Thread: Got my hones and got my razor :-)

Well, I know you say not to hone before you shaved for a couple of months. But I want to practice honing while Bart's lesson is still fresh in my memory so I went out and got a coticule + BBW.

Now, I refer to this thread: http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...cs-inside.html

This is the razor I got on the very cheap side of life, and much to my surprize it's actualy a very nice razor. It has the same size as my dovo yet weighs much heavier, I am looking forward to shaving this in 2010 when I get this honed :P

Anyhow, as mentioned in that thread, the razor does indeed have a slight frown, which I try to get out of it. I do not have a really rough stone to do the breadknifing move (I think it would just cut through the coticule a little bit and damage the hone) so I am pondering the question 'how to turn that frown upside down'. I wouldn't mind a slight smile at all, but the frown is not something I want to keep. No clue if I can hone that away with those two stones, but it never hurts to ask. Other then that, the blade is extremely dull, mostly because of me because at the start (before I attempted a breadknifer) it 'stuck' in some places.

Oh and I found out some history on the razor, it's apparently rather old as it belonged to a father (the kind that lives for the church) and the guy thinks he might have actually received it from his dad, but I doubt that, the razor looks too good for that (but damn someone honed it like a maniac!)

Probably~ I suspect someone will explain a process to you that includes taping the spine and applying slight pressure at the toe and heel of the razors edge and being patient with slurry applied to the coticule.

We'll see how it goes . . . btw, whats a BBW? I'd use the stone with the lowest grit.

The guys will jump in and help you out real soon.

BBW = Belgian Blue Whetstone, it used to confuse me too!

I would think that honing out a frown would be far too advanced of a technique to be tried on your first try at honing. I've never had experience with it, but I'm sure it would be a stroke that would require a lot more pressure on the heel and toe, as AFDavis11 mentioned.

I also think a coticule or belgian blue isn't coarse enough to do the labourous work of fixing a frown....it would probably take a LONG time....

So in my opinion you have 3 choices: 1) Just hone it up as is, not worrying about the frown.
2) Try to fix the frown yourself
3) Send it out to one of the honemeisters here to get it fixed.

I by no means intend to insult your skills, I just think you would end up frustrating yourself more than anything trying to fix the frown yourself while still trying to learn to hone. At least it's not something I would try to do myself

Best of luck

1961 Barbering Text - Honing.pdf http://straightrazorpalace.com/downl...p?do=file&id=2 on pg. 24 has info on frowning razors.

You might want to use tape until the edge profile gets where you want it, or even after that.

If you're not confident about doing it, don't hesitate to send it out. Frowning razors are harder to learn on. One of my first razors was warped; it was aggravating, but still fun.

EDIT: just noticed a BBW is the coarsest you have. Way too slow, send it out.

Send it out. I have corrected frowns and it is a chore even with the DMT 1200 plate. I wouldn't try it on your new coticule.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Send it out. I have corrected frowns and it is a chore even with the DMT 1200 plate. I wouldn't try it on your new coticule.

Jimmy is right, it will take some real work on the belgians, hope you are up to it, have fun!

If you are into it, don’t let public opinion keep you from starting your honing career sooner than later. You’ll have to ride the learning curve sometime no matter what. To be sure, frowns/smiles are not a good place to start learning. Keep this one until you have a few easier ones under your belt. By then I would think you’d have sprung for a diamond plate in the course grit range, 325 to 600 ish. Smiths makes some stones that you can get pretty cheaply. I can’t imagine breadknifing on anything other than a diamond ‘stone’ just because it would leave ruts on anything else. The course stone could also give you a new bevel quickly.