Thread: First time honing

Hello all, newbie straight razor user here.

I have about a month of shaves in at this point (I had been using a Feather AC DX before).

Well, like anything else I get into, I research it obsessively. I knew I was going to want to learn honing as well, so I ended up ordering the following: Naniwa 1k, 5k, 8k, 12k and a Shapton 16k. I also picked up a modular paddle with .25 and .5 diamond spray.

About a month before Christmas, I had taken my mother to an antique shop, and I had been paying attention to one of the straights there but didn't buy it. She apparently noticed and went back to that shop- it ended up as a Christmas present this year.

I thought it deserved the honor of being my first honed razor. I followed the techniques and progressions from the online vids, and it turned out great! This is definitely the closest shave I've had so far. I'm sure this is as much due to ever improving technique as anything, but it sure feels good to know that I could get an edge on a blade that could facilitate a good shave.

It probably also helped that this Kama seems like a good little blade.

One thing, I am noticing odd reflections in the bevel in certain light. Not sure if this means I might not have gotten it completely even?

Looks like you did well on your first time honing. Yes the KAMA is a good razor, I have the same one. If you are seeing sparkles on the edge you may have not completely set the bevel. Use a loupe and a good strong light source to check it out and see.

Bob

You have done well . You will fit right in here with us spending all that money !

Yeah, there are a few spots I'm not sure about. Sounds like investing in a loupe would be useful- is there a brand or type that comes recommended?

Originally Posted by AlienEdge

You have done well . You will fit right in here with us spending all that money !

Ha! Yeah, seems like a cool hobby. I see straights in antique stores all the time, I might need to rescue a few here and there.

Originally Posted by sonnythehooligan

Yeah, there are a few spots I'm not sure about. Sounds like investing in a loupe would be useful- is there a brand or type that comes recommended?

These folks can help you with that some use those jeweler loupe I use a microscope. I don't know what magnification of a loupe you need but they do !

Originally Posted by sonnythehooligan

Yeah, there are a few spots I'm not sure about. Sounds like investing in a loupe would be useful- is there a brand or type that comes recommended?

If you want a good loupe, look for one that has a triplet lens as opposed to a doublet lens. You really don't need a lot of magnification either. Check out Belomo loupes for reviews. I have one in 10X and it works well. I also bought another from an outdoors store that supplies the local university students, rock hounds and prospectors. If you have a store like that near you, go down and check out the loupes first hand.

Bob

Put belomo in the search box top right of the page to find posts on it and loupes in general

I'm not a honer (at least not for razors), so I'm going to give second-hand information.

What I remember is that a 30x jewellers' loupe is good enough to get started.
Some people really like the USB microscopes, and that's a good option too. Those can easily do 200x and 400x. Beyond that is way cool, but way overkill.

As a sidenote - you didn't mention much about stropping. I mean "stropping without a paste or spray". Stropping won't fix problems in your bevel, for sure, but that's something you need to master as well. And it means you won't need to use the hones as much.
But please don't get OCD on strops too! You've already spent a lot of cash!

As a sidenote - you didn't mention much about stropping. I mean "stropping without a paste or spray". Stropping won't fix problems in your bevel, for sure, but that's something you need to master as well. And it means you won't need to use the hones as much.
But please don't get OCD on strops too! You've already spent a lot of cash!

I do have a regular leather/canvas strop combo that I have for everyday use. I'm still in the "trying to be careful" stage when stropping, but I'm starting to get a bit more efficient.

My plan for my razors with already set bevels is to only go to the higher grit stones when they really need it, and just maintain them. Hopefully that works!

I find that 30x is fine for me. anything higher i found to be frustrating ( i have a usb scope too). Got my loupe an Maggards for $5.00 so i don't think you have to spend a lot to do the job.