Thread: Honing didn't go too well

My advice would be to put the hone and razor down and step away. Don't try to learn to hone by using a fine razor. Get something that you can feel comfortable making a lot of errors on without worry. Your Bismark does not sound like that kind of razor.

where did you get the coticule? it probably still has the sawing marks on the stone, you might want to get rid of that, getting those sawmark of the honing surface might be hard or easy depending on the type of coticule, if you have a few pocket knives laying around it might be an idea to hone those to break in your coticule. another option is to get a flat surface and some sanding paper to get the job done.

when the sawmarks are already out, try to progerssively reduce the pressure you use to the point where all the pressure you use is just to keep the razor flat on the coticule while honing. but you should get something cheaper then a Dovo Bismarck to learn to hone

I'm in Eindhoven by the way

Edit: forgot to mention that there is a benelux sub forum around here

Thanks you all for the great advices.

Originally Posted by pinklather

It might be that you're one of the rare people that just have natural talent at honing & shaving and will do fine on your own.

Definitely not, otherwise i would not be asking questions here

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

My advice would be to put the hone and razor down and step away. Don't try to learn to hone by using a fine razor. Get something that you can feel comfortable making a lot of errors on without worry. Your Bismark does not sound like that kind of razor.

I think your right. There is an 8 euro razor on it's way to me, I will practice a lot on that (hoping it will ever get sharp).

Originally Posted by Bram

where did you get the coticule? it probably still has the sawing marks on the stone, you might want to get rid of that

I got it from ardennes-coticule. I'll have a look at the sawing marks thing.

I knew there was a benelux subforum. I just didn't think about it when I started the thread.

I hone razors my many first time straight users, and they have similar stories. I've shaved with the razors they say aren't shave ready. Not a shot at you, but it does take time to learn this properly. The best advice I can give you, it to get your razor honed by a pro, and rule that part out. That way you know whether or not it's your technique.

You should learn to shave/use the razor before you dive into honing. You have to crawl before you can walk.

Good luck to you....

I didn't think honing would be easy. And I think you're right zip. I'll not be honing my bismarck again until I've got a lot more experience in honing. And for now I'll be looking for somebody who can hone it.
Also, as Bram already mentioned, I found that my coticule wasn't flat. I found a great "Hone lapping" thread on SRP (http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ing-101-a.html). It should be flat now

So you have received good advice re finding a mentor and learning to shave with a pro honed razor.

When you do begin to hone you will need a bevel setting stone in the 1K range and some magnification, an experienced Coticule honer could bevel set a razor but first you must learn the Coticule.

The Coticule, while a great stone is probably the most difficult stone to learn. There is so much variety in the stone and then you add slurry, (thick –thin- how much?) the variables increase exponentially. Used as a finishing stone post bevel set is much easier, especially for a novice honer.

The other thing that will guarantee you honing success is learn how and when a bevel is “Completely Set”. There are many threads and video on this on this site for that. If you bevel is not set, everything after that is a waste of time. This is the cause of most novice honing failure and most probably yours.

Lastly tape your spine, once you have mastered honing you can decide if you wish to continue to tape, but at least you will still have a razor to hone.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Lastly tape your BEVEL (SPINE), once you have mastered honing you can decide if you wish to continue to tape, but at least you will still have a razor to hone.

He meant tape the spine, not the bevel.

Hi all,

I too am new to SR shaving and have started to learn how to hone. I first bought a Norton 4/8 and have practiced on this, have since got ambitious and bought a 1/3 to practice bevel setting, the thing I found was it can be addictive and I had to put them down for fear of habitual bad edges. I have since taken deep breaths and relaxed and learnt to become 'at one with the hone' and this has worked quite well, it does take a lot of practice and patience, but I have found that after all the research from books and the net you will find your own style and be comfortable with it. I use a brand new shave ready Boker as my benchmark and have bought many a vintage razor from e-bay to practice with. I wish you luck and happy honing

Originally Posted by Bram

where did you get the coticule? it probably still has the sawing marks on the stone, you might want to get rid of that, getting those sawmark of the honing surface might be hard or easy depending on the type of coticule, if you have a few pocket knives laying around it might be an idea to hone those to break in your coticule. another option is to get a flat surface and some sanding paper to get the job done.

Just a few short remarks: you don't need to break in coticules. They work from the get go. Also superficial sawing marks really shouldn't be an issue and as far as I know coticules usually come flat from Ardennes-Coticule. I know I messed up when I didn't get results in the beginning and lapped my stone three times, convinced that it wasn't flat. It was, my honing stroke just sucked, bad.

I started pretty much like Metsie, I got three razors, one I tried to polish up (dum-dum-duuuuhm), one I tried to hone (dum-dum-duuuuuhm) and one I used to shave with (dum-du...I guess you get the point). So I started honing on a coticule when I started shaving. When you start out with ANYTHING, you're bound to suck at it, hard. It gets frustrating when these frustrating experiences pile up: while shaving, honing, stropping, lapping, lathering...it's one big mess.

But if you persevere, it'll be fine. One thing I learned - quite late - is that when honing and it's not working out: rinse off everything, dry the razor and put it away, grab a beer. Especially in the beginning. Also: the bevel is everything. A good bevel makes honing a whole lot easier.

And hey, look at it like this: you just started honing, and you got an edge that isn't dull and actually shaves. That's a good start.

One last word: unicot, unicot, unicot.

Originally Posted by Pithor

And hey, look at it like this: you just started honing, and you got an edge that isn't dull and actually shaves. That's a good start.

Sounds good, but I had a better edge before I started to honing, but at least it still shaves!
ohw well, I should have waited for another razor to start honing. But I had only one, and I hoped to get it slightly better. Better luck next time