Thread: Honing. Keep it up or you get rusty

Good plan Paul.
And as far as remembering the difficulties of each blade, no way man! Too damn many of them plus a short memory dont help. I use a spread sheet and keep notes. PLUS, when you put it on the stone it only take a couple laps and you feel if it warped and how to go about it. I also keep track of what finishing stone i used and how i finished it meaning slurry and such. The amount of tape too.

Sure, i could just grab up a razor and put it to the stones and figure it all out again in a few laps but with a little info saved i know im not guessing.

Glad Im not alone Marshal. Good to hear. Thanks.

Being an almost complete honing n00b, I’m experimenting with my recent $2 acquisition. When I can successfully shave with it, I’m going to be looking for a nice vintage razor. Until then, at least I can rest assured that I won’t be ruining a nice blade.

Originally Posted by Gasman

PLUS, when you put it on the stone it only take a couple laps and you feel if it warped and how to go about it.

Couple of laps, huh? Gotta work my way up to that, or down to that, I suppose.

Thanks for the tip.

Originally Posted by planeden

So when you guys own and hone many many razors do they all get the same treatment? I sat down to put bevels on these clean ups I'm working on and got bevels set on 3.5 of them, but each seemed to need something a little different.

I think if I were better at a rolling x stroke, that may work on all (not sure, I'm new to impolite razors) but I imagine even with a rolling x you would have to change the amount of roll depending on the warp?

So, this brings me to the question of whether you remember the nuances of each, or if you diagnose it every time.

I only have about 6 or so that are in such a condition that they can be shaved, and none of them are terribly warped or require a particularly different approach. I pretty much use a rolling X stroke on everything I hone. I've found it simplifies things because it just works for every blade I've owned.

I do like checking everything with a loupe, magnification reveals things that I wouldn't notice otherwise. And in some cases wouldn't even expect. Beyond that, each blade gets what it needs based on what stones I feel like playing with at the time. For example, the Dovo I've been using almost exclusively has been maintained on a barber's hone. If it feels like it's tugging, I soap up the barber's hone and give it 5 strokes, then check how it shaves. I don't need to check it under a loupe because of how recently it's been used and the nature of barber hones. They're fine, but also really fast. You can move a surprising amount of steel in a short amount of time with a Swaty. If it's satisfactory, I finish the shave. If not I'll give it 10 strokes, then check again. Rinse/repeat until satisfaction is achieved. But more often than not 5 strokes will do (and if they don't it's because I rolled the edge on the strop).

Honestly I find the stones require more nuance and variation than the blades themselves do. There's a large difference between honing with Norton synthetic hones, Welsh slates, and Arkansas stones while the difference between honing my Gold Dollar and my Dovo is slim - the Gold Dollar is just softer and takes slightly fewer strokes to finish up.

Thanks Marshall. I should probably start my own thread and let Gasman have his back. I'll work on my rolling x and see what I can figure out.

Thanks

I think honing is a skill and once you learn it, it's always with you. I stopped using a straight for 2 years and it all came right back.

As far as different razors, I've found over the years if you be talking in service razors probably 80% need the same routine. The other 20% are let's say different razors maybe the steel or the grind and they need extra attention but I know those since there aren't that many of them. Of course if you be talking Eboy Specials or if you have a razor with a damaged edge each one is an individual requiring a thorough analysis and deciding on how to approach it.

I haven't added any new razors in years and sold off a good number so the ones I have left I'm very familiar with. That makes it easy and I don't have that many hones either, maybe 9 or so.

I agree that once you acquire the skill it stays with you. I will sometimes buy the occasional eBay razor after a long hiatus just to keep those edge restoration skills fresh.

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For me it does require a razor or two to get the mojo back.