Quote Originally Posted by gssixgun View Post
Now if you were to qualify that and say "You can get by with just a barbers hone or a coticule after the razor has been honed to shave ready and you learn how to use them to maintain your razor"

Then I would whole heartedly agree....
That is exactly what I have always said and meant. If you are starting with a shave ready razor and not doing eBay specials, you can shave for an entire lifetime with a barber hone or a coticule. I know because I've done it. Whenever anyone asks me, I always explain that I only buy new or NOS razors, that I can usually hone them myself but, a couple of times I have had to send them out to be honed the first time. This is my factual experience during 29 years of shaving.

One last clarification ... I am saying you CAN do that, not that it is the ideal. I did shave off of a barber hone for 28 years and in the last year I have done a lot of experimenting. I have a Norton 4K/8K, a BBW, three coticules, a Chinese 12K and pastes. I just don't use them very much because I am able to maintain my shave-ready razors with a coticule and shave to my satisfaction.

I think that new members should be exposed to all the points of view. I find that they are intelligent people and can decide what they want to do based on their needs. I am not a honing expert and have never presented myself as such. All I have ever done is responded to someone who asks, "do I have to buy all these different hones?" and I say "no you don't HAVE to. If etc., etc., you CAN..."

For the life of me I don't understand why people get so nervous about this subject.