Thread: Let the HONING commence...........

Hey Gents,

In the past few months I've dove head first into the world of Straight Razor shaving. All you folks at SRP have been AMAZING as far as getting us beginners on the right track, MUCH THANKS.

So right now I have a nice Torrey I sent to SRD to to get honed and it's the razor I use everyday. However, maybe it's out of boredom or plain curiosity but I have an painful desire to learn how to HONE.

Throughout the last few months I've acquired some decent vintage razors that are in need of some TLC and a new beginning. They were cheap enough to be able to try my hand at honing and won't be too much of a loss if I totally BOTCH my first honing attempts.

I just bought the Norton 3 piece combo set from SRD. It has the 220/1k stone, the 4/8 k stone, and a lapping/flattening stone. SRD has the best price on this combo set by far. Think all three were 125 bones. From what I hear it should be a great set to get started with and hopefully not do "too much" damage. I will still need to get a slurry/prep stone as well and have been looking for a decent old barber hone as well. I'm anxious to see how the sharpening of my old razors will go after watching countless videos and now realizing that the learning curve for honing seems to be a large one.

Also, I was going to buy a paddle strop already loaded with paste/chromium oxide but I think I have decided to attempt to build my own paddle strop. I read the forum within SRP from where a few members have built their own paddle strops for final honing and they turned out pretty nice. Thinking I may try felt, balsa, and leather but it seems that most folks have better luck with felt or balsa in regards to pasted strops. I may also attempt to load up the canvas strop that came with my leather strop with some .5 Chromium Oxide see how that works.

Updates of my first honings and hopefully some pics of my attempts at a home-made paddle strop soon to follow. Cheers gentlemen.....

"I love the smell of Napalm in the morning."
-Robert Duvall Apacolypse Now

I don't think you need the prep stone. Just lap well the nortons the first time around.

You are all set!!! Those stones for that price are very good ones. Tried and true, you have good tools.
Torrey razors can be superlative shavers too. With a little time and all of the good instruction here at SRP, you will be on your way. Like Gugi said, you don't need the prep stone, but you may like experimenting with slurries. Either way, just try to master one method before you go off on a tangent and not absorb what is going on. Cheers!!!!!!

Yeah I bought the prep stone already but from the sounds of it it's prob not needed. From what I have read I will have to lapp the new stones a good bit before I start honing. I guess I was a bit confused on the prep/slurry stones as they seem to be two totally different stones with different purposes. I may end up getting a few slurry stones later on just to get a nice slurry on the 8k. Hope to get my stones tomorrow so I can get crackin'.

Thanks fellas......

Originally Posted by dtrain17

Hope to get my stones tomorrow so I can get crackin'.

I wish you the best of luck with your endeavor, and highly encourage you to ask for help here if you run into trouble, but for heaven's sake, don't use the words "crackin'" and "stones" in the same sentence!

Best of luck. You've got the enthusiasm part down so youre ready to go!

I just honed my first razor this weekend. It's an experience comparable to that first successful straight shave, enjoy.

So chay2k, you compared your first honing experience to your first straight shave. With that said I will be expecting lots of blood, a few tears, and a smidge of dissappointment? Awesome, cant wait!

Check out Glen's videos in the General section under videos and see how he advises how to "feel" the edge on the stone. That's probably the most valuable thing to learn when honing and it comes with experience, feeling the edge on the stones.

DisB - I checked the wiki, would like to see any vid you think is that helpful. When you say general section - is that in FAQ, Wiki? or where?

Sorry for the uninformed question. I appreciate your help.