Maintaining Leo's Wapis

Hi there!

I'm a newbie to SRP, but have been active on TSD for some time.

I've had the great pleasure of learning how to use the Wapienica razor, and have decided to make it my one-and-only.

I've also contracted out some rescaling, with the intent of getting together a usable set of Wapis for myself and my son Leo when he is older.

So far I've got 5 Wapis, three from ruprazor.com, and two from thewellhonedrazor.com - all 5 were sold to me as shave ready, and I believe it because my shaves lately have been fantastic.

I have no desire to buy old razors, only to NOT SCREW UP the ones I already own. I don't want to be a honemeister, just a lifelong user.

What I want, is a hone or pair of hones (?) to maintain these 5 razors forevermore. I want something that a) won't break when I drop it, b) won't be damaged by my inexperienced hands when used, c) doesn't need lapping, d) doesn't need parts replaced (sandpaper, etc), and e) will last forever. Price doesn't matter.

Also, I like the idea of stones better than pasted strops. I don't want to mess with paste. Going for low-maintenance here. Metal with diamonds? Ceramic? Sorry for my noob-ness....

I want the simplest, sturdiest, handiest solution for blade maintenance out there. DMT D8EE? A couple of brand new cheap Punjab barber hones from my barber down the street's catalog, and replace one if I break it? Something brand-new and commonly available.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Ask 10 guys and you'll get 10 answers. Personally I wouldn't suggest the DMT's for what you need. It can all depend on price too- how much do you want to spend. If you want to go cheap, you can't go wrong with a Chinese 12k from Woodcraft and maybe a Norton 4k/8k for a little more versatility.

A norton 4k/8k or a coticule, then a finishing hone or maybe pasted strop.

There are more options than these, but they sound good to me....

OK, let me be more specific - WHICH finishing hone?

I forgot to mention that I already have a Norton 4000/8000. I tried using it once on an older razor that I've since had PROPERLY honed to fix my screwups. The Norton was big and heavy and clumsy and messy and the whole thing didn't go well. Surely there's something I can hold in my hand and toss in my gym bag without breaking it??

Then I bought a Swaty off ebay, and it ended up having little chips in it and I sent it back, and I thought "surely there's something NEW I can buy? Something that won't chip?"

Plus I feel like the Norton will wear away over time, won't it? Isn't there something that will last forever?

RE: bud's response - I guess my question is this: in the Old Days, when barbers (and then later their customers) used these razors every day, did they all have a set of Belgian stones sitting on the back counter that they used to maintain their blades, or what did they use?

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Originally Posted by olafurson

OK, let me be more specific - WHICH finishing hone?

I forgot to mention that I already have a Norton 4000/8000. I tried using it once on an older razor that I've since had PROPERLY honed to fix my screwups. The Norton was big and heavy and clumsy and messy and the whole thing didn't go well. Surely there's something I can hold in my hand and toss in my gym bag without breaking it??

Then I bought a Swaty off ebay, and it ended up having little chips in it and I sent it back, and I thought "surely there's something NEW I can buy? Something that won't chip?"

Plus I feel like the Norton will wear away over time, won't it? Isn't there something that will last forever?

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The norton will wear away, but nothing will last forever. You are using an abrasive and they just wear out eventually. Now the odds that with the number of razors you would hone would wear one out, it seems unlikely. I think I remember Lynn saying he got about 4-5000 hones per norton.

Abrasives are also brittle, the hone least likely to break would be a diamond on metal hone, and few people seem to like them as finishers.

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RE: bud's response - I guess my question is this: in the Old Days, when barbers (and then later their customers) used these razors every day, did they all have a set of Belgian stones sitting on the back counter that they used to maintain their blades, or what did they use?

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Define old days? Likely many had barber hones after they were introduced. Before that they would use the best natural stone they could get their hands on. They might also have put up with less comfortable shaves than they might have wanted.

Hey, good to see you over here! OK, here's the thing. If you want something small and sturdy and DESIGNED for exactly the use you have in mind, you want a barber hone. No one makes these anymore, so there's nothing new you can buy. You can get them pre-lapped and cleaned from users here, and if you don't mind old stuff then you will be set. No worries. If price is no object, then I can sell you a very very nice one, no chips or anything. But I really want to keep it, so it'll cost you. :D

You can get a Belgian coticule, but they can be brittle and do need lapping occasionally. Their use as a finishing hone has both proponents and opponents, but they can be bought in small sizes and are really good stones.

You can get any number of ceramic hones that people use as finishers, but they tend to be big (8x2) and need lapping and soaking and all kinds of stuff you don't seem to want.

Honestly, I really really think a good barber hone is your best bet. Don't go to the Bay, get one from someone here and make sure it is prelapped and you'll be fine.

and FIVE wapis? Why so many?

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Originally Posted by JimR

and FIVE wapis? Why so many?

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Oh, you just wait and see... ;)

I wonder, if the worry is really brittleness and chipping a hone, what about a four sided paddle strop with say 2.0, 1.0, 0.5 diamond pastes on it? And maybe some Chrome Ox?

You would need to refresh the pastes but what do people think about a pure strop based maintience for razors?

First of all, Welcome.

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Originally Posted by olafurson

RE: bud's response - I guess my question is this: in the Old Days, when barbers (and then later their customers) used these razors every day, did they all have a set of Belgian stones sitting on the back counter that they used to maintain their blades, or what did they use?

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In one hand: Yes, in the other hand, in the "old days"there where barbershops nearly on every corner, so if someone wanted to have a razor honed, just walked in to the barbershop, and the barber honed the razor for some let's say change. If he wanted a good shave, and some social discussion to other men, he went for a shave, and had some chat. I red somewhere, that in the 18th century average men had one shave every week - sunday morning at the barber before they went to church.

I think for you the best option is a quality 4 sided paddle strop. Pastes sound like they'd wear out fast, but in reality you will probably never re-apply them with only 5 razors. They take the least amount of skill and a strop is probably more durable than just about any hone except maybe a DMT.

If you're really set on getting hones then either DMT or spyderco is your bet for durability. But really what are you planning to do with these? Take them hiking?!