Bare Minimum for Honing your own razor?

I'm new to STR8 razor shaving. I recently purchased a DOVO 6/8 Tortoise Scale razor and strop from SRD.

I've been reading about honing and I know eventually I would like to maintain my own razors.

From what I've read it seems like I would need just a Norton 4K / 8K.

But the more I read, the more I learn but it is somewhat cofusing with all the different types of hones, stones , lapping etc.

I want to start out with basics and build up from there.

What is the bare minimum of equipment that I would need to be good to go?

Bare minimum would be a barber's hone, assuming you only want to maintain the edge on your already honed razor. If you want to start honing razors that are dull then a Norton 4K/8K would be an ideal stone to start with.

As stated above, the norton 4k/8k is a good choice to start with, can get consistant results in a short time.

You can also use just a yellow coticule, which hones aggressive with a slurry, and polishes with water, but getting the technique down is harder. A great choice if you like the idea of natural hones.

Another option for maintaining a pre-honed razor is to use a pasted strop. Using this method will eventually cause the bevel to round out, and the razor will eventuallly need to be rehoned (assuming you touch up the blade once every few months, it could be well over a year before you'd need to actually rehone the razor, maybe longer)

-Chief

All good answers. You have Pastes, Sprays, and hones. Barber hones are small and inexpensive. Most can be had for around 25-30 USD. 3-5 lapps daily will keep your blade shave ready. As a matter of fact, I use them, and seldomly do I ever hone my blades. I was just thinking about that today. When you get to the point where you blade is in need of serious honing, you can always send it out to a honemeister. If you get to the point where you have many razors, then you might want to consider your options. Picking hones is like buying a car, There are so many choices, and the prices vary greatly. If you deal with So at Japan Tool Co. You'll find out some hones cost as much as cars. I'm serious.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...sing-them.html


I was reading this thread again the other day and can't belive the amount of info in here... ps: it only starts with the Naniwa stones then branchs into much much more...

Where does one find a new barber's Hone and what should I be looking for when purchasing a barbers finishing hone?

Thank you much for the help

I don't think you can find a new barber's hone, I'm pretty sure there's no company still making them. You'll find a vintage barber's hone in the classifieds here from time to time and that's where I'd keep an eye on if I were you. You can also find them on eBay listed as razor hones, but I find them to be overpriced and usually unlapped there.

I started out with the Norton 220/1000 and the 4k/8k. I got a DMT D8C 325 continuous lapping plate and could have done fine with those for the rest of my life if I hadn't contracted HAD. :D