Thread: New to honing. Wish to freshen up shave ready razors

I maintained my first straight razors for years with just a barber hone and my strop. If you can find a nice specimen it will surely do the trick, and they are usually quite affordable.

If I was to do it all over again however, I would have started off with a coticule. They are great finishers and are very versatile. Which means that as your honing skills progress you can learn to do more work with slurry if need be.

The advantage of buying a new synthetic naniwa 12k or 3k-8k combo stone is that you don't need to worry about it not performing as it is supposed to, they are all the same whomever you purchase it from.

Should you decide on a natural stone or a barber hone, buying from a knowledgable vendor will ensure you get a suitable stone for your needs.

As another newbie I'll throw my two cents in, if it's even worth that. I bought Naniwa Super Stones and am extremely happy with the 12000 for refreshing. Easy to use and just keeps a very nice edge, really nice but probably even more important is to really get the feel for using the strop. It is amazing how well the edge is maintained only with the strop and how much proper stropping will improve the blade, even after a refresh on the 12000.

Originally Posted by apipeguy

As another newbie I'll throw my two cents in, if it's even worth that. I bought Naniwa Super Stones and am extremely happy with the 12000 for refreshing. Easy to use and just keeps a very nice edge, really nice but probably even more important is to really get the feel for using the strop. It is amazing how well the edge is maintain only with the strop and how much proper stripping will improve the blade, even after a refresh on the 12000.

Plus One apipeguy

I love my honing setup with a progression of Norton Combos (220/1k and 4k/8k) and a Naniwa 12k. I think the 12k is a fantastic finisher and works wonders. Having said that, if just light refreshing is all you are interested in, and the thought of learning to hone is not necessarily your "thing" this can pretty easily be accomplished on either a pasted webbing strop or, if you don't want to paste a webbing strop, balsa. For simple touch-ups, I really just rely on pasted balsa with Chromium Oxide on one side and Iron Oxide on the other. 10 light pressure passes on either side really does the trick. Follow with 30-50 on plain webbing and 50 on leather and its smooth sailing.

Having said all of that...I tend to use my 12k then the balsa for most of my touch-ups...but that is primarily because I really am getting into honing and enjoy the practice.

For a bare minimum get good quality Chromium Oxide crayon or paste and treat the backside of your linen/cotton strop this will keep you going for some time. First refresh stone either Naniwa 12k or Shapton will get the job done nicely. The next thing I would recommend although not necessary is Dovo White paste on your linen/cotton strop, This can be used daily and i have found really helps give a blade a little extra smoothness which may help with your skin sensitivity. Later on when your ready to plunge into a full honing progression Norton 4/8K combo or Naniwa 3/8 combo are work horse stones and are a good economical choice. Entering into the world of honing will give you an extra level of enjoyment and self reliance in your new hobby. I wish you much enjoyment in your wet shaving future.