Thread: Question about honing stones

On Lynn's dvd he hones a razor on a small, hand held barber hone. My understanding is that this keeps the edge keen after the initial sharpening of a new or restored razor. Then he goes on to show honing with a Norton 4k/8k, then the Belgian yellow coticle stone.

My question is this: Lynn honed my razor and I've been using it for a couple of weeks. It shouldn't need sharpening for quite a while. Will using a small barber hone keep the edge indefinately or will I eventually have to go the Norton/Belgian honing route.
“Always do right. This will gratify some people & astonish the rest” – Mark Twain

Richard,

The right barber hone, properly used, should be enough to keep the razor going indefinitely. They are tricky to use, though, as Lynn indicates in the DVD. And there are no grit ratings on them, so it's hard to know if you have one that will work for this purpose.

I'd recommend getting a paddle strop pasted with an abbrasive, like the ones sold by Tony Miller. That will let you keep the razor going for quite some time--maybe a year--until you're ready to jump into honing. I think they go for around $30.

A Norton is a little expensive, but that $65 will keep your razor shaving forever.

If you really want to try the barber hones, try the beginner's set sold by Tilly at www.redtrader99.com.

Good luck,
Josh

Thanks Josh! Actually I have a Black Devil hone coming from Tilly.

“Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions.” – Mark Twain

I never had any luck at all with the barber hones. *sigh*

X

I have order my Barber hone too
I am not sure how good is it, or how I will be able to use it, but it doesn't cost that much, so even if I won't have good result, it can be a nice souvenir

Maintaining an edge indefinitely has been a very elusive goal for many years. So far I am not aware of anyone that has been able to use a barber hone exclusively to maintain a shaving sharp edge. It seems that eventually the bevel becomes rounded and/or the edge becomes "weak". Then it is time for the bevel to be reformed. That requires a 4000 grit hone or equivalent. The pasted paddle strop's and the barber hones will extend the life of an edge but it is probably not indefinite.

Just my two cents,

IIRC, Rich has been getting some crazy times with his pasted paddle, like over a year. Rich, any thoughts on this topic?