Thread: First shave with first attempt at honing!

I tried my hand at honing for the first time last night. I got an AOS-rebranded TI to learn on. By the way, those AOS TIs are gorgeous razors! I was very impressed with mine, and I really don't think it was marked up in price too badly (compared to classicshaving). It turned out to be a 6/8, which I wasn't expecting -- I thought it'd be a 5/8.

Anyway, I gave it about 50 round trips on a DMT D8EE and then another 30 or so on a Sypderco UF. I never got it to pass the HHT, but none of my razors (even the Lynn-honed ones) pass it -- I think because I have fine hair. It did mow down my arm hair pretty well though, so I figured I'd give it a try this morning.

It shaved very well! Almost no pulling whatsoever! I did, however, manage to give myself a nice cut on my cheek (which I very rarely do), so I'm wondering if the edge is still just a little rough? I think I'll probably give it some more time on the Spyderco UF and see if that cleans it up a bit.

But regardless, I got a great shave this morning from a razor I honed myself! I'm pretty happy!

Congrats! And not to poke fun at you but if the razor is not passing the HHT and "it mowes down the hair on your arms" it probably just thinks your arm is holding all the best hairs.

Go easy on the polishing. Let the strop have a chance to work for a few days.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

And not to poke fun at you but if the razor is not passing the HHT and "it mowes down the hair on your arms" it probably just thinks your arm is holding all the best hairs.

Just looking out for my best interests -- now that's my kind of razor!!

Well done, mate. Nice to hear a success story on the first attempt. I'll be having my first attempt today on my new Norton. Hope it goes as well as yours.

Thank you, sir. I must admit, it was definitely a great feeling shaving with a razor that I honed. Best of luck to you!

Sounds like you are pretty much there.

I agree about the strop.

Don't hold back. Give it a hundred strokes in one session, at least once after a fresh honing.

I honed up a nice little Acme razor this AM and gave it 100 strokes on my Red Imp strop. I shaved part of my face with it, didn't like how it was grabbing, so I went and gave it 30 on the linen and 50 more on the leather.

When I returned to my shave, this baby was gliding through whiskers like they were butter.

Be sure to strop it AFTER you shave too, and give it a little oil. Don't want your purty edge to corrode overnight.

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