Thread: New to straight razors and need help with honing..

what kind of blade is that? Looks like it may be a poor quality blade that may not be worth your efforts. It would be a shame to put lot of time i to it only to find that it won't hold an edge.

Its a pretty inexpensive blade.
About the hone, it is a 3k/8k stone.

What brand of razor and stone are you using.

Not all stones are for razor use, it is not just about grit size. And not all razor shaped knives are of shave quality and will not take an edge.

this is the stone, and the blade's brand is Berox.
although i wanted to try straight razor shaving first before buying the more expensive stuff, i know get the saying in hebrew that says that if you buy something cheap, you're gonna pay for it...
are these things i bought doomed to be thrown away?

I've never heard of that brand before, but if the grit rating is accurate it probably is ok for razors. The razor has some issues that will need a coarser stone that you have, you will need something under 1k to remove the frown. Do a member search for other members from Israel, I know there are a few, maybe they can get you started with honing

should i try using sandpaper?

You could, I would start with 1k grit wet/dry and raise the spine to remove the frown. Use 1-2 layers of tape after the frown is gone. This won't be easy honing for a beginner just so you know

Originally Posted by dvir1225

should i try using sandpaper?

easy is for lazy people

Ha!!! But seriously I killed a few blades when I first started honing because they were above my grade level, luckily they were junkers

Originally Posted by dvir1225

easy is for lazy people

Looks like you are using too much pressure with a hard aggressive stone, on a soft razor. Do tape the spine so you do not destroy it before you put an edge on it.

Your stone is very hard, aggressive and not suitable for razors but… you may get lucky if you use a light hand. There are only a handful of knife stones that work well with razors, but in skilled hand a good honer can get an edge on a razor, with luck. Razor quality stone make life much easier. You can use Wet & Dry sand paper, but you have the stone and you will still need a 8kish stone to finish on.

Straighten the edge using a Bread Knife technique, (so you are at least starting with a straight edge) and hone with X strokes with moderate pressure until the bevels come together on the 1K.

Then switch to the 8k side and use lite pressure until you remove all the 1k stria. Then strop and shave.

Your razor may be too soft to take an edge, I have never heard of that brand, but you have nothing to lose, so give it a try. Even if you get an edge, it may not hold it. Try it and strop it well, on leather.