Thread: Second razor to learn honing?

Hi,
I'm new to straights, have a nice Dovo on order (pre-honed). Would it be folly to learn to hone on my "nice" shaver, or should I really pick up a second hand lower cost shaver to "hone" my skills? I'd really rather not invest in a second shaver at this point, but if there is a pretty high likelyhood of me rendering my primary useless...

What's the prevailing wisdom on this one?

BH

well, you're not going to need to do anything for several months. At that point at most you'll need a touch up, which you could even do with a pasted strop (or make a balsa strop). If you're in this to save money, and budget is a concern- that's the way to go.
If you're like the rest of us, you'll quickly end up with a bad case of RAD and HAD, and you'll be doing it all soon anyways. Go ahead and pick up a Wapi or Double Arrow and practice on one of those.

Take a look in flea markets, junk shops, antique malls and ebay. Look for full bladed used razors with decent (undamaged) scales. It takes practice to learn to hone effectively and using decent but reasonably priced used razors is a good way to go. I wouldn't recommend learning on your daily shaver especially if it is shaving well and is one of only two that you have. Here is a link to straight razor brands to avoid and some others to look for.

All good advice above. If you go to antique shops and flea markets you may find a good brand razor for $10 or less in good shape, but the prices have been gong up lately. Still I just picked up 4 razors, one a W&B 7/8s that just needed a good cleaning and honing, two also needed new scales and polishing and the third was cracked (very fine). These would be good to learn honing with. You should know that the hones, probably more than one unless time is not an issue, will cost much more unless you already have them. To keep your shave ready razors sharp you will only need, as noted above in a post to this thread, aa pasted strop, paddle strop or a barbers hone like a Swaty and you will not need any of them for a few months unless yo damage the edge. Good luck.