Thread: Is there a test for "Honemeister"?

I've been reading quite a few of these posts and everyone keeps saying things like "True Honemeister". Is there a way that we can get a system going so people can be assured that when they send a razor out to be honed by someone advertising in the classifieds here, that they can be assured they will get a quality job done? I have a ad in the classified's here and I would like to be checked out by anyone to see if I hone good. If I don't I will definitely pull my ad from here if I don't meet people's expectations. If we set up some sort of quality control so no one will get burned, then it could help answer any question's someone might have when they want to have a razor honed by someone from here. I hope I don't upset anyone by asking this! It's just a thought that's been running through my head reading alot of these post's.

The only test is the result and rep i should imagine i class my honing as very good i do all my own honing and i also have honed for other people i don't charge as i enjoy honing as an hobby but the guys on the classifieds do have good write ups but still i don't think you can please every one and that is down to client and there experiance in using a straight razor so i think honemeisters have a tough job.

The way things work, have worked, and don't work...

The truth of the matter is there is no test other then the public opinion one...

Way back in the old days if you wanted to establish yourself, you just jumped right in, Joe Chandler actually explained it to me... About doing some work for free, actually just helping out when needed.. So that's what I did, I saw a newb struggling, I would just jump in and offer.. Doc had a few razors for the troops going out, I offered, someone had their great grandfathers razor to fix up, I offered, pretty soon people were asking me to do more and more, and they offered $$$, that was the old way and it still works...

What happened next was the newer way, people started posting "Free Honing Offers" at first we thought this was a good thing, but quickly realized that this actually was not so good, so we stopped those offers on the forum...As some people took advantage of it and basically were running a supermarket promotion out of it, basically buy one get one free... this was just not in the true spirit of the forum...

You can definitely just hang your shingle out in the classifieds, but if people don't know of you, and haven't heard of your skills then business will be slow starting...
Still the best way of getting established is "JUST HELP" if you read about some poor newb stuck in the hone zone, just offer to help. If yer a restorer just offer to help out in the monthly giveaways...
There are tons of people on the forum that just need help...
I still do this, so does Lynn, and Max, and we all are swamped with work...
Remember what the forum is really about, and it all just comes together...
we are really here just to help each other out....

The more people you help, the more people will know your name, and the ball starts rolling along...

Glen hit the nail right on the head with his description of the actual situation on SRP. Being German, the English language use of Meister still makes me cringe, though:

Meister - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The word Meister originally means "master" in German (as in master craftsman or as an honorific title such as Meister Eckhart; akin to maestro).

Taking this into context, have a look at the explanation of the German master craftsman:

Master craftsman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The master craftsman is the highest professional qualification in crafts and is a state-approved grade. The education includes theoretical and practical training in the craft and also business and legal training, and includes the qualification to be allowed to train apprentices as well. The status of master craftsman is regulated in the German Gesetz zur Ordnung des Handwerks, HandwO (Law of crafts).

The requirements to become a master craftsman are usually an education in the crafts in which the examination should be taken (a successfully completed apprenticeship and examination, called Gesellenprüfung) and experience of at least 3 years as a journeyman (Geselle). Only then training courses for the Meisterprüfung ("master's examination") can be followed. The duration of the courses depends on the craft and can take some years. The examination includes theoretical, practical and oral parts and takes some days (depending on the craft). In most crafts the creation of a masterpiece is still part of the examination.

So while I appreciate the English language use of this German loanword, it still sounds horribly wrong to me. Just as an aside, the pronunciation is also different, it's \ˈmaɪs-tɐ\, not \ˈmīs-tər\

Being a long time student of German, I know just what you mean. It just sounds wrong somehow. On the other hand, regardless of formal training, these guys really are masters of their craft.

Robin,

Your post is exactly why I refer to most guys who do honing as "honesters". Of course, this wouldn't apply to guys like Lynn and Glen and others who have literally honed thousands and thousands of razors with many happy customs. I think that the term honemeister is fitting for those gentlemen.

Originally Posted by richmondesi

Robin,

Your post is exactly why I refer to most guys who do honing as "honesters". Of course, this wouldn't apply to guys like Lynn and Glen and others who have literally honed thousands and thousands of razors with many happy customs. I think that the term honemeister is fitting for those gentlemen.

yea, its like the sign outside McDonalds. Billions served. Really practice makes perfect and skill won't hurt either.

I take my hat off to the guys that want to hone for other people. I buy enough razors to get plenty of practice and I keep it a hobby. I have honed for a couple of people for free as a favor but I don't want to make a hobby a semi profession.

Before long it wouldn't be enjoyable to me if there was that kind of pressure on me. Deadlines and such. Also, from what I've experienced with honing it is a good thing that the honemiesters don't charge by the hour.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

What happened next was the newer way, people started posting "Free Honing Offers" at first we thought this was a good thing, but quickly realized that this actually was not so good, so we stopped those offers on the forum...As some people took advantage of it and basically were running a supermarket promotion out of it, basically buy one get one free... this was just not in the true spirit of the forum...

I haven't had time to be on this forum lately, but I just came on today to take a quick look around, found this thread, and felt obliged to respond.

I was probably the first person to do what was called a buy one get one free offer. It was not, as I was told, "marketing." I deliberately did not piggyback my free honing offer with any listing in the classifieds. I had no intention of charging for any honing, especially since I considered that the free honing was helping me gain more honing experience. The only reason I charged for some razors was because I was getting barraged with people asking me to hone 3 or more (up to 12) razors for them for free. I felt it was more important to hone one razor for as many people as possible so most of the time I thought it best to limit it to one per person. For some people who were on hard times, or for some other reasons, I still went ahead and honed more than one for free. For some people, I did major restorations for free. I spent 12 hours grinding and hand sanding one blade and got paid nothing. That's because I didn't ask for anything. I also did not restrict the condition of the blades that came to me. I honed many that had chips that extended way beyond the bevel, that is, if there even was a bevel. I was willing to hone just about anything, no matter the condition. I thought it was reasonable though to charge for occasional extra razors.

Whenever I received a honing inquiry about multiple razors, I told them the same thing--"I'm limiting the free honing to one per person. If you want more honed than that, I'll charge the standard $15 per razor. Whether you want just the free honing, or if you want to pay for additional razors, either way is fine with me." Most of the time I got no response back after sending that message.

During my free honing period, I honed 117 razors. I was paid a total of $170 for those honings, so it was hardly a successful marketing campaign. When I have the time, I will be mailing refunds to each person who paid me for honing during my free honing offer. I will do this to maintain "the true spirit of the forum."

Originally Posted by Utopian

During my free honing period, I honed 117 razors. I was paid a total of $170 for those honings, so it was hardly a successful marketing campaign. When I have the time, I will be mailing refunds to each person who paid me for honing during my free honing offer. I will do this to maintain "the true spirit of the forum."

I don't see $170 for 117 razors as making any profit and do not feel you should refund the money just to 'keep the spirit of the forum", as noble an act it is.. I also feel that all others reading this post should comment on this act as your feelings dictate.