Honing help needed Pittsburgh PA

Dear SRP community. I am new to straight razor shaving. I have gotten down shaving pretty well, and am beginning to be able to shave with proper technique. I had my first razor professionally honed and I love it. I know what a sharp razor is like. I have since bought two razors, one of which from an antique store. It's a Clearcut with a good looking edge. I also have a Frictionite 00 barber hone, so I used that to try my hand at honing a razor I got for a steal. I honed and honed and stropped and stropped and I have definitly sharpened it. It was not initially shave ready, but I was able to get it to be able to shave. However, it doesn't seem as sharp as my main professionally honed razor no matter what I did. Is there anyone in the western Pa, Pittsburgh area that is willing and able to teach me how to hone. I am eager and willing to learn. Also, is there anyone that may be able to tell me in writing some tips I can use to improve my razor to make it sharper? It just doesn't stop pulling no matter what I do. Thank you

Glad to see you took my advice Tom. Be patient and I'm sure someone here on SRP will point you in the right direction.

WP34
Mike

What part of the city are you in?

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Originally Posted by DaveW

What part of the city are you in?

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I'm about 35-40 min west in Beaver County. You?

I'm in Akron, Ohio.
If you don't find anyone locally, let me know, and I'll see what I can do for ya.

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Originally Posted by outback

I'm in Akron, Ohio.
If you don't find anyone locally, let me know, and I'll see what I can do for ya.

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Not too far (about 70 miles). I will definitely keep in touch if I can't find someone closer.

North of the city, about 40 miles from you, and not loaded with free time at the moment. I'll wait to see if someone else closer pops up.

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Originally Posted by DaveW

North of the city, about 40 miles from you, and not loaded with free time at the moment. I'll wait to see if someone else closer pops up.

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Gotcha! Thank you

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Originally Posted by Trubino10

Dear SRP community. I am new to straight razor shaving. I have gotten down shaving pretty well, and am beginning to be able to shave with proper technique. I had my first razor professionally honed and I love it. I know what a sharp razor is like. I have since bought two razors, one of which from an antique store. It's a Clearcut with a good looking edge. I also have a Frictionite 00 barber hone, so I used that to try my hand at honing a razor I got for a steal. I honed and honed and stropped and stropped and I have definitly sharpened it. It was not initially shave ready, but I was able to get it to be able to shave. However, it doesn't seem as sharp as my main professionally honed razor no matter what I did. Is there anyone in the western Pa, Pittsburgh area that is willing and able to teach me how to hone. I am eager and willing to learn. Also, is there anyone that may be able to tell me in writing some tips I can use to improve my razor to make it sharper? It just doesn't stop pulling no matter what I do. Thank you

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Welcome aboard! and if you haven't seen them yet there are several great honing videos on you tube by some of the guys on this forum. Search on Lynn Abrams razor honing there, Lynn as well as GSsixgun, do a great job detailing the process!
Stay Sharp!

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Originally Posted by Trubino10

Dear SRP community. I am new to straight razor shaving. I have gotten down shaving pretty well, and am beginning to be able to shave with proper technique. I had my first razor professionally honed and I love it. I know what a sharp razor is like. I have since bought two razors, one of which from an antique store. It's a Clearcut with a good looking edge. I also have a Frictionite 00 barber hone, so I used that to try my hand at honing a razor I got for a steal. I honed and honed and stropped and stropped and I have definitly sharpened it. It was not initially shave ready, but I was able to get it to be able to shave. However, it doesn't seem as sharp as my main professionally honed razor no matter what I did. Is there anyone in the western Pa, Pittsburgh area that is willing and able to teach me how to hone. I am eager and willing to learn. Also, is there anyone that may be able to tell me in writing some tips I can use to improve my razor to make it sharper? It just doesn't stop pulling no matter what I do. Thank you

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Once you learn how to do it properly, a two sided barber hone like your Frictionite is THE ONLY HONE you ever will need. Now, "want" might be another matter but the reality is that the hone you already have can provide you with a lifetime of very good shaves. That is, as long as you have a good strop too.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Once you learn how to do it properly, a two sided barber hone like your Frictionite is THE ONLY HONE you ever will need. Now, "want" might be another matter but the reality is that the hone you already have can provide you with a lifetime of very good shaves. That is, as long as you have a good strop too.

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Any advice on how to use it? Haha


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Aloha!

Welcome. IMO, you are already a good part of the way there because you actually know what a well honed razor that is truly shave ready is supposed to feel like when applied to your beard. It's always a good idea for newer straight razor users to have a blade or two professionally honed so they have a benchmark as to what a bade is supposed to feel like when it is properly sharpened.

I personally like my barber hone, but it's not a "do-all" stone for me. I do need my 1k (for bevel setting) 4/8k and 12k superstone. Once I properly hone a blade, then I can in fact keep it up to snuff with my barber hone and strop, but a blade that comes to me truly dull, I need my regular stone progression to hone it, not just a barber hone and strop.

Lots of great vids by Lynn Abrams here at SRP on Youtube about honing, and GSSIXGUN from SRP also has many good videos on honing he has poted to Youtube. Here is one about using a barber hone you may find interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP-GUeN_yBs

Enjoy the journey!

-Zip

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Originally Posted by ZipZop

Aloha!

Welcome. IMO, you are already a good part of the way there because you actually know what a well honed razor that is truly shave ready is supposed to feel like when applied to your beard. It's always a good idea for newer straight razor users to have a blade or two professionally honed so they have a benchmark as to what a bade is supposed to feel like when it is properly sharpened.

I personally like my barber hone, but it's not a "do-all" stone for me. I do need my 1k (for bevel setting) 4/8k and 12k superstone. Once I properly hone a blade, then I can in fact keep it up to snuff with my barber hone and strop, but a blade that comes to me truly dull, I need my regular stone progression to hone it, not just a barber hone and strop.

Lots of great vids by Lynn Abrams here at SRP on Youtube about honing, and GSSIXGUN from SRP also has many good videos on honing he has poted to Youtube. Here is one about using a barber hone you may find interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP-GUeN_yBs

Enjoy the journey!

-Zip

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Thank you for the video. I think I have the motion down. However, I feel like I do that and do that and it never gets sharp enough. Even after stropping afterwards. Also, he did it without electric tape on the spine. Does it hinder its sharpening? If I don't use it, how do I avoid sharpening the spine. Thank you


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Originally Posted by Trubino10

Thank you for the video. I think I have the motion down. However, I feel like I do that and do that and it never gets sharp enough. Even after stropping afterwards. Also, he did it without electric tape on the spine. Does it hinder its sharpening? If I don't use it, how do I avoid sharpening the spine. Thank you


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Aloha!

Shooting from the hip here (so to speak) it sounds like you have a bevel set issue. If you don't set a proper bevel on a blade, then you can hone till the cows come home with a finishing stone and still not get a razor's edge worthy of a sharp comfortable shave.

I personally can't set a bevel on a barber hone. From memory, your hone is approx 10k on the finish side, and I do not know the flip side grit. But 10k is meant for finishing not bevel setting. If your bevel is not set, you can't finish the edge to razor sharpness.

Tape VS no-tape is split down the middle. Some guys tape all the time. Some guys never tape. I never tape on a barber hone because my philosophy is the barber hone is for touching up and finishing not for honing or bevel setting. When I get a blade I need to run through the stones progressively from bevel set to finish, I always tape so the spine does not wear excessively. When you get to finishing stones, there should be no pressure at all, just the weight of the blade. You'd have to literally hone up a storm to wear that spine on a finishing hone even with no tape if you are properly honing.

My 2 1/2 cents worth. Other guys who are truly honemeisters will have different opinions.

-Zip

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Originally Posted by ZipZop

Aloha!

Shooting from the hip here (so to speak) it sounds like you have a bevel set issue. If you don't set a proper bevel on a blade, then you can hone till the cows come home with a finishing stone and still not get a razor's edge worthy of a sharp comfortable shave.

I personally can't set a bevel on a barber hone. From memory, your hone is approx 10k on the finish side, and I do not know the flip side grit. But 10k is meant for finishing not bevel setting. If your bevel is not set, you can't finish the edge to razor sharpness.

Tape VS no-tape is split down the middle. Some guys tape all the time. Some guys never tape. I never tape on a barber hone because my philosophy is the barber hone is for touching up and finishing not for honing or bevel setting. When I get a blade I need to run through the stones progressively from bevel set to finish, I always tape so the spine does not wear excessively. When you get to finishing stones, there should be no pressure at all, just the weight of the blade. You'd have to literally hone up a storm to wear that spine on a finishing hone even with no tape if you are properly honing.

My 2 1/2 cents worth. Other guys who are truly honemeisters will have different opinions.

-Zip

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Can you recommend me a good hone for bevel setting?


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Originally Posted by Trubino10

Can you recommend me a good hone for bevel setting?


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General consensus is 1k - 2k for bevel setting with most of the guys (me included) going with a 1k for bevel set.
But you can set a bevel up to about a 4k stone. We know this because many guys have the popular Norton 4k/8k combo stone. They start with the 4k, then the 8k then progress to a true finishing stone. But you can stop at 8k if you wish. It's just not as smooth as a 12k. Setting a bevel with a 1k just makes it go faster than with a 4k.

IMO, you will also need a magnifier (jewelers loop) to look at your edge as you are honing to make sure all is well. I have a 40x magnifier I got from Amazon. But we may be getting way ahead of ourselves here. We are not even sure that the bevel set is your problem. It SOUNDS like it is to me, but without seeing your edge, I am shooting darts at a board. Have you investigated our Library here? Lots of great info you really do need to know. I personally watched videos and read documents on honing for about 2 weeks before I put blade to stone.

So back to your mentor. You really would benefit from having someone close to you look at what you have, and what you are doing. If you were in Hawaii, I'd be glad to help!

-Zip

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Originally Posted by ZipZop

General consensus is 1k - 2k for bevel setting with most of the guys (me included) going with a 1k for bevel set.
But you can set a bevel up to about a 4k stone. We know this because many guys have the popular Norton 4k/8k combo stone. They start with the 4k, then the 8k then progress to a true finishing stone. But you can stop at 8k if you wish. It's just not as smooth as a 12k. Setting a bevel with a 1k just makes it go faster than with a 4k.

IMO, you will also need a magnifier (jewelers loop) to look at your edge as you are honing to make sure all is well. I have a 40x magnifier I got from Amazon. But we may be getting way ahead of ourselves here. We are not even sure that the bevel set is your problem. It SOUNDS like it is to me, but without seeing your edge, I am shooting darts at a board. Have you investigated our Library here? Lots of great info you really do need to know. I personally watched videos and read documents on honing for about 2 weeks before I put blade to stone.

So back to your mentor. You really would benefit from having someone close to you look at what you have, and what you are doing. If you were in Hawaii, I'd be glad to help!

-Zip

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I appreciate your help. If I were to get a 1k, do I progress straight to the barber hone? Or do I need something lower.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by ZipZop

General consensus is 1k - 2k for bevel setting with most of the guys (me included) going with a 1k for bevel set.
But you can set a bevel up to about a 4k stone. We know this because many guys have the popular Norton 4k/8k combo stone. They start with the 4k, then the 8k then progress to a true finishing stone. But you can stop at 8k if you wish. It's just not as smooth as a 12k. Setting a bevel with a 1k just makes it go faster than with a 4k.

IMO, you will also need a magnifier (jewelers loop) to look at your edge as you are honing to make sure all is well. I have a 40x magnifier I got from Amazon. But we may be getting way ahead of ourselves here. We are not even sure that the bevel set is your problem. It SOUNDS like it is to me, but without seeing your edge, I am shooting darts at a board. Have you investigated our Library here? Lots of great info you really do need to know. I personally watched videos and read documents on honing for about 2 weeks before I put blade to stone.

So back to your mentor. You really would benefit from having someone close to you look at what you have, and what you are doing. If you were in Hawaii, I'd be glad to help!

-Zip

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Thoughts? Premium Knife Sharpening Stone Double-Sided 1000/6000 Grit for Sharpening & Honing — Whetstone Ideal to Sharpen Chefs Knife & Kitchen Knife — Anti-slip Bamboo Base & Angle Guider Free Bonus https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZYGQFS3..._zBkQzbFXVBQTC

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Originally Posted by Trubino10

Thoughts? Premium Knife Sharpening Stone Double-Sided 1000/6000 Grit for Sharpening & Honing — Whetstone Ideal to Sharpen Chefs Knife & Kitchen Knife — Anti-slip Bamboo Base & Angle Guider Free Bonus https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZYGQFS3..._zBkQzbFXVBQTC

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Aloha!

You are going to get a lot of opinions on stones here. Some guys would not do a Chinese synthetic from Amazon. I personally have no problem with them and have honed about 10 razors from bevel set to finish on Amazon Chinese Synth stones. Keep in mind that these stones are not 3" wide so you will have to adopt angular or circular or x-stroke patterns to hone on them, just like with your barber hone. But I also have a Norton 4k/8k and a 12k Naniwa Superstone for fine finishing.

1k to 6k is a big jump but I've done it with success. Apart from my Norton 4k/8k I have a 1k/3k stone and a 2k/6k. I also have a 10k Chinese Synthetic. Then I have the Naniwa 12k Superstone. My Barber hone is a 12k Jnat. So that's my whole arsenal of stones.
I've done 1k-4k-8k-12k(superstone). I've also done 2k-6k-10k-12k(barberhone). About the same results.

You are going to need a lapping stone as well. You can't just order whetshones and expect them to be totally flat from the factory. Ordering a bare essential lapping stone like the Norton Flattening Stone ; https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/N...IaAgreEALw_wcB
is essential and will at least get you started. You need to lap frequently and properly (see the videos!) to keep your stones perfectly flat for proper honing. Lots of videos on lapping on youtube. Look for them from Lynn Abrams and GeoFatboy just to name a few.

-Zip

For beginners, I would recommend the Naniwa Super stones. They can be purchased as a kit, with the proper hones. Like 1000,5000,8000, and12000.

Look online ..Imperial shave Medina Ohio. That's our SRP store. Look under " sharpening center" in the menu. Its a lot cheaper than buying them individually. Again...you'll need a lapping stone, and a holder for the hones.
Definitely learn as much as possible, before you try honing.

Its not something easily learned over night.

Its also a bit of an initial investment, buying hones. But if your serious about it, they are a must have, thing.

I also recommend a 40X loupe, as well.

Much to be learned, young Jedi.! Only long hours and training, will strengthen the force you so desire.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...84b6c8706b.jpg

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Originally Posted by outback

For beginners, I would recommend the Naniwa Super stones. They can be purchased as a kit, with the proper hones. Like 1000,5000,8000, and12000.

Look online ..Imperial shave Medina Ohio. That's our SRP store. Look under " sharpening center" in the menu. Its a lot cheaper than buying them individually. Again...you'll need a lapping stone, and a holder for the hones.
Definitely learn as much as possible, before you try honing.

Its not something easily learned over night.

Its also a bit of an initial investment, buying hones. But if your serious about it, they are a must have, thing.

I also recommend a 40X loupe, as well.

Much to be learned, young Jedi.! Only long hours and training, will strengthen the force you so desire.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...84b6c8706b.jpg

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Wise, you are. ;)

Trubino10... did you get anywhere on this? I live in Dormont and would love to attend class if you've gotten anything together. I've been in touch with someone who is out in Peters, but we haven't set up a meet yet. Maybe you can join us? I'm thinking about taking a ride to get a Norton 4k/8k this afternoon. This post reads like my past few weeks... had one professionally honed, bought two more: an H. Boker and a Wade and Butcher at an antique store. I want to practice on the two I bought so I can get to a point that I'm comfortable honing the dubl duck that was given to me. I sent it off to someone, got it back, shaved with it and loved it. But I dulled it pretty quickly and I'd rather learn to do it myself than send it off over and over again. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by ARP

Trubino10... did you get anywhere on this? I live in Dormont and would love to attend class if you've gotten anything together. I've been in touch with someone who is out in Peters, but we haven't set up a meet yet. Maybe you can join us? I'm thinking about taking a ride to get a Norton 4k/8k this afternoon. This post reads like my past few weeks... had one professionally honed, bought two more: an H. Boker and a Wade and Butcher at an antique store. I want to practice on the two I bought so I can get to a point that I'm comfortable honing the dubl duck that was given to me. I sent it off to someone, got it back, shaved with it and loved it. But I dulled it pretty quickly and I'd rather learn to do it myself than send it off over and over again. Thanks!

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Thank you for your reply! Yes I have gotten somewhere but I would love to meet! I bough a set of Nortons (1k, 4/8 k, and I have a really nice barber hone). Unfortunately, I am off at school, but should be home from the end of Nov to the beginning of January. Perhaps we can meet then. PM me for contact information

Quote:

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Originally Posted by outback

For beginners, I would recommend the Naniwa Super stones. They can be purchased as a kit, with the proper hones. Like 1000,5000,8000, and12000.

Look online ..Imperial shave Medina Ohio. That's our SRP store. Look under " sharpening center" in the menu. Its a lot cheaper than buying them individually. Again...you'll need a lapping stone, and a holder for the hones.
Definitely learn as much as possible, before you try honing.

Its not something easily learned over night.

Its also a bit of an initial investment, buying hones. But if your serious about it, they are a must have, thing.

I also recommend a 40X loupe, as well.

Much to be learned, young Jedi.! Only long hours and training, will strengthen the force you so desire.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...84b6c8706b.jpg

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You mentioned a loupe and I ended up getting one. However, I am not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for! How can I tell when it is sharp?

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Originally Posted by Trubino10

You mentioned a loupe and I ended up getting one. However, I am not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for! How can I tell when it is sharp?

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You want to look at the edge from about 90°, under good lighting. What your looking for, is that the scratches from the hone are even, across the apex of the bevel.

There's probably tons of videos on YouTube, about the use of loupes, and magnification, with razor honing.