Thread: Taping the spine and barber hones for touch up

So I have some barber hones but never use them. The fact that I tape the spine on all of the razors I hone would require me to tape just to do a minor touch up. I was shaving with a razor that I felt could use a bit of TLC. My normal routine would be that after the first pass I would wipe it off and do a few strokes on my felt hanging strop with the diamond spray before the second pass. Alternatively I might hit it some passes on my flatbed hone with chrom ox.

I thought about my long Swaty and all of the posts where guys say that all you need to maintain a sharp razor is a barber hone. I decided to quit being a lazy slug and got the tape. A few swipes on the Swaty, peeled the tape off and did the second pass with a much improved blade.

On another recent occasion I had bought a new razor that came pre honed and shaved well but I thought that it could be just a little better. I had contacted the maker and found out that he had indeed used one piece of electrical tape when he honed it. I had just received a 00 Frictionite and wanted to give that a whirl so the next time I got the new blade out to shave I taped the spine and did a few passes on the 00. Following the label on the side of the hone I used one side first and then the other. Those few strokes really improved the comfort and smoothness of the edge.

So even if I am stating the obvious what I'm saying is that if you are one of those unfortunate souls like myself who feel it necessary to tape the spine in your routine honing don't let that stop you from using the barber hone. Those little guys really work.