Thread: Some thoughts on "Learning to Hone"

How timely that this thread got bumped now. I've been working on my own little FAQ, and one I took a stab at was "What's the best way to learn to hone?" Here's what I've written so far:

In my opinion, it is best to learn how to hone from the end to the beginning. The finishing/touchup stage is the easiest to learn, and bevel setting is the most difficult.

-Touchups and finishing: Touching up a razor is something that every straight shaver should learn how to do, because, sooner or later, all razors will dull as a result of normal use. When a razor begins to pull, choose your finishing/touchup hone, and do 10 to 15 passes, then strop and shave. If you are happy with how the razor shaves, you were successful and you are finished. If you are not happy with how the razor shaves, try 10 to 15 more passes, then strop and shave. Repeat as necessary.

If you cannot get your razor to shave as you would like using the above method, it may be time to drop down one hone in the progression of stones. The next step would be to try a hone in the 8k range. On the 8k hone, do 10 to 15 passes. Then do 10 to 15 passes on your finisher. Then strop and shave. Again, repeat as necessary. Unless you have damaged your razor in some way, coarser hones should not be necessary.

Alternately, you can learn to finish a razor with the help of an experienced honer. If you send your razors out to be honed or buy shave ready razors, try asking for a razor that has only been brought up to the 8k level. When the razor arrives, strop and shave. Note how the razor feels when you shave. Before your next shave, try 10 to 15 passes on your finishing hone, then strop and shave. Note the differences in how the razor shaves. If you are satisfied, you are done. If not, try 10 to 15 passes on your finisher, strop and shave. Repeat as necessary.

-Sharpening and polishing: Once you are satisfied that you can touchup and finish a razor, the next easiest step is to learn to do the mid range sharpening and polishing. Here, it is easiest to have the help of an experienced honer, because you will want to have razors available which have their bevel set but have not been honed beyond that point. Most people do not sell razors that only have their bevels set, and most people do not offer just bevel setting services; but don’t be afraid to ask. Personally, I think it is important to learn on razors that already have their bevels set.

After a bevel is set, the first stage is to use a hone in the 3k to 5k range, and here again, the process will involve a bit of trial and error BEFORE you do anything else, try shaving some arm hairs and try a thumbpad test on the razor. These tests will give you a baseline so you’ll know where you are starting. These tests will also give you a frame of reference when you are ready to learn to set bevels on your own.

Once you have done an armhair test and a thumbpad test, it’s time to start honing. Do 15 to 20 passes on your 3-5k hone, then repeat the armhair test. You should notice an improvement in how easily the hair is cut – it should require less pressure against your skin and there should be less resistance when you cut. Do 15 to 20 passes on your hone again, and repeat the arm hair test. If there is improvement again, repeat the 15 to 20 passes and test. Once you no longer have any improvement, stop. At this point, you will have gotten the most you can out of your hone. Do the armhair test again, and try to remember what it looks, feels, and sounds like; do the thumbpad test, and try to remember what it feels like. The results from these tests will serve as benchmarks for the future, and will reduce the amount of trial and error you need to do next time.

Now, it is time to move up to the next hone, which would be in the 8k range. On your 8k hone, do 10 to 15 strokes, and then try an arm hair test. Do 10 to 15 strokes again, and try the armhair test again. As on the 3-5k hone, keep repeating this process until you are not getting any further improvements. You should be looking for the razor to cut with minimal pressure against your skin and minimal resistance. The razor should make minimal noise when cutting, and the hairs should be cut as soon as you touch them with the razor. When you reach this point, remember what the results of your armhair test are; do a thumbpad test and remember what the edge feels like. These will be your benchmarks for the future.

BEFORE you go to your finishing hone, strop your razor and have a test shave. You should get a very smooth, very nice shave with no pulling at all. This is the ultimate test of the 8k hone. If you cannot get a smooth, comfortable shave, you have not gotten all you can out of your 8k hone, and going to a finishing hone will not help you. You should not move up to your finishing hone if you cannot get a great shave off your 8k hone. If the shave is not great, go back to repeat the 10-15 stroke/armhair test process on the 8k. When there is no further improvement, strop and shave again. Keep at it until you get a great shave.

-Bevel setting: Learning to set bevels is the most difficult part of honing. This is not because the process is inherently difficult; it is because every ebay/antique store/estate sale razor will be in a different state of “dullness,” and that is a significant variable. By comparison, all razors that have just had their bevels set are in a rather narrow range; all razors that just need a touchup are in a rather narrow range.

Setting bevels requires you to figure out how dull the razor is, determine if the razor has any “quirks” you’ll have to address, have the confidence to keep removing steel until you get the bevel set, recognize when the bevel is set and stop, and maintain even strokes to avoid putting uneven wear on the razor. That is a lot to think about! Fortunately, if you have already learned the sharpening/polishing and finishing/touchup stages above, you’ll be at an advantage. Those stages will have already taught you to maintain an even stroke and to recognize when a bevel is set; they will also help you build confidence in your honing abilities. All that will be left is to figure out how dull the razor is and what “quirks” you may have to address.

There are a few things you can do to make these last two areas easier. Try to learn on razors that don’t have any chips, razors that sit flat on hones, razors with minimal and even wear, razors with half to full hollow grinds, and, most importantly, inexpensive razors that you wouldn’t really mind ruining – just in case. But whatever you do, make sure you are using a quality razor – razors on the do not buy list may never actually take a bevel, so you’ll never know if you are doing the right thing or not.