Thread: The value of mentorship in learning to hone

I have been wet shaving for many, many years.. straights for about a year. Nearly all of what I have had to learn about lathering, blade selection, shave technique, has been learned by reading, watching vids or chatting via the web. Along with a ton of mistakes and a few small successes.

I tried to do the same with honing and it didn't get me too far.. Accurately describing the amount of pressure to apply to a stone, or presenting the difference between a milky slurry and a misty slurry... well, for me the vids just fall short.

Fortune was bestowed on me when Michael, aka mjsorkin, offered to give me some personal time and share his technique with natural stones. I arrived at his house early Sunday morning; his family had yet to wake.. even Fred the cat was till snoozing..

Michael's work bench would be an awesome place for any of us to go shopping.. Shapton glass, Naniwa's in all sorts of pastel flavors, Coti's, Thuringian, Norton, JNats...

Together we worked three blades.. Michael examined my edges, as well as my technique (talk about pressure) and offered feedback. He was patient not only with my many questions, but in his approach to honing, which to me was a critical point to learn and mimic. Slow, deliberate and patient. He tested the bevel on single arm hairs rather than my technique of trying to mow down patches.

He shared a simple explanation, visual and tactile, that helped me understand the levels of pressure he was using on the stones. And, watching him build and manage the slurry, examine, test and retest the edge and then use feather-like passes on the super sexy Tony Miller strop was like mini moments of magic. It would have taken me ages and much trial and error, to learn what I learned in a few hours..

I struggled to find any more questions to ask him.. Michael was that thorough.

Our community, and hobby, is graced many gentlemen and Michael is a gem among them. If you get a chance to spend time with him, as I did, you'll come away better than you arrived. His hospitality and generosity in giving without expectation, and the pride he takes in romancing the stones, are what I think epitomize the term 'gentlemanly'.

Thank you Michael!

PS - I've had a chance to shave with one of the three razors we worked on.. a 7/8 Bengall. The edge Michael coaxed from the Coti is sublime. I hope to be able to duplicate his work.. fingers crossed.