Thread: First Honing and The Results

Good advise has been given.
However, I cannot help but wonder if the no-name razor is capable of the desired outcome?

That shoulder/stabilizer thing sounds familiar....You cannot just 'skip' that, I think....

" I have Whipped Dog Balsa Wood Strop w/ green 0.3mic chromium oxide & red 0.1mic iron oxide. Should I use that after honing verses the leather strop?"
I myself used to use chrome-ox after my nani 12k. Anymore i go to my zulu grey. The chrome-ox tamed the edge well. But just understand by the time you put a few shaves on the razor after the 12k or chrome-ox it will have mellowed out just from shaving and stropping.

Your no-name razor with shoulder problem looks just like a non-stamped Gold Dollar I have. Mine too has the shoulder problem, but as already advised, keep the blade at a 45 degree angle and you'll do fine. BTW, both my Gold Dollars shave just fine. (They ought to, they've spent enough time on the hones while I was learning).

Don't know that it's a Gold Dollar, but I've got one of those (still has the stamp) that also shaves fine. Won't really know if it's the razor or the hands doing the honing until it's been thoroughly tested, but I'd wager the razor is fine and the hands honing it simply need some practice. Getting an edge you can shave with on your first run through is pretty good, congratulations! It took me countless attempts just to squeeze that much out of an edge.

When you get back to the point of stropping as has been said-Green side(CrOx)/red side(FeOx)/strop on leather.

Before resorting to CrOx, I suggest you learn to get a shave-ready edge from your hones first. Then experiment with CrOx too see if you prefer the edge straight off the hones or touched up a bit on CrOx first.

Once your honing improves, I believe you will skip the CrOx step, but this debate is certainly a YMMV topic among members. It's also part of the fun in learning what works for you, too.