Thread: Getting there

Last week I sat down and refreshed 4 of my straights on my welsh slates.
My Dovo best quality, Boker imperial, Sanssouci and Bengal.
I must say while honing is still a bit of a black art for me I seem to be catching on. I am definetly having better results with the welsh slates than I have had with my Naniwas. Not sure if its because they suit me better or I`m just getting better at honing in general.
Think Ill try the Naniwas again next honing session adn see how that goes

Very pleased with the Dovo as it was my first straight and Ive barely used it. Rolled the edge before I knew how to strop correctly, sent it off to get honed and promptly dropped and chipped the edge. Got some hones myself and managed to hone out the chip and promptly dropped it before I even used it, putting another chip in it. I think in my 2.5 years of using straights Ive gotten a total of maybe 10 shaves off of it. Most of them lousy as I didnt really know how to shave back then.

Glad to have my grandfathers Sanssouci back in the line up, my last attempt to refresh the edge wasnt very satisfactory.

Enjoy the honing journey! I do not have as much experience as many others here for sure, but am very happy with my results. I am still strictly synthetic in my stone selection. I really enjoy the honing process. I find if very relaxing, much like shaving with a SR.

Experiment, find what works for you and have fun!

I found the Naniwas to be the easiest hones to use. Hope you find what works for you as its a nice feeling to hone your own.

Butter fingers

Good to hear your progressing well, Alan.

So how's Gramps Sanssouci holding up for ya, still good I hope.


It was a pleasure bringing it around, again.

BTW, DONNT DROP THAT ONE....PLEASE.

Hang in there, it only gets better with practice.

Bob

Originally Posted by AlanQ

I must say while honing is still a bit of a black art for me I seem to be catching on. I am definetly having better results with the welsh slates than I have had with my Naniwas. Not sure if its because they suit me better or I`m just getting better at honing in general.
Think Ill try the Naniwas again next honing session adn see how that goes

Very pleased with the Dovo as it was my first straight and Ive barely used it.

I seriously wished I had kept my very first bought SR, a plain ol' Dovo in black scales I ordered from Martin at Rasurpur, as a noob I blamed my razor, a lot, for everything that went wrong.
Needless to say I very regret getting rid of it even if out of pure nostalgia. I'm sure I could put the edge on it I want now as opposed to back then.


Honing might seem mysterious for a while, but it really isn't.

I had a LOT of trouble with Coticules / BBWs before; then switched to synthetic Naniwas as they are very direct and to the point kinda hones. They were good, but I've definitely been going to a natural afterwards. I've been revisiting my Coticules and been getting great results now. It's mostly a matter of figuring out your naturals. I've preferred different edges throught the years, Jnats, Naniwa 12K, Eschers and now I'm at the Coticule edge. The Coticule edge is the one I never could get right and always had disappointing shaves with, not anymore. Took me only a decade or so to figure out


Isn't it THE best feeling shaving with a heirloom razor? I know for me it's special, knowing that my great grandfather and his father shaved with the razors I have.


Also, what I at first strongly underestimated was my liking or disliking to specific grinds, I used to be very fond of hollower grinds and after experimenting I found a bigger love for heavier grinds and my hollows don't get used anymore, maybe except my Swedish hollow grinds.

It's a big subjective search, good to hear you're getting there, it's a wonderful journey after all!

Originally Posted by outback

Good to hear your progressing well, Alan.

So how's Gramps Sanssouci holding up for ya, still good I hope.


It was a pleasure bringing it around, again.

BTW, DONNT DROP THAT ONE....PLEASE.

It is a pleasure to use as well.
My first attempt at refreshing the edge didn't go so well, I didn't mess it up but didn't really make it any better. 2nd attempt went much better and can now shave again with it.
I am extra careful when I shave with it so hopefully one day Ill have a grandson who will inherit it

As a fellow student it is nice when you make noticeable improvements. Make sure those last strokes on the hone are feather light.
People that hone a lot tend to find certain combinations of razors and finishers they like so you will probably have some preferences for finishing over time. I'm still figuring out what works best for mine.
Sounds like you might need a lanyard for your razors though! Or maybe you should stick to wedges.

Originally Posted by outback

Good to hear your progressing well, Alan.

So how's Gramps Sanssouci holding up for ya, still good I hope.


It was a pleasure bringing it around, again.

BTW, DONNT DROP THAT ONE....PLEASE.

That is beautiful razor and I love the crest! What did you do to it Outback?