Thread: Who hones and who just doesn't want to?

I wanted to learn the old way of shaving, not knowing if I would like it or not. I felt it was necessary to learn to hone, so I could maintain my own razor & not be dependant upon another.

I think honing overwhelms some people because they want to learn it all ,in a set time period. I think many see honing as a course of study , to be approached hard & fast with a "test" as the end result, hoping & praying for a high score. If a passing score is not achieved, then they get discouraged.

With all the stones that I have been fortunate enough to buy, I actually spend more time honing my knives properly, my axes & machetes.(different hones for each, of course) My razors are good for quite a while , once touched up. Honing becomes an enjoyable pastime, I can feel this way, because I don't hone for services & can go a week without touching a hone.

I think, Kwlfca, honing is like anything else, if you allow it to become a task, it eventually wears out it's welcome.

I recently decided to not hone my own razors but to learn to do a good re freshening of them to prolong the need to do a full honing. My logic behind the decision is this. One: Refreshing an edge require fewer tools and less time. Two: Bluntly, I'm to old to start on a long process that may take years to come close to perfecting. I'd be the 98 year old that on achieving a 99% perfect hone would stand up, declare "Eureka!" and keel over.

I've been honing straight razors since last year, and have been honing kitchen knives and tools before that for years. I enjoy taking care of my tools, so honing has become part of my tool maintenance routine. I like the challenge it offers when handling different blades.

While I do hone my own razors I also hate doing so. I know its a must as a serious straight razor user & collector, so I soldier on. I'm always jealous to hear other members who love this act, for me its a prison sentence.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I think honing overwhelms some people because they want to learn it all ,in a set time period. I think many see honing as a course of study , to be approached hard & fast with a "test" as the end result, hoping & praying for a high score. If a passing score is not achieved, then they get discouraged.
.....

Just summed up my entire experience...I'm thankfully past the discouragement stage as I realize this is a long journey!

Originally Posted by Ru4scuba

Just summed up my entire experience...I'm thankfully past the discouragement stage as I realize this is a long journey!

As I've mentioned before, baby steps for me.

First learn how to shave.

Now, I've learned about white / grey paste on the linen side of the strop, have a CroX balsa board, and a coti to refresh my razors. So far, made it as far as strop and balsa board. Going to a workshop next week to learn how to refresh blades using the coti, and when I'm proficient in that. I'll think about whether the next step is what I want to do - hone my own.

It's the journey for me, not the destination, and I'll take the path that presents itself to me when the time comes....in the meantime, it's all about the fun!