Thread: Honing ain't for sissies!!!

Thought I was Bad A$$ when I finished honing my favorite razors ( 4/8, 12k, then stropping). I figured if'n i could shave arm hair , I was good to go.
Got ready, got what I thought was a decent lather, brushed up,but lather was drying on my face almost immediately.? Grabbed a few of my razors - W&B, DD, Boker!, and began the ritual. TERRIBLE! They would all cut arm hair, but not my beard!
Grabbed my Wosty that Glen honed for me and had a Magnificent shave, my first full face (3 total) without nary a nick or cut and no razor burn. Thanks again to Maestro Glen for his honing skills.
Only major issue was the lather was drying out so fast That I reverted to lather in a can to finish up. Any thoughts or suggestions?
I'm extremely glad that I had a reference for what a sharp blade was supposed to be- Time to go back to the stones and practice practice and practice .
Thanks Gentlemen for all you do, BloodBath. (Jim)

Shave your arm hair with the Glen razor and shoot for one hair at a time and see how little touch it takes to cut the hair. Also lift the blade off the skin and do the same. That will get you sharpness.

Now smoothness is another thing so I am learning.

These are just my thoughts and am in the learning phase as well. I am sure there will be better recommendations. But having a reference razor is always helpful.

Shave off the 1k then move up, and one razor at a time. If you can't cut beard off the 1k your wasting your time on the rest.
Oh, no 1k, then 4k. Wait a minute...have you watched all the videos yet. Did you apply for a honers license ?

What soap are you using ? Cream, Puck, lather on face, in a bowl, is your water hard, hot, cold ?

Do not hesitate to dip your brush tip in water and rehydrate face lather and bowl lather as needed. This helps maintain hair softness for easy cuting, cushion, and glide for skin protection.

I treetop arm and chest hair to help me judge shave worthyness. I compare the feel of pro honed razors to those I hone and touchup myself. The final test is the shave test, the only one that matters.

Stropping is not as easy as it looks. In three years, I must have stropped at least 100K strokes but I am still learning and developing the right touch. Consider trying a bench or paddle strop pasted with CrOx or 0.5 u diamonds for touchups.

HTH

Thanks gents
I've been using "puck in a bowl" for lather. Water is very hard but hot. I've watched most if not all of the honing and other videos. I must practice more!
Best Regards,
BB

Any chance you could do a video of your honing technique. i have very little razor honing experience, and i use a coticule bout, and all mt razors will HHT right of the stone, so maybe there's something wrong with how your honing.

Simple...FIND A HONING MENTOR. Find someone who hones within driving distance & go visit them. A few hours with them & you will be kicking yourself in the tail for not doing it earlier...