Some thoughts on "Learning to Hone"

Ok, heres my egspirt opinion, the first hone any new straight shaver should buy is a barbers hone. If you cant maintain the edge, how are you going to restore or even create one? The barbers hone will allow a novice the chance to learn to keep the blade/edge flat, and learn the proper X stroke, in a few short strokes he has maintained his razor. If not , what harm has he done to the edge? Minimal. At this point he can try again with a few more strokes and if he has learned anything he will come out fine. These hones are available at a fraction of the cost of Nortons, Cotis, Shaptons or Naniwas. If a razor was truly shave ready, a barbers hone will be the only hone you will ever need to keep the edge up to par.
I know Ron/Utopian as well as myself have harped on this numerous times, hopefully there is a member reading this thread who has taken this advice to heart, if there is I would like to hear their reply. Thanks, kelly

Edit: Besides it only makes sense that every straight shaver have one for razor maintenance.

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Ok, heres my egspirt opinion, the first hone any new straight shaver should buy is a barbers hone.

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lol, I STILL don't own a barber hone :p

Maybe I should pick one up just because :)

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Originally Posted by avatar1999

lol, I STILL don't own a barber hone :p

Maybe I should pick one up just because :)

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Yes you should! as he wags his finger at your avatar!

One of the best things I have bought to improve my honing skills is some type of magification. I have several types, with magnification up to 400x.

This really helps me to see very tiny nicks in the antique store blades. I can also tell if my technique is correct, bevel set down the entire length of the blade. Plus, when I put tape on and polish I can see the second bevel too.

I think the hardest thing to learn is holding the blade correctly on the hone for the entire stroke. You are learning new muscle movement and to have control of pushing and pulling in several directions at once will take practice. So, I agree with Glen, start with something new and of good quality. Not having to deal with nicks, smiles, frowns and such should make learning easier.

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Originally Posted by TheBaron

I don't hone yet, but logic would dictate that you are correct. If you learn on a cheap paki razor that are known to not take/hold edges or give bad shaves. How would you ever know if what you are doing is right or wrong. You'd get the same bad test shave even if you did well.

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This is a good thread. Being a newbie I know I will have to touch-up or restore my razor eventually. I've had a few thoughts on it.

1. Try honing my good razor and see how it comes out. Worst case it goes to a honemeister.

2. Just send it to the honemeister right off, asking for a report as to what it needed.

3. Buy another "good" inexpensive razor as a spare, and take my time trying to get my dull razor back to shave ready. At least I know I should be able to get the first razor as sharp as it was when new.

My question is if you start with a good razor to begin with, one that was sharp but just needs to be brought back to the way it was, what stone to you start with? It certainly doesn't need a 1000 to start. Just use a small pyramid on a 4000/8000?

if ya want to learn how to hone, hone
it's rly up to you if you want to do it with a cheap or expensive razor,
some good advice I read was to get two cheap shave ready razors so you can compare

IMO if you want to maintain your razors get a barber hone like nun2sharp says but if you want to learn to hone get a Norton 4/8 too. :) and a lot of razors. Practice makes perfect .... if you're doing it right.

I've polished samurai swords for somewhere around 5 years before I started SR shaving, so I wasn't concerned with honing & polishing an edge, especially after viewing Lynn's video.

I've got an opinion for you, but please keep in mind that I am NO SR Honemeister! From my studies & application on sword polishing, you take a minimalist approach. I believe in this completely. The finer the stone, the less material removed AND for a person who is not well versed in setting a SR bevel or polishing an edge, THE LESS DAMAGE DONE. Nun2sharp's idea on the finer stone is the exact mindset of a sword polisher. I have no experience on a barbers stone, only Japanese waterstones, but I do have an idea that it's more of a polishing grade of stone. With this being said, I'd have to agree with a beginner who wishes to maintain their own SR's should start with a "polishing" grit of stone in a 8,000 or finer Japanese (key word here) grit. I know that grits are rather confusing, or at least they are to me, but as long as the research is done on the stone & technique, a "newbie" should be safe to maintain their SR. If not, at least they haven't ruined their razor for one of you honemeisters to bring it back.

Great advice. I plan on using the back side of my strop if I need a touchup. If that doesn't work I'm going to a .5 paste. But, before I do that I want to make sure I'm prepping my face properly.

I think when a razor pulls it can be more than just sharpness. I have a bad habit of slopping on some lather and shaving. Works with the new 10 blade disposibles, but doesn't work too well with a straight razor.

Ziggy, eventually you will need a barbers hone, the pastes can only do so much.