Thread: Learning to Hone

After a couple months with a razor honed by Lynn, I seem to having the shaving thing down pretty well. So I figure it's time to move on to the next step -- learning to hone my own razors.

I figure I need:
1. A stone of some sort. Any recommendations? What's cheap and good for a beginner?
2. One or two eBay special razors to practice on.

Anything I'm missing? Is there a decent honing tutorial out there somewhere, that I can learn the basic technique from?

It's hard to find something both cheap and good.

I would recommend a Norton 4000/8000 3" water stone. You can get it at classicshaving.com for a good price. It works very well and the 3" width makes it easier for beginners (and not so beginners alike). It is also a stone you will have for a long time. Later on you might want to add a 12000 chinese waterstone but that is more personnal.
You are right on the ebays just make sure it's not a Paki razor that will just frustrate you. I found a Weston bros. razor for $9 when I started. It worked well.

Good luck.

The norton stone isn't cheap, but it's worth the $$.
Here's one video on sharpening made by member Brian D.
http://current.tv/studio/media/1036918
I don't have any extra razors myself, since I just started several months ago and my collection is still accumulating slowly. I'd search ebay for straight razor lots and maybe try to pick up a few razors in so-so condition for like 10-$20.

For the beginner who wants to maintain a professionally honed edge, the pastes are your best bet. For learning the art of honing (and it takes time and patience) the Norton combo has been great for me andf the 1200 grit is a very alluring temptation as well.

The video is great, but for some reason my old eyes seem to see Brian honing by lifting the blade and spinning it blade edge toward hone. I would recommend turning it on its spine. Both would work but honing is a practiced art and practicing correctly would be beneficial, again it may just be an optical illusion and he is doing it the standard way. I also just read the barbers manual in the files sections on honing and think that this is what I would focus on if I were starting over.

The key though is patience....you can do it correctly for days and not get any appreciable effect on an Ebay blade. That would throw off any unwary beginner. Do not succumb to temptation and begin to use severe pressure on the blade. Try and find the right amount of pressure (don't be swayed by all the "don't use any pressure" on the hone zealots either) you can imagine a butter knife would need a little pressure, and a near shaving razor hardly any. Its a sliding scale, error on the side of lower pressure, always. But don't be surprised in the end if you find that applying a little pressure was the key to honing success for some of the razors off Ebay.

As far as equipment goes the Norton is the best for all around work. A barbers hone is great, but I think you need more than one. For learning I would buy the Norton. A paddle strop with .5 diamond paste is a great idea in the beginning too if you really want to shave with the razor, since your honing may not be good enough to take the razor to its ultimate Norton hone shavability. Later it will be plenty all by itself.

Using a razor off Ebay may not be the best choice for learning, I might consider a new Dovo (one of those BEST models maybe). I have heard of people honing on an Ebay razor only to find after a few months that it can't be honed...period. A bad spine or bad steel or whatever and your not really learning squat, your just doing high reps to bulk up one arm on a hone (which doesn't produce a ripped arm anyway).

As an experienced Instructional Systems Designer (ISD) I can assure you that learning to hone via an internet forum is the sure path to frustration, again be patient, you'll get it. If you put 100 monkeys in a room with 100 Norton hones and 100 Ebay razors you wouldn't get a single shavable razor, ever! Even if they were all members of SRP. Appropriate knowledge first, good equipment, and then lots of the correct practice.

So from my ISD experience I'd say, get one razor thats easy to hone (not any Ebay junk razor, not stainless, not 1/2 hollow), and one hone thats easy to learn on (like a Norton) and learn how to hone by reading the barbers manual and do it just like that, and only like that; with only those two items and no other equipment until you get a razor that shaves ok. Then, and only then, if you get no results call someone or ask someone or post a question. And when you do always preface with "I am using this hone on this blade and ...."

You have received some good info here. Be sure and read all the help files on honing and view the gifs.

A very good suggestion was for you to obtain an abrasive pasted paddle strop to maintain your existing razor. The 0.5 micron paste should work just fine.

The second very good suggestion is to buy a new razor and get that sharp before you tackle the Ebay specials. Frankly, most of the Ebay specials need some work on a stone coarser that 4000. It is common for me to use the 1000 stone to remove nicks and the old edge before I move up to the 4000 grit Norton. Sometimes you will get lucky and purchase an Ebay Special that has a good edge, but not usually. If you already have the practice razors and these are the only ones you are going to ever be working on then you can use a piece of 1000 grit sandpaper, wet/dry/ laid on a flat surface, to repair the old edge.

If you want additional info on this then just ask.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

You have received some good info here. Be sure and read all the help files on honing and view the gifs.

A very good suggestion was for you to obtain an abrasive pasted paddle strop to maintain your existing razor. The 0.5 micron paste should work just fine.

The second very good suggestion is to buy a new razor and get that sharp before you tackle the Ebay specials. Frankly, most of the Ebay specials need some work on a stone coarser that 4000. It is common for me to use the 1000 stone to remove nicks and the old edge before I move up to the 4000 grit Norton. Sometimes you will get lucky and purchase an Ebay Special that has a good edge, but not usually. If you already have the practice razors and these are the only ones you are going to ever be working on then you can use a piece of 1000 grit sandpaper, wet/dry/ laid on a flat surface, to repair the old edge.

If you want additional info on this then just ask.

Randy, I am about to use a 1000 for the first time. What changes should I be looking for that gives me the indication to move on to the 4K--thumbnail test, thumb test, hanging hair.....? jmsbcknr

I could be wrong, but when I used the 1000K stone, I looked for uniformity (i.e. straightness of the edge, nick free) under the little radio shack microscope. The edge itself was pretty dull, so the sharpness tests wouldn't apply

I am starting my journey on honing and have been in search of a video to watch before I made any attempts at honing a razor. I watched the video link in post #3 of this string a couple of times. Based on the subsequent posts, am I correct in assuming (I really don't like to assume) the way Brian is honing in the video is incorrect?

If there are other links to honing videos, please advise. Thanks,

Jeff

Originally Posted by elbows

After a couple months with a razor honed by Lynn, I seem to having the shaving thing down pretty well. So I figure it's time to move on to the next step -- learning to hone my own razors.

I figure I need:
1. A stone of some sort. Any recommendations? What's cheap and good for a beginner?
2. One or two eBay special razors to practice on.

Anything I'm missing? Is there a decent honing tutorial out there somewhere, that I can learn the basic technique from?

If you want to avoid frustration, one thing I would add immediately is a Swaty hone. The reason I say that is that it's cheap and will allow you to maintain the razor for a long time without actually honing. Unlike a 12K stone a Swaty is fast in addition to being fine. If you're in the middle of a shave and the razor feels like it's pulling a couple of swipes (3-5) on the Swaty and normal stropping will set it straight. If you do that every once in a while, you can avoid honing for a long time.

If you wanted to do that with a 12K stone, you would need to set up the stone and would need to do a lot of passes on it. I keep a Swaty at the sink and can use it instantly.