A new adventure. . . . Honing

[Shavetime]

Hello reader.
As a straight razor user for a while now, I am looking into my next goal. . . Sharpening my own blades. Stropping has become a normal thing, no issues there. . . But every once in a while I have to send my blade to a pro to have it honed and I think I'm ready to cut out that middleman. So I'm looking for someone I can trust to point me in the right direction. And get me started learning to hone myself. . . . Who's willing to help?? Thank you in advance

[markbignosekelly]

It's very satisfying the first time you home a razor to shave ready. My advice would be to refresh your razors with a finishing hone. With a particular razor speak to your pro honer and ask how they honed it. Did they use tape? If they did how many layers? Did they use rolling x strokes? Heel forward? Etc, etc.

If there's someone in your area with more experience a one on one will save countless hours of guesswork. If not there's countless people self taught to hone so you can too!

[outback]

As for hones...I'd recommend the Naniwa super stones,
in 8 & 12k. Also a stick of chromium oxide, for pasting a strop. As long as you don't have any dings or chips in the edge, these will be all you need.

As stated above...If you can find someone near you to sit down with, it will lessen the learning curve. Or watch some of Glens ( GSSIXGUNS ) videos.

[HungeJ0e]

I agree with mark... my own enjoyment went up immensely once I started honing my own blades. Welcome to a whole new level of addiction and obsession. I'll keep my personal opinions to a minimum below, and just outlay the general options.

David Pullen's 9 part series is a good place to start:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvYIzgcfTAg

I'd also read through a lot of the Norton 4k/8k challenge, which is an old thread here. Finally, geared toward lapping films, google "newbie honing compendium" for a discussion of that route.

If COVID weren't a thing I'd recommend finding someone in the Seattle area to see if they can sit down to give you an in person demo, but alas. Portland Razor Co also gives honing classes whenever they open back up... That said, I'm self taught and my edges hold up well next to ones I get from higher end folks.

After doing your research, then decide which route you want to go. Your general options are synthetics, naturals, or lapping films. Lapping films are hard to argue with for the initial investment. Naturals are, generally speaking, not a good investment for bevel setting but work very well as finishers. Then there's the question of whether you want to use pastes, sprays, etc. So you can mix and match a bit.

For maintaining a blade, all you really need is a finisher, a loupe (40x LED loupe from Amazon will run you about $10), and a flattening plate (Atoma #400 or similar). But... I think it's always tricky to keep a high end edge on something someone else honed. You have to know if they taped the spine, although that's easy to ask. But there's sometimes peculiar properties to a blade that aren't obvious until you've had it on the hone for a bit (extra attention on the toe; warped spine; rolling stroke required, etc.). If I have a razor someone else honed, when it's time to touch-up or I don't like the edge, I kill the edge and reset the bevel to go from scratch.

With all that said, you can't go too far wrong getting a higher grit quality synthetic (8000, 10000, or 12000... SuperStones are reliable and known) and starting from there using the finisher for touch-ups... You can get a bevel setter and a medium grit later (or lapping film). And if you decide to go with natural finishers later, you can sell the SuperStone for a significant amount for what you paid.

I said I'd keep my personal opinions to a minimum... but here's where I put another one in... I'd avoid the Norton combo stones. You'll see them discussed in the video I linked and the older threads I referenced. There are better options for not much more money (or actually cheaper in the case of films). They were popular ten or fifteen years ago, but there is a reason the aren't talked about much anymore...

Hope that helps...

[Lazarus]

https://shavelibrary.com/w/Beginner%27s_Guide_to_Honing

[Euclid440]

What is you price range?

What is your goal for razor honing?

Maintaining a single razor, maintaining several razors, maintaining a collection, collecting and restoring eBay and antique store finds?

I have changed my honing routine several times through the years and intermixed different honing medium to a very simple basic routine now, at least for today.

I would seriously consider a simplistic approach, with a course and a fine stone, a bit unconventional.

A $20 King 1K, a Chef Knives to Go, Ozuku Asagi Koppa, $75 and a 400/1000 diamond plate$30.

With those 3, ($125), you could do pretty much anything needed to maintain or hone/repair most any razor. Set the bevel and polish the bevel and edge with a variety of slurry and technique, And shave very, very well.

Years ago, it was a Washita and a small Translucent, it still works. You could add a small inexpensive Translucent down the road for variety and keen edges.

You can make it as pricy or complicated as you wish. Learning how to, is all in the library, honing forum or just ask.

[slim6596]

I'm currently in the lapping film group. Still learning how to do it. For now, I'm limiting myself to refreshing the edge on my 2 quality straights. I occasionally get out my GD straight to try doing a complete honing on from bevel set to finish.

......I have a LOT to learn

[Gasman]

Sure... You could go at it like Marty said. Just the minimum. Or jump into the deep end!



Dont worry about the cost. Just toss me your wallet.
Thats 28 hones, 18 Nagura (not in the pic) and 3 diamond plates.

YOU CAN DO IT MAN!

[HungeJ0e]

Sure... You could go at it like Marty said. Just the minimum. Or jump into the deep end!



Dont worry about the cost. Just toss me your wallet.
Thats 28 hones, 18 Nagura (not in the pic) and 3 diamond plates.

YOU CAN DO IT MAN!

Wheee! Those are some nice rocks.

[CrescentCityRazors]

Hello reader.
As a straight razor user for a while now, I am looking into my next goal. . . Sharpening my own blades. Stropping has become a normal thing, no issues there. . . But every once in a while I have to send my blade to a pro to have it honed and I think I'm ready to cut out that middleman. So I'm looking for someone I can trust to point me in the right direction. And get me started learning to hone myself. . . . Who's willing to help?? Thank you in advance

Uh-oh, NOW you've done it! I won't throw my two cents in. I got no dog in this fight. Okay two words... LAPPING FILM. And some more. Lapped balsa and diamond paste. Cheap to get started, fast to get up and running, consistent and very very sharp and comfortable edges. Interested? Otherwise I butt out. But the easiest and most basic honing is just refreshing your dulled edges. All you need is your finishing equipment. For stones, it's hard to beat a Naniwa 12k Superstone for this. Naturals? They can be very good, too, but there is a learning process and there may be a little bit of frustration at the beginning.

Once you have a very sharp edge, the balsa and diamond can keep it that way. No need to let it get duller and duller until time to hone. It never gets dull if you do it right. .1u after every shave. That's how I roll.