Thread: Back in the Game!

Hi All-I haven't been posting much in the last year or so up here (have just been a general PITA in the political threads down in Conversations when the mood struck). I got lazy, or busy, pick your excuse, and kind of neglected my straights for a while other than the occasional luxury Sunday shave. Sad to say my old Gillette Sensor has been doing most of my shaves, though I have been using my good soaps and creams.

Anyway, it being summer and too hot to do much outside, I decided to resurrect my stable. I had let most of my blades go and hadn't really refreshed the edges like I should have been. So I got out my honing kit this weekend and went at 'em, ALL of them. Many just needed some time on the 8k Norton and Naniwa 12k, some CrOx linen and 60 or so passes on my English bridle. I also reset some sketchy bevels on the 1 and 4k's, though I have one Improved Eagle that even Sham had trouble with when I sent it to him a few years ago (remember Sham?). I have given up on it for now, too much frustration-I may send it out. So here are my workhorses:

In the back there are my Chinese "12k" and a mystery slate hone I call the airport runway-it puts a devastating edge on a knife! Funny, I was surprised how quickly it all came back, having not done any real honing (other than kitchen knives, which don't count) for like a year. In fact, after a slow and jumpy start, I think my technique actually improved noticeably from previously, with much smoother strokes, better edge diagnostics on my part, and some pretty good edges if I say so myself-maybe I was absorbing some skills via osmosis just by reading this section! Now granted, I'll never be a honemeister (too impatient), but the 1st 2 I test-shaved, my favorite Frederick Reynolds and one of my Wade and Butcher restores, gave an excellent shave by my standards. Here is about half of my stable: I keep my best edges in the top tray of my re-purposed cigar box as a rotation.

And here is my awesome custom strop that Kevin aka Hidestoart made for me a few years ago. It really keeps my edges keen!

So as you can tell I'm excited to get back up on the honing horse and be shaving the way a man was meant to! Now I've got a few blades and some awesome scale blanks out in the shop; I hope to get back into restorations and re-scales soon. Thanks for looking! Aaron/SHD

Nice pile!

Like riding a bike, just pick-up where you left off!

Good to have you back!

~Richard

welcome back !

I found that after honing daily for years that a few months break did me the world of good and improved my honing skills, some how..
More people learning to hone should try a break period. .. Good luck

Originally Posted by JOB15

I found that after honing daily for years that a few months break did me the world of good and improved my honing skills, some how..
More people learning to hone should try a break period. .. Good luck

Thanks for all the feedback, Guys-And JOB15, I concur. I used to notice the same thing on the guitar. After years of hard practice, a few months off, pick it back up, and my finger-picking skills seem to have improved. Strange how that works. There must be some mental mechanism in which the brain and muscle memory sort out such things after a long period of practice, followed by a break.