Thread: Honing cost inflation.

Anyone else notice the prices being charged for honing lately. I noticed a certain outfit now charges $35 for a regular razor and $45 for a wedge. Less then a year ago it was $25 regardless of grind. I'm not picking on this outfit at all I'm just using them for an example of how to cost of honing seems to continually rise.

I don't know if the cost of honing stones has gone up that much or commercialism is taking over.

Whatever the case I would rather struggle for hours on problem razors then spend 35 bucks each to get a them honed.

If I was a new guy I wouldn't pay that much. I would buy a shavette and a $10 pack of 100 blades. Maybe buy a 4-8k and practice on a beat up straight razor until I got a razor honed well. I definetly think we should continue to encourage our newer guys to hone their own. Unless they want to pay that much every time they need a razor honed. May aswell buy a cheap razor instead when you need a honing. A shave ready gold dollar once every couple months and you'll never have to pay for honing again. Just toss it out when it's dull.

For real though I understand the time it takes to hone a razor but I just don't feel right about hone for money. I agree with some money for time and effort and what not but come on almost 40 bucks per razor.

Straight razor shaving is supposed to save you money. ( if you haven't been infected with any of the AD's) This recent trend does not support this theory.

Rant over.

Wow that is a pretty big increase. Maybe they bought some new hones?
I hope that wasn't in US dollars..... Our dollar is crud atm!

I have a few SRs that I am wanting to send out myself...... But the dollar value is keeping me from sending these out to the US for honing atm. In time I do plan to send some to the US for honing but for now I'll most likely send them to someone here in Canada.

If you check the members services I don't think I saw anyone charging over $20.

You can't expect people to hone for a loss. When you take a razor and charge a flat fee you may get something that takes 15 minutes or something that takes 12 hours. Unless you hone on a sliding scale and then you pay by the hour.

You pay for the skill or you do it yourself like anything else.

I agree, it's not a bad price if you're a professional and if you have to live off it.

I can't imagine having to hone all day, every day to make a living! $20 may seem like a fair price until you think about how many razors you would have to hone each month...Then even $30 isn't much better. If you came to straights to save money.... A couple nice straights, strop, brush, scuttle and stones to maintain them is serious cash to most people and I am not talking at any AD levels.

I too only saw one case that was over $20 in member services. Some are charging a flat rate of $20.00 for any type of grind and I think that is an excellent service and fee. Some razors (especially new from factory) only take 15-30 minutes and others take upwards of an hour so $15-$20 is a good price. I agree that $30.00 is too much but if people are paying it....then again why pay the $30 when you can go to another member with proven skills for less? Supply demand.

I guarantee you'll never get rich honing razors. I'd take the gas pipe if I had to do it all day every day.

Jimmy I had to look up what take the gas pipe meant.

Urban Dictionary: Take the Gas Pipe

Too funny. I would too, especially with the razor I've been trying to hone lately. If i had 10 more of those waiting to be honed. I'd take the sharpest one and give myself a Sicilian Necktie.

I don't know where your looking but I don't pay no where near that and the best guy out of here is who I send it to, as a matter of a fact I don't hone at all and in almost 3 years I still haven't paid as much as a starter set of hones to keep mine at the top level of shaving , so I wonder why anyone would want to invest in hones seeing how your doing something wrong if you need to go to the stones much, my stropping keeps my blades sharp for months or even years. But 15-20 is the going rate and as I said I only use the best! Tc