Originally Posted by
Chimensch
I am not a person who hones razors for others, but I am the author of the post that Lynn quotes, so I ought to have the right to defend myself.
Lynn has previously criticized me for saying that I shaved for 28 years with a Dovo stainless #41 that never saw anything but a barbers hone. He doesn't think that new users should read that kind of drivel either. Unfortunately for Lynn, it's the truth.
As for the subject at hand. I originally came to SRP in April 2008 because my barbers hone was temporarily lost and I didn't know how to replace it. I was fascinated to read about the great explosion taking place in razor honing technology and I decided to try some of the products out, starting with a Norton 4K/8K, then a Norton Flattening stone, a coticule bout, a 4-sided paddle strop with pastes (Dovo Red, Dovo Black, CrOx and 0.25 micron diamond), a BBW/Coticule combination, a Charnley Forest stone, a vintage coticule and a Honyama Awaseto with nagura stone. My point here is that I am not against new technology but I do like to try things for myself and then determine whether they work or not.
One of the things that happens when you shave for 28 years with a barbers hone is that you compensate for any shortcomings in the sharpness/smoothness of the blade by developing good technique. I'm not bragging when I say that I know as much about shaving technique as anyone here on the forum. Unfortunately, that type of information is more difficult to talk about and convey than honing technique. New users also need to learn good technique but that takes time.
Today, with all the new hones and pastes, we produce razors that are much sharper and smoother than anything our ancestors had to shave with. I'm not saying that this is in anyway bad, but it needs to be kept in perspective.
So, anyway, arriving here a year and a half ago, I jumped into the new technology with both feet. I like the edge off of CrOx, but I find that it doesn't last more than a shave or two before it drops off. That's my experience. Ideally, that's what this forum is about, everyone stating their experience.
So, having found that super-sharp, smooth edges are high maintenance, I went back to a process that, again IMO, is more sustainable. I have nothing against a sharp/smooth razor, but I think that technology has to be balanced with technique and that giving new shaver's the ultimate edge is like, and I'm struggling for the right simile here, teaching someone to ride a bike with 16 gears when what they really need is training wheels or teaching someone to drive in a Ferrari. As for honemeisters honing defensively, when you sharpen a razor for someone else, you have no control over their technique, so you make sure the razor is sharp. Unfortunately, the result is that new shavers think that the razor has to be that sharp to shave with and it doesn't.
Maybe all those years of shaving with a barbers hone have ruined me because, when I read about honing progressions that involve 4 or 5 hones and pastes, I just shake my head at the needless complexity of it all. What I want is simplicity that gives me a good shave and a razor that is easy to maintain.