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I will be getting a hone this weekend. Now I have a brand new razor., which side of the stone do I start with the 8000 or the 4000 side? I have read that it should take about 10 to 15 strokes on a hone to sharpen the blade.
Rene----
Straight Razor Place Forums
Good question...I think you should mention what kind of razor it is and where you got it. I'm not sure what conventional wisdom would say here...although you usually would start with the 4,000 side then the 8,000, in the case of a new razor I would suggest starting on the 8,000 and see if it shaves first. If it's a really good razor I might even suggest just trying some gentle stropping first without any honing...you never know...it could be sharp already. If it were me and the razor was shaving with little irritation after the first try I'd go to the 8,000 and see if I could get it running. If I get irritation or the razor doesn't even shave I'd go to a conservative honing ratio first then an aggressive ratio if conservative doesn't work...those should be in the files section. Even with a new razor I think you have to figure out where it is first; does it shave at all?...etc. before we would know, but knowing what the brand is might give us a ball park idea...I would recommend for a beginner to steer away from the 4,000 side for atleast the first couple of trys as it is pretty aggresive for a new razor. You don't have any honing pastes, correct?
Good advice above. Use the 8K side first, then try shaving with it. If it seems close, give it a few more trips across the 8K side, then strop it. If after trying the 8K side it still feels way dull, then drop down to the 4K side to really bring the edge back, then proceed back to the 8K side to polish it up. Don't forget to use *extremely* little pressure......and to stop after honing!
Good luck!