I need spoon fed!

I spent most of yesterday evening and this morning reading up on honing. I now have to much info in my head that I can not make sense of it all. I only have one question though, for the time being, and I have seen other threads pertaining to this question, so I apologize for this.

Can some please just tell me specifically what hone I should get, to touch up a razor that was made shave ready by a Hone Meister and is starting to dull down, or a link. I am probably going to choose a hone from the first two or three suggestions.

I was looking for a barber hone on some of the sponsored sights and the classifieds but did not find any that said barber hone. Maybe I missed something??!!

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Originally Posted by natepaint

I spent most of yesterday evening and this morning reading up on honing. I now have to much info in my head that I can not make sense of it all. I only have one question though, for the time being, and I have seen other threads pertaining to this question, so I apologize for this.

Can some please just tell me specifically what hone I should get, to touch up a razor that was made shave ready by a Hone Meister and is starting to dull down, or a link. I am probably going to choose a hone from the first two or three suggestions.

I was looking for a barber hone on some of the sponsored sights and the classifieds but did not find any that said barber hone. Maybe I missed something??!!

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If you're specifically looking for a barber hone, try searching for "Swaty". Franz Swaty hones are plentiful and affordable -- just be aware that they're a PITA to lap.

You might also want to look into some chromium oxide. There are a few threads in the wiki:
Pasting a strop - a photo tutorial - Straight Razor Place Wiki
Easily make a pasted balsa strop - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I would say a coticule, combo if possible.

Nate,

First let me say that many very smart and skilled people have shared their knowledge here on the WIKI. Read through these great articles:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Category:Straight_Razor_Maintenance_-_Honing_%26_Stropping

The topic of sharpening stones is so wonderfully subjective that if you ask this question of twenty people you will get at least twenty five opinions. Some swear by Norton, some collect Japanese water stones. Some like natural. Some like synthetic. I own both natural and synthetic:

I like the Belgian stones. I own one blue and one coticule. They are very quick cutting. There are plenty of sources but here are a few where you can do some tire kicking:

http://www.theperfectedge.com/belgian.shtml

http://www.bestsharpeningstones.com/

I also have the entire line of Shapton glass stones. Here is how I set up to store my stones:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/advanced-honing-topics/21550-protecting-shapton-investment.html

I hope this helps.

Brad

Personally, I would go for a Coticule, because they are versatile (or so they say), and I like natural hones. There are good reasons to go for a synthetic, though, consistency and ease of use being on top of the list.

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What hone(s) do I need? - Straight Razor Place Wiki
If the only task you want to perform is refreshing edges that have previously been established by a Honemeister (the process is often referred to as "touching up" on SRP), you need only get a fine grit finishing stone or a barber's hone for this. Either of these hones can be used to keep your razor(s) shave-ready for years.

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Thank you everyone for your suggestions.
I think I have enough ideas, to work out what I need, thank you.

There are a lot of really great finishing hones used for touching-up out there. About as many as different opinions as you will get:
Coticule, Escher, Shapton 16K, Barber Hone, etc., etc...

You might consider a hanging linen strop with Cromium Oxide paste applied. This, I believe works best for just minor touch-ups. A lot of guys use this.

Just my opinion, of course.

Steve

I'm with zepplin if all you want is to maintain a sharp razor. A paddle strop with some 0.5 diamond paste and/or some chrome ox will go a long way and are easier to come by than a vintage barber hone.

If you choose to go the barber hone route, check your local antique stores and flea markets. I've picked up a couple for far less than the prices I see on ebay.

I do have a Filly strop with Chrome Ox on one side. I don't think it is enough though, it is very light and doesn't span the entire strop (compared to pictures of strops with Chrome Ox I have seen in here). I guess, I will purchase more.

I don't need the hone as of this moment, my blade is fine. I was wanting to practice on a stone, with an Ebay razor, similar to mine, so when it did need to be honed I wouldn't have to worry about ruining my blade and heaving to send it out, any way. The other reason for the barber hone, I'm thinking of purchasing a set of hones in about a year and trying my hand at restoration. For now I am just going to practice with a barber hone, and try to achieve a light even touch.

I thought a barber hone was used if a pasted strop was not affective in creating a sharp edge. If I 'm reading things correctly, a chrome ox and a touch up stone are interchangable.

Hi Natepaint,
Trying to figure out what hone to use is kinda like trying to figure out what martial art to study... same end goal, but different paths to get there...

For simple touchups on blades honed by a honemeister, probably the simplest path is a pasted strop and/or a barbers hone.

For actual honing beyond the touch up, you have dozens of option... so try to categorize your options and figure out what appeals to you.

Synthetic stones- probably the best one to start on as your foundation is the norton 4k/8k
Characteristics: consistant, quick. Need to soak the stone(s) in water.
Other note-- Lynn has a great BKM on how to hone on this stone. Later, you can expand your collection to include finer finishing hones, still using the norton as your base workhorse.

Other synthetic stones include glass stones, but I hear these can get expensive.

Natural stones- a good choice to start on is a yellow coticule + belgian blue whetstone. Bart has a good wiki article on how to hone with this combo. Note, you can do without the BBW and just use the coticule, but it takes a bit of practice to dial in the technique (which involves diluting slurry at a certain rate-- you need some trial and error to figure it out)
Characteristics: typically not the sharpest edge, but known for having the smoothest edge (some feel that a smooth edge is more important than an ultrasharp edge for shaving comfort, once you reach a certain sharpness threshold, but there are many opinions on that point). You can use the coticule with a slurry as an aggressive bevel setter, or with water as a fine polisher, which means if you want to be a minimalist, you can use pretty much this one stone for everything.

There are a bunch of other natural stones, but I don't know much about them-- I think they need to be used in conjunction with other hones as I think their effective grit level is more "fixed" than the coticule (I could be wrong on that point)

Let us know what you ended up picking. You can always sell 'em on the classified and try something else if you don't like your choice.

-Chief

Natepaint - I know where you're coming; I want spoon-fed as well. I've been reading all of this stuff for a couple months straight, and I have more comments, videos, and opinions than I know what to do with. It's pertinent to look before you leap, but I feel at some point we've just got to jump in and feel the water for ourselves. So much of this material is subjective and dependent on personal preference/experience that it's hard to get a newbie started at ground zero with a beginner's game plan. Personally I'm looking at the Norton combo like this to get me started on sharpening. A 220/1000 stone, 4000/8000k stone, and a lapping stone sound like a pretty good start to me. Norton seems to be the common denominator for beginner's and there are plenty of video tutorials with these stones, including those from Lynn. I'm sure with some experience I'll find Shaptons, Japenese stones, Coticules, and various barber stones more fitting, but I really need to get my hands dirty with some antique shop razor specials that I don't mind learning on.