Thread: Lathering a barber hone

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

Still waiting on the pics

Only got back to where it is last night. Will post something this evening

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Only got back to where it is last night. Will post something this evening

Ah yes, the joys of working in remote locations!

It makes perfect sense that lather can tone down the aggressive cut of some barber hones making for a finer finish. I experimented with dish soap and lather using it even on my honing progressions to see the effect. Using too much can be a mistake spinning your wheels so to speak. Once I put too much soap on a 3 k and honed 4 like a half hour with minimal progress. I would personally use lather or soap only at the very end after it was already there and it might add just a little umph to your edge.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I touch a lathered brush to a wet hone and transfer just enough lather to break the surface tension of the water so that I have a uniform layer of lathered water on the hone.

I'm a bit surprised that Ron's response is the only one mentioning surface tension so far. Soap changes the surface tension ('breaks' it, for lack of a better way to put it), so if anything, the buffer zone between hone and steel would be less rather than more when compared to plain water i.e. plain water works more slowly but finer.

I'm just spit balling here, but maybe the idea of using lather developed as honers (barbers, I guess) needed their hones to work fast, yet they wanted to create some form of buffer between edge and hone to avoid the harshness a 'raw', dry hone would provide. Water might slow down the process too much (even though I assume most barbers could do more strokes in ten seconds than many of us in a minute) and breaking the surface tension with lather might have been the ideal solution for fast, yet moderately refined results.

They needed more speed? Really?
I don't say your wrong,,, as none of us here in the conversation, so far, has had to make a living using one all day. What could possibly be the difference from start to finish of 6 strokes on a barber hone, with only water compared to light lather?

Originally Posted by Hirlau

What could possibly be the difference from start to finish of 6 strokes on a barber hone, with only water compared to light lather?

Different feedback maybe?

My other theory is the psychological effect putting lather on a barber hone has. It feels different so it must be making a finer edge..

Kind of like how old timers swear by using oil to sharpen but these days some of the worlds better knife sharpeners are advocating that oil is not necessary.

You think gramps is giving that oil bottle up? No way, for him it makes a better edge because the "oil" floats away the steel.

It's all a mind trick!!!! Don't stare into the light.

I think all of us here , are over analyzing the old lather & hone issue.
The barber is standing next to a man in a chair, with lather just applied to his face,,, he reaches for a razor or decides after a stroke or two that it needs a touch up, takes a little lather from the back of the guys neck, smears the hone(which was in his jacket pocket) a few strokes,,, grab the hanging strop,,, back in the game.

I don't feel speed, drag or floating steel ever enters his mind.

My barber has been shaving clients for 60+ years,,, he shows me his old strop & razors every time I see him,,, I have his coticule; I will put this situation to him in 2 weeks for his reply.

The surface tension to which I was referring was the tendency for non porous hones to bead water. The result of this is that the first stroke pretty much pushes all the water off the hone. A bit of soap causes the water to be uniformly distributed on the hone, making all strokes on all areas on the hone uniform.

Originally Posted by Utopian

The surface tension to which I was referring was the tendency for non porous hones to bead water. The result of this is that the first stroke pretty much pushes all the water off the hone. A bit of soap causes the water to be uniformly distributed on the hone, making all strokes on all areas on the hone uniform.

O.K. that makes sense,,,, I did an edit in my above post,,, I intrepid-ed tension as resistance,,, don't know why.

My barber used a coticule & when giving it to me, he gave me a serious look & stated, "Only use lather with it." I think he may shed some light on this issue.

That has never been my intent, but I have seen this response of surface tension representing resistance in past threads as well. I need to stop adding to the confusion and come up with a different description to avoid that term.

I think if a barber told you to just use lather, then that meaning is pretty straight forward. Unfortunately, I just cannot tolerate the effect of undiluted lather on the hone. I've tried, but really don't feel that it is allowing enough cutting of the steel.

Since I'm doing the Williams challenge, I guess I'll give it a go with Williams on a coticule.