Thread: Barber Hone - Wow and A Q

This morning I brought out a Thiers-Issard recently returned from a repinning job by Ken Rupkalvis. I hadn't used it in a while and found it pulling quite a bit. Rather than go back to the pasted strop, I just grabbed the barber hone off my shelf, lathered it up, and gave it 4 passes. Wow, what a dramatic difference. Either my pasted stropping technique is lousy, or the barber's hone is vastly superior - at least for this razor.

Any problem long term just using the barber hone and not relying upon paste for touch ups?

Barber hones are just pure awesome.....

Originally Posted by Basset

This morning I brought out a Thiers-Issard recently returned from a repinning job by Ken Rupkalvis. I hadn't used it in a while and found it pulling quite a bit. Rather than go back to the pasted strop, I just grabbed the barber hone off my shelf, lathered it up, and gave it 4 passes. Wow, what a dramatic difference. Either my pasted stropping technique is lousy, or the barber's hone is vastly superior - at least for this razor.

Any problem long term just using the barber hone and not relying upon paste for touch ups?

I think this is exactly what barbers hones are designed to do! Not a problem.

Enjoy

Ray

You used hone where it needs to be used. That is why you get great result.

Forum member Utopian has said that before he got into honing with waterstones he maintained his straights with barber hones for a number of years with complete satisfaction.

I stopped using pastes shortly after trying them. A barber hone is what I usually finish with.

Pastes have their place but they are no substitute for a good barbers hone.

I hit the strop (webbing, then latigo) after I hit the barber's hone. Do any folks shave right off the barber hone when touching up during or right before a shave? Just curious.

Originally Posted by Basset

...
Do any folks shave right off the barber hone when touching up during or right before a shave? Just curious.

......Yes.

Originally Posted by Basset

I hit the strop (webbing, then latigo) after I hit the barber's hone. Do any folks shave right off the barber hone when touching up during or right before a shave? Just curious.

I always strop after the barber hone, and yes, Jimmy is right that I have maintained a rotation of razors with nothing but barber hones for about 5 years.

Oddly, barber manuals specifically instruct to strop only on leather and not on linen right having a honing touch up. Subsequent stroppings can be linen and leather but not the first after honing. I've never understood the reason for that recommendation unless they considered the linen to be redundant after the hone.