Thread: A new adventure. . . . Honing

Originally Posted by HungeJ0e

Wheee! Those are some nice rocks.

I'll have the one in the center, please. Thank you very much.

Originally Posted by 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

If it is a raw GD that has never been honed, give your film a break unless you have some 60u to do the heavy lifting. A 320 grit stone or some 200-ish grit sandpaper glued to your film honing plate will make quick work of getting a start on a good bevel. Be sure you don't send too much pressure to the spine. Try to sort of balance it out. Hone in hand for best results. You will get it. And be glad you don't have one of the Gold Dollars from 5 or 10 years ago or older. They took a lot of work. Once you have the bevel nearly done, then finish that bevel with 15u or 12u film and then its easy street.

+1 for lapping film.

wow, thank you all for your time. i step away for a minute and you all jumped in.
i suppose i should be little more specific in my interests. right now my only goal is to maintain my 2 current straights. they are both in good condition in that they are not damaged. just need to be freshened up.
at this point i would prefer to stick to a couple or maybe 3 stones of varying grits, just to keep things simple. honestly this part of the whole shaving experience isnt where i see myself spending all my time on. . . i just wast to be able to be self sufficient, so can i get what im looking for at say under 300? without buying total garbage

Originally Posted by Shavetime

wow, thank you all for your time. i step away for a minute and you all jumped in.
i suppose i should be little more specific in my interests. right now my only goal is to maintain my 2 current straights. they are both in good condition in that they are not damaged. just need to be freshened up.
at this point i would prefer to stick to a couple or maybe 3 stones of varying grits, just to keep things simple. honestly this part of the whole shaving experience isnt where i see myself spending all my time on. . . i just wast to be able to be self sufficient, so can i get what im looking for at say under 300? without buying total garbage

A film setup, for refreshing only, will set you back about $30. A Naniwa 12k, around $85 I think. All you really need right now is a finisher, and either the 12k Naniwa or else some 1u film and an acrylic plate 3/4" x 3" x 12" and you have a pretty good basic setup that is easy to get started with. $300? That would get you a fairly high quality Jnat and a couple of nagura (slurry stones). Meh. You can go a lot cheaper, and you should.

crescentcityrazors. . . thank you for the very specific info, i will definitely look into those items. the 300 $ was really just a sort of stab in the dark number, more of a "my wallet will start to cringe if i pass this point" . . . i am very glad to know that i can safely get by with a lower total than that.

Originally Posted by Shavetime

crescentcityrazors. . . thank you for the very specific info, i will definitely look into those items. the 300 $ was really just a sort of stab in the dark number, more of a "my wallet will start to cringe if i pass this point" . . . i am very glad to know that i can safely get by with a lower total than that.

Lapping film probably your answer for good results with lowest initial outlay.

Throwing out prices, without breaking forum rules about specific vendors, a very good synthetic bevel setter will run you $40 - $50 (a premium will of course run more and be objectively "better," but you're well passed the knee in the curve for better stone per dollar spent at the $50 mark for a bevel setter). Look at Cerax hones for great quality without busting your budget. A 4000 grit about the same. 8000 grit maybe $80. Finishers run all over the map... a decent sized (6" x 2") finishing Arkansas stone (not going to debate what that means... trans Ark, true hard, black Ark, surgical Ark) maybe $70 retail... and that's without trolling E-bay for cut rate vintage finds or looking at off brand vendors. Smaller couticules about the same. I don't know what Thuringians are going for. SuperStone 12000 has already been discussed.

JNats are a different animal... a good stone and set of Nagura will take you from post-bevel setting to finish... that would run you $300-ish from one of the well known higher-tier vendors. While JNats are immensely satisfying, I'm not sure I'd start my adventures with honing down that road.

Bottom line, $300 buys you a lot of choices.

Edit: You'll also want an LED jeweler's loupe (maybe $15) and some way to flatten the stones... (atoma 400#, CKTG plate, what have you...)

Originally Posted by HungeJ0e

Bottom line, $300 buys you a lot of choices.

Yep. You can do a lot with 300 bucks when it comes to learning to hone. Just remember that because you may have the equipment, you may be a long time before knowing how to properly hone. The experiance take a while.

Originally Posted by CrescentCityRazors

If it is a raw GD that has never been honed, give your film a break unless you have some 60u to do the heavy lifting. A 320 grit stone or some 200-ish grit sandpaper glued to your film honing plate will make quick work of getting a start on a good bevel. Be sure you don't send too much pressure to the spine. Try to sort of balance it out. Hone in hand for best results. You will get it. And be glad you don't have one of the Gold Dollars from 5 or 10 years ago or older. They took a lot of work. Once you have the bevel nearly done, then finish that bevel with 15u or 12u film and then its easy street.

It's the GD that Steve PIFd to me, so I pretty much ruined the edge learning how to straight razor shave.

Be glad to touch that up for you Slim.