guys,

I've put an ad in the trade section of the classifieds looking for one. If anyone is interested in a trade, I'm all ears

Originally Posted by gssixgun

They are not sexy enough to be the hot topic of conversation

Simply put they flat do their job, no muss no fuss no BS

I have a simple straight forward Vid up on my Youtube channel on some ways to use them just google "gssixgun, barber's hone"

For maintaining your razors they are simple, easy, and cost effective...

Thank you gssixgun. I watched the video, but I have a question.

You mention that a barber hone is only about 8K in grit...I thought I needed much finer than that to maintain an edge.

No, 8k is more than enough...you'll see guys talking about 12k...30k...

Really after 8k you are spending lots of $$$ chasing the perfect edge, but the difference isn't so drastic. If you look at old contests, some guys were getting comfortable shaves using only 1k.

Originally Posted by ryanjewell

No, 8k is more than enough...you'll see guys talking about 12k...30k...

Really after 8k you are spending lots of $$$ chasing the perfect edge, but the difference isn't so drastic. If you look at old contests, some guys were getting comfortable shaves using only 1k.

Absolutely !!!
So send me all of your unused, abandoned 12k & 30k hones; I will pay for shipping.
I will see that they never, ever, see the edge of a razor again.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Absolutely !!!
So send me all of your unused, abandoned 12k & 30k hones; I will pay for shipping.
I will see that they never, ever, see the edge of a razor again.

Funny...
I didn't say I wasn't chasing the perfect edge, I just said it wasn't necessary to maintain a razor