Thread: Hired Gun?

Hi Gang,

I new and need to hone my razor but don't want to enter the world of honing myself just quite yet. Questions:

1. There is a really nice local mom and pop sharpening service. I called and they seem knowledgeable and confirmed that they will sharpen razors. Is this too much of a gamble?

2. Assuming I shouldn't send my blade there, do any SRP members do honing services? Where else can I look to get my razor shave ready?

Thanks!

There are members who hone for hire in the SRP classifieds in 'member services'. If I had an extra razor I didn't care anything about I might give mom & pop a try but other than that I wouldn't chance it. Welcome to SRP.

Thanks Jimmy. I take it from your avatar you don't appreciate bullshit, neither do I! Thanks for the advice. I saw straight razor design had a honing service for $20 - is that steep for a hone or no?

Murdoc,

When I first started out, I bought some quality vintage blades and sent them to three separate professional knife sharpeners (all were "mom & pop" style). I was mostly trying to save time by going local rather than mailing out my razors and waiting. None of them got the razor shave-ready. I finally got them honed by honers from this forum and it made all the difference in the world.

Check around the guys in the Classifieds section and ask about lead times. You can find someone at a reasonable price who will have your razor honed up and back to you within a week, believe me.

Zapp,

Thanks - I appreciate the heads up. I will go check it out.

Please get someone in the classifieds to hone your blades, mom and pop dont shave with straights and have no idea what needs to be done. There have been too many horror stories here in the past about the local knife grinder!

Honing services start at $20.00 I think, and are well worth the cost. If you don't start with a shave ready blade, you're asking for trouble.

Hi again ace - yessir - I've already taken the "shave ready" credo to heart from SRP. I'll keep you all posted.

Originally Posted by murdoc

I saw straight razor design had a honing service for $20 - is that steep for a hone or no?

No, I would say that is about average. I hone my own as a rule but I've bought more than a few honed by the fellow that does it for SRD and they were as good as it gets IME.

Murdoc,

I think the guys are telling you right. When new, you need better edges than the experienced guy - and you'll be harder on them while learning.

There are some free services, some of which are excellent. I think coticule.be is closed for a few more days, but they have a free honing service. Feedback on their edges has been superlative. 'Only wish I could wring that performance outta my coticules! Others will hone for free, including myself, but if you're just learning, having the confidence of an edge by a pro is probably worth it.