Thread: When should/did you start honing?

Almost straight (excuse the pun) away

I now keep a 'honing journal'. I was curious the other day to see when I last honed a particular razor of mine. Looking at the journal I noted that for the WHOLE of 2013 I had only 8 honing sessions for the 7 razors I have. This is what occured:

1st Jan
De Pews 10 laps Shapton 16k

3rd Feb
Wade and Butcher 20 laps Norton 8k, 10 Shapton 16k
Jernbologet Frameback 10 Shapton 16k

4th Feb
J A Hellberg 40 laps Shapton 16k

31st Mar
Jernbologet 10 Shapton 16k (light slurry), 10 Shapton 16k (no slurry)

9th June
De Pews extensive honing on Norton 4/8 to create even bevel, added two more layers of tape (to give three layers) followed by extensive honing on Norton 8 and Shapton 16k

21st July
Klas Törnblom 40 Shapton 16k
De Pews 20 Shapton 16k
Burrell Top Flight 20 Shapton 16k

10th Oct
Klas Törnblom 20 Shapton 16k
Burrell Top Flight 15 Shapton 16k
Wade and Butcher 15 Shapton 16k
Joseph Elliot 15 Shapton 16k

8th Dec
Son's Emil Kronenberg Sen 'Edgerite' Pyrimid Norton 4/8 (4k x 20, 8k x 20, 4k x 19, 8k x 20, 4k x 18, 8k x 20 etc to 4k x 1, 8k x 20 then 20 Shapton 16k

15th Dec
Klas Törnblom Norton 4/8 4k x 10, 8k x 20, 4k x 9, 8 x 20, 4k x 8, 8k x 20 etc to 4k x 1, 8k x 20 then Shapton 16k x 20

Interesting, isn't it? there's not a LOT of honing going on there. One razor (the Joseph Elliot) was new to the stable and the son's razor was of course his and not mine. Looking at this, many received only a touch up on the Shapton for the entire year. I rotate the 7 razors evenly (i.e. generally, they get used once a week).

Hope this helps, sorry for the long post.

Carl

Almost immediately, I bought my first razor at an antique shop and it wasn't sharp. So bought I some stones and watched some videos and found local honemeister Randy Tuttle (randydance062449) who helped me a very great deal. I highly recommend some hands on instruction if there is any one local to you

I started pretty much right away…then eventually sent my two razors to Lynn to fix the mess I'd made of them. I do better now (Norton 4k/8k) but am looking forward to delivery of a third shave-ready razor, since it will re-calibrate my expectations again. If it's ridiculously better than my current blades, I'll send those off to a honemeister again and then keep trying!

IMHO, you could start honing when you can shave reasonably well otherwise the shave test would mean little.

I started honing off the bat also tho honing would be the wrong word for what I did to my first razor .
In my defence there was no SRP to help then, in fact I don't think there was a public internet either.
Never thought to ask a barber for help as I didn't use one. My hair was half way down by back.

In a perfect world one would start honing after knowing how to shave, strop, and maintain a shave ready razor. Then you can have a lot of fun honing razors while still having a few shave ready to use while you learn to hone.

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Almost straight (excuse the pun) away

I now keep a 'honing journal'. I was curious the other day to see when I last honed a particular razor of mine. Looking at the journal I noted that for the WHOLE of 2013 I had only 8 honing sessions for the 7 razors I have. This is what occured:

1st Jan
De Pews 10 laps Shapton 16k

3rd Feb
Wade and Butcher 20 laps Norton 8k, 10 Shapton 16k
Jernbologet Frameback 10 Shapton 16k

4th Feb
J A Hellberg 40 laps Shapton 16k

31st Mar
Jernbologet 10 Shapton 16k (light slurry), 10 Shapton 16k (no slurry)

9th June
De Pews extensive honing on Norton 4/8 to create even bevel, added two more layers of tape (to give three layers) followed by extensive honing on Norton 8 and Shapton 16k

21st July
Klas Törnblom 40 Shapton 16k
De Pews 20 Shapton 16k
Burrell Top Flight 20 Shapton 16k

10th Oct
Klas Törnblom 20 Shapton 16k
Burrell Top Flight 15 Shapton 16k
Wade and Butcher 15 Shapton 16k
Joseph Elliot 15 Shapton 16k

8th Dec
Son's Emil Kronenberg Sen 'Edgerite' Pyrimid Norton 4/8 (4k x 20, 8k x 20, 4k x 19, 8k x 20, 4k x 18, 8k x 20 etc to 4k x 1, 8k x 20 then 20 Shapton 16k

15th Dec
Klas Törnblom Norton 4/8 4k x 10, 8k x 20, 4k x 9, 8 x 20, 4k x 8, 8k x 20 etc to 4k x 1, 8k x 20 then Shapton 16k x 20

Interesting, isn't it? there's not a LOT of honing going on there. One razor (the Joseph Elliot) was new to the stable and the son's razor was of course his and not mine. Looking at this, many received only a touch up on the Shapton for the entire year. I rotate the 7 razors evenly (i.e. generally, they get used once a week).

Hope this helps, sorry for the long post.

Carl

Wow so the Hellberg was honed about 6 months before I got it then.

I started honing right away with just the Norton Combo 4/8k and a Barbers hone used that setup straight up until last year.....
oh, and a Smith's tri hone from Lowes to remove chips and set bevels

I started about the first few months, failing miserably at what I was doing. I have gotten better, not great, but better.

While advice from a newbie is counter intuitive, I feel closer to the problem than those who have forgotten how they got where they are. Start with a 2x6 Coticule. It will finish with water, down the road you can build light slurry, and even later it can perform complete Unicot from bevel set. Hold it in your hand and learn the feel. Experts will probably suggest you start on a practice razor which is a safe approach. If your ever need to do a more invasive bevel set you can buy a Chosera and you are done - and ahead financially. As you become more picky JNAT's await your disposable income. I see synthetics as tools for those restoring and honing large volumes of razors. For home use stick with time tested (10000's of years) naturals.

Expert criticism welcome

Started after 6 months or so. Got the shapton gs setup of 1-4-8-16 and a DMT 325.

I have found that if you watch videos, watch others hone in person, ask questions, and take your time, you can get a pretty good result over and over. For me it's a combination of patience and confidence. You can't be afraid of honing and get good results. Just my opinion.