Thread: First honing done. :)

So my equipment finally arrived today together with my "practice razor" from Ebay, a Meyerherm & Co, Solingen.

I shaved for the first time ever yesterday with a straight razor that had been sent to be professional honed and that was a terrible experience. It wasn't nearly sharp enough but we also agreed since it was my first time it shouldn't be super sharp. The problem is that I got really, really coarse and thick growth. He also honed one super sharp so I will try that one next time.

Anyway, I decided to try and hone the razor I tried yesterday since I can't use it anyway as it is. I did the pyramid honing starting with a 4000/8000 Norton combo and finishing of with a Chinese 12000. But no matter how hard I tried In failed to get any sharpness out of it and almost gave up the whole idea. But then I decided to try with the "practice razor" and man did it hone good. It took some tries but in not much time at all I had it at least as sharp as the super sharp one from the honing guy. I not quite pleased with the result but I will try and shave with it tomorrow together with the new soap that also was in the order from USA. I think I put to much pressure on the razor when honing but it felt like it got better the longer I practiced so I should be able to do a decent job in the future.

And here is a picture of my set.

It just takes time. I was hoping I could hone like the pros my first razor. Of course I didn't but hey a man can hope cant he? I can only images the hours some of these guys have behind the hones. Like everything else in this hobby it will get better with time.

I was not very pleased with my first result honing so I went at it again. This time I tried really hard to think about the pressure and took my time.

I can happily say that this time the result was much, much better. After stropping it now passes HHT-4 (Could be somewhere between HHT-3 and HHT-4). It is definitively sharper then any other razor I have.

Can't wait till tomorrow to see the result.

PMH.

'Big grats on getting a shavable edge. There's great satisfaction in shaving with your own edges.

I just loved a line from Jimmy last wk about it. 'Not a perfect quote, but to the effect that honing comes easily or naturally to some. I have to work at it.

I definitely work at it. Hard. I have a couple different ways to get good edges, but started w/ the norton 1/4, Nani 8 and c12k. I could get sharp edges reliably. I was happier when some experiments w/ slurry and using a crox crayon on the opposite side of the c12k provided additional smoothness.

The whole topic is huge, but don't let all the bluster discourage you. You can get great edges whether or not you're an expert. If you find other str8 shavers near you - I'd very much encourage hooking up with them to shave knowledge, techniques, maybe try gear so you don't have to buy.

Best of luck, and have fun!

Don't expect a great, easy shave the first time out. Chances are the razor was fine, and it was your technique. Straight razor shaving takes a bit of practice. Send the razor that was "pro honed" to someone with experience close to where you live. Let them tell you if it's shave ready or not. I can't tell you how many times I've heard new shavers say they had a blade professionally honed, and it's no good. 99.9% of the time, it's the shaver, not the blade. If you already tried to hone, the razor that was already professionally honed, I dont' know.

Thanks for all the replies and encouragement!

Anyway, I still wasn't happy with the result so I watched some videos today and gave it another shot. This time I put some moderate pressure in the beginning and going lighter and lighter for each turn of the stone. (Norton 4000/8000) I experimented a little and I actually started to feel the difference between each pass. Not enough to make any judgment of the quality but I did notice a difference. I could not get it good enough to pass HHT but what I did instead was pulling one of my many manly chest hairs straight out without plucking it. I then put the knife against and compared how much force I needed to cut it off. This at least told me if it was getting sharper or worse. At one point I had to decide that enough is enough and I went on to finish it on a 12000 Chinese stone.

At this point I did some more experiments. First used the canvas side of the strop then the leather side, continuing switching sides until it passed HHT.
Of course nicking my brand new strop several times.

I then went on with my shaving procedure and the experience was a hundred times better then the first time but I still need a lot more practicing on my technique. I'm just doing my right side burn at the moment until it feels good and comfortable to move on. I also didn't nick myself this time.

Regards,
Magnus

Sorry to go off topic, but where can I get a stand like that?

I ordered mine from classicshaving.com.

It looks better on picture than in reality though so I will probably get a new one but at least it was cheap.

Originally Posted by PMH

It wasn't nearly sharp enough but we also agreed since it was my first time it shouldn't be super sharp.

IMHO , and probably most everyone else , is that your first razor should be as sharp as possible . It's difficult enough to learn the technique , without having to try to shave with a dull razor .

Well since I'm a perfectionist in every way and wasn't happy with the result I decided to give it another go today.

I decided to use my flattening stone on the 4000/8000 Norton and immediately saw that it wasn't flat so there was one problem. I flattened it out and went at it again. This time I could get it pretty sharp on the Norton but ended up spending a lot of time on my 12000 Chinese stone until I was pretty satisfied with the result. I think I might be having a good result and then thinking it will get better if I go at it again and then I over hone it or doing something else and taking the sharpness down instead of raising it.

At least I think I now know what the thumb test means. It should almost feel dull when you put your wet thumb against it or?

Oh, one more thing. If anyone has a reasonable cheap, insanely sharp and shave ready 6/8 or heavier razor for sale please give me a tell.

Regards,
Magnus