Thread: Read This B4 Starting to Hone!

A newbe was asking a question about honing and testing for sharpness. They were advised as follows.

If you think your razors are not where they should be better get one of them honed by an expert, that would be a much better benchmark in my opinion.

Honing is fairly simple, but that doesn't mean it is easy to master. In fact, the only way is more practice.

All this was true. But then they were told that perhaps when they have honed a hundred razors, they would have a much better idea of the process.

I had heard this before, several times in fact, and the first time I heard it, it set me back some. What on earth could this possibly mean to someone new to honing, when all they were asking was what seemed to be a simple question

Now I have been accused of a lot of things, but being too smart has never been one of them. So my first reaction was to challenge this and get an explanation. It dawned on me that this was a really bad idea. So I thought about it some more and decided to take it as a challenge instead. But now I had to set some ground rules for myself.


First, I had to maintain contact on this forum during this time. It could only help me maintain my credibility, and develop a better relationship with some of the better Honester.

Second, none of the razors I was going to include in the so-called hundred could be mine. What sense would it make to take my razors, bread knife them, hone them and keep doing this over and over? So all the razors I did had to be someone else’s.

Third, I needed honest feedback from the people I was honing for.

Forth, after I passed this magical 100 I needed to report my results back to this forum.

Well, I have since passed the 100 razors, and here is my story.

Now, first off, you need to know that I am not new to using a straight razor. I actually started back in 1967. My barber, who was from Germany, taught me how to maintain and use my first straight. I continued for about 10 years until he retired and I moved away. Then I used the straight off and on, for different periods, until about 2 years ago when I decided to straight shave exclusively. I monitored the SRP site for a long time, before I became a member, and the rest is history.

My first requirement was actually the easiest. I started out reading as much as I could and then started contributing. During this time, I have been able to meet a lot of wonderful people and develop some friendships with others that are priceless. I definitely encourage everyone to become as active as they can, in the forums; your input is really welcomed.

My second requirement required a little more ingenuity and resourcefulness. After managing to work through those issues, I started to receive razors in the mail, and, after a while, lots of razors. There almost didn’t seem to be a day that a box or padded envelope wasn’t in my mail box.

The first couple of razors I received had some issues, but they were minor and presented no problems. Then suddenly, and without warning, it happened. Razors started showing up that weren’t anything like my razors. I was use to fairly pristine edges and evenly worn spines and flat blades. What the hell was going on?

I had to start reading threads in the forums, ask questions and keep trying to get a sharp edge. I spent more time honing than sleeping, my shoulder was aching, my fingers were locked in one position and the frustration level was on overload. Even so, I managed to get those blades sharp.

During the first 30 or 40 razors I had to learn about things I had never heard of, and how to overcome them. Chips, microchips, worn out spines, unevenly worn spines, no bevel, smiling blades, frowning blades, twisted blades, warped blades, tips that wouldn’t get sharp and heels that wouldn’t get sharp, back lapping, x pattern, rolling-x pattern, some pressure, no pressure, frame backs and the dreaded wedge. The list seemed to never end.

At one point, my wife who is a licensed Clinical Psychiatric Social Worker diagnosed me as crazy. You know – doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well that finally changed and honing actually started to become easier. I was finally able to develop stages that gave me answers to what needed to be done to blades with different issues.

I was able to discover and quickly develop the strokes needed to hone each blade. This always required a very slow and meticulous stroke that soon becomes the blades, what I call “honing rhythm”.

After about 90 razors the process actually started to become almost effortless. It is very easy to evaluate a blades needs and honing corrections can be made pretty much on the fly. Honing now takes a more reasonable amount of time, the blades are still exceptionally sharp and smooth and there is rarely a need to retrace my steps after the final stropping. I can also discuss honing issues better, now that I have an idea of what someone is really looking for. This doesn’t, however, mean that it is getting any easier as far as learning goes. Each razor that I do now usually presents its own issues, but it is much easier to handle because of muscle memory, and being able to pull something out of my – well … head a little more quickly.


My third requirement concerns the feedback from people I have honed for. I have to say that the feedback I have received has all been positive, some more so than others. I have even begun to have some of these individuals send me new razors they have acquired.

So now I personally know and have experienced what the statement about after doing 100 razors actually means”, and now so do you.


If you have the desire to become an Honester, I am convinced there are 4 things you need to have. Without these I don’t think it is possible to make it.
1. OCD, with regular steroid injections from your doctor to boost it up.
2. Deep pockets to afford all the equipment you are about to acquire.
3. A prepaid plan with either a Psychiatrist or Social Worker to help
you through your desire to find the edge that is sharper than any of
us can produce now.
4. Patience. Without it you will never make it. Pay close attention to
what you are doing and what is happening.

Disclaimer: This post is absolutely not to discourage anyone from learning to hone, or becoming a Honester. It is strictly to let you know what has happened to me personally, and should not be used to predict a similar outcome for anyone else.

I hope I haven’t bored you to death, and I can’t wait to return to this thread when I reach 200.

Ray

I for one apprecate all the work you and the other honemasters put into every razor you hone

Yep. Been there, done that. Welcome to the club!

Good write up and observations. It's hard to relay this experience to newbies because there is no common frame of reference. The SRP forum titled 'Basic Honing' is misleading. There really isn't anything basic about it. I am a firm believer that honing should be classified as 'Advanced Straight Razor Skills' level 1 Advanced and Level 2 Advanced'.

Good luck on your next 200 honing sessions. The learnings never end. Just try to avoid developing a paradigm that will limit your advancement.

Great story!

Originally Posted by Joed

Yep. Been there, done that. Welcome to the club!

Good write up and observations. It's hard to relay this experience to newbies because there is no common frame of reference. The SRP forum titled 'Basic Honing' is misleading. There really isn't anything basic about it. I am a firm believer that honing should be classified as 'Advanced Straight Razor Skills' level 1 Advanced and Level 2 Advanced'.

Good luck on your next 200 honing sessions. The learnings never end. Just try to avoid developing a paradigm that will limit your advancement.

....WORD ......

Ray.

I salute you. There's no alternative for practice and experience when it comes to learning a craft. Any craft.
That's an excellent write-up about your learning curve.



Bart.

I would just like to get to the point where I can tell someone else my razors are "Shave ready"

And......I'd like to thank Ray for making me a part of the first 100 honings, and for returning my razors so sharp!

Awesome inspiring post Ray :Beer:

Well, coincidentally I just mailed a razor to Ray for honing. Cheers to him for that post.

However, I hope other newbies (I count myself among their ranks) do not mis-read Ray's post and conclude that the only honing worth their effort trying is "maintenance" honing, with the rest going to honemeisters. Most of us can't imagine honing 100, or even 50 razors.

My own experimentation with honing butter knife dull antique store finds has been that it is quite possible for the absolute novice to hone them into nice shavers. My very first hone job involved a dull razor with microchips. It's now a pretty solid, comfortable shaver.

Ray and others could no doubt make it a better one, but right now it works quite well for me. It is also something I brought back myself, which adds another layer of satisfaction.

If as a newbie you find honing is too challenging / frustrating, you can always sell your hones and recover most of the cost. But don't be afraid to give it a try, even if you can't imagine ever honing 100 razors.