Thread: Too soon to need a honing?

Hey guys, I been using a straight razor since late December, so two months time. I've read up on different aspects of straight razors, and such. My Dovo which I got brand new and honed from SRD, seems to be beginning to tug, I read of people "refreshing" the edge with increased laps on the strop, more so than usual, or using the newspaper strop, or CrOx...I was under the impression that honing would be needed once or twice a year? I have a tough beard, and use the razor three or four times a week, am I the only one who has had a razor feel a bit duller after a few months? Thanks guys.

if you touch up on CrO you will be fine until that does not take the edge back to shave ready. Once you pass the point when CrO does not work , the razor needs to see hones. How long a razor will last before it needs honing, depends on usage, maintenance, beard, stropping, etc.

In a nutshell, heres how it works:

- Shave with shave ready razor
- Razor starts to pull
- Touch up with CrOx/ Diamond spray (10 laps)
- Test shave
- If the razor still pulls, try another 10 - 15 laps and re-test
- If this doesnt work, then you'll need to send it out to be honed.

How long an edge lasts depends on a lot of things. Beard toughness, stropping technique, number of laps on the strop, general care of the razor...

A straight razor should give you a smooth, comfortable shave with no pulling. If it doesnt do this then it needs to be touched up on paste or honed if the paste does not work.

Hey guys, I figured it was time for CrOx...do I necessarily have to use the diamond spray? Or will the CrOx suffice? Thanks again everyone. Also, to note, my beard is fairly tough, as for razor care, it is always dried and put away with a light coat of Vaseline. I strop roughly 50 or so laps on fabric and then leather, before and after use...

I personally see a drop off after about 7 shaves and found that a touch up is necessary for me to get back to top performance. Different people use different methods. When I started, I used to use a 4 sided strop with diamond paste.


Later,
Richard

A whole lot of stropping and no honing makes for a convex bevel. Just go ahead and get a fine hone and maintain it... you'll be buying all of the other hones necessary to completely hone a razor at one point anyway so why not go ahead and start with a say a 12k or 10k or 8k stone to help you maintain...

10 strokes on chromium oxide should be fine in lieu of .5 diamond spray.

I would say that normally a razor should last 2-3 months between honing depending on use, beard time and stropping as previously mentioned and agree that this period can be extended for a long time with the pastes, or sprays before having to go to the stones for refreshing.

Have fun,

Lynn