Thread: First honing

I'm pretty stoked right now, having finished my first honing.

A few days ago I got a coticule from the classifieds, and after pondering for about 14 minutes (http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ot-unicot.html) and with a minimum of encouragement decided to try the unicot method. So last night the patient got cleaned up with some Mother's Mag polisher and this morning it was on.

The subject is an Ontario Cutlery Co. made in Geneva NY. It's a 6/8 square point, what looks to my neophyte eyes like stainless and dull as a spoon.

I won't bore you all with the details, as the system has been explained by those who know way more than I hope to learn, but suffice to say it took me from 9 am until just now. That's four and a half hours.

Observations:

• Raising a slurry is a b1tch, at least with this stone by this guy.
• The small stone stuck to the larger one and had to cheat to the side a bit to get the slurry. I didn't expect this.
• My slurry never got past the "milky white" stage no matter how hard I tried; I had expected something more substantial. It did get gray with swarf, but it took some work.
• The hardest part was to set a bevel. This is likely due to my lack of skill.
• This could be addictive. I've exchanged emails with the prior owner who indicated that softer cuticules work faster. I already want one.

Ok, it's off to a shower and a shave. I'll let you know how the shave goes.

Instead of putting your slurry stone flat on the coticule, tip it up and use the edge of it. You'll get slurry faster with no sticking.

Ok, so it didn't take me several hours to shower. In between I tilled the little patch in anticipation of planting tomatoes and started the smoker and tossed a brisket in there. Mmmm... I can smell the smoke from here, and mowed the lawn in the front and back. I love summer.

Hot shower and shave. Woot! First time ever I shave with a blade I honed myself, and I'm feeling pretty damn good. Smooth shave, not the best ever, but very good. Noticed the toe was a bit less sharp than the rest and I will chalk that up to my lack of technique and experience, and the fact that the toe is muted and I've no idea how to deal with that yet.

I'll call this a success and a learning experience. I'm still looking forward to the Norton set I expect to own sometime soon, but it's a rush to shave of an edge you put on the blade.

Good times...

This is really great!

Now you have the foundation to build your successes on. Try going back and repeating your process with the same razor paying attention to the part of the edge that wasn't as good and maybe do a few more strokes with the light slurry to water finish and see if the shave improves any. The fun thing is to keep at the same razor until you get it where you want it.

Shaving with one you honed is a big step in the journey.

Have fun,

Lynn

Congratulations on a new start and nice write-up!

Thanks big guy! I was wondering if another pass would improve things... I was hesitant to mess with it, lest I mess it up, but I really want to try and touch up that toe. That's what I need to do around my nose and sideburns.

I've another two or three days to my next shave, so I'll most likely run it as you suggest.

The one thing that I have learned, the hard way I must admit, is when Lynn or another of the old hands says something...listen, then do...