Thread: honing help Charlotte NC

Originally Posted by phcullen

mr gordog did put the effort in to make me helieve he could sharpon a razor he invested in a razor to learn how to sharpon one and said a lot of the same things i hear on all of the tutorials and he offers it as one of his services on his site its not just something i asked of hime and he said that he could do

How did it work out for you?
Those that hone razors do just that. They are not lawn mower blades or hedge clippers, they are razors. Like I said , a different animal altogether. As you learn here you will see that this comes up often enough and for the most times, doesn't work out.
I sharpened my knives to a wicked edge before I started with straights. Thought, how hard or different could it really be? Well. it took mr a bit of time before i could hone a razor to any type of quality edge. I sent razors out to some of the guys here and always got a great edge from them. Practice and time was the only thing that got me there and I'm still no where near as good at it as the guys that do it for money. I'm sure they guy had nothing but good intentions doing your razor. It's just different plain and simple from any other edge.

Originally Posted by phcullen

mr gordog did put the effort in to make me helieve he could sharpon a razor he invested in a razor to learn how to sharpon one and said a lot of the same things i hear on all of the tutorials and he offers it as one of his services on his site its not just something i asked of hime and he said that he could do

The problem is learning how to hone a razor for others takes more than practice on one razor. If you hone for you a few razors is fine, you will learn how to hone them to your satisfaction. Honing for others is not the same thing. There all kinds of "surprises" one can expect when honing for others. Blades are not quite straight a lot of hone wear, pitting on the bevels, frowns. Those kinds of things take some practice to learn how to correct. Also honing razors is acquired skill that one can forget, so to keep in shape one has to hone razors on a fairly constant basis to keep some kind of form.
I am just giving you some perspective in general, I know guys that hone razors and sharpen knives and are good at both.

I live in Durham, NC and have been using straights for 3 months. I sent my first straights to Glen Mercurio in Sandpoint, Idaho of http://www/gemstarcustoms.com to hone and 2 heavy wedges to restore. I've been using lapping film on the last full hollows and extra hollows and that works fine and easy and cheap. I would send out my first straight to be honed by someone who specializes in straight razor honing. Plenty of people on this forum that do so. Also, you need a good strop.

I am willing to help anyone here in Charlotte with honing. I have about 80 razors under my belt. And no, there is not a charge, I am here to be helpful... That's why you have to be local. You have to come to me... I hope this helps.

I have met and had razors honed by Gary, they were both sharpened well. I also had others that he said could not be sharpened. They are now some of my favorites.

Gary does what he can but he is a master sharpener of most blades, but not a honemeister as we know them! So, YMMV.

If you can, I do highly recommend that you send Glen your business as a blade sharpened by him was one of my paradigms when I began honing, yes, he is that good.

But if you are local and have a blade, I will see what I can do for you. Btw. I do shave test all blades that I let out and will do it with you there on a Saturday so you can see with your own eyes. I won't let someone else shave with a razor that I wouldn't shave with personally.

Cool-There seems to be a whole Queen City contingent on this board! I wonder if there are any just down I-85 in Sparkle City, where I live.

Anyway, what others have said: send your first few blades out to Glenn, Lynn, Sham, or some other honemeister, and you will know what a REAL shave-ready edge feels like; it will shave like a dream if you do your part and keep it well-stropped, I promise you!

Then, like so many of us on SRP have done, you can learn honing sort of 'backwards.' In other words, start by touching up razors in need on a barber's hone or similar. Then, as you commit the strokes and techniques to muscle memory, maybe add a Norton 4/8k to your arsenal. It's kind of the little black dress or classic blue blazer of honing-many learn on them, with good, consistent results. And you don't have to spend hundreds on finishers, as so many of our HAD sufferers do in the never-ending quest for the ultimate edge. I got my C12k on our classifieds for $15, and it works like a champ! Good luck, and let me know if you're ever down the road in Spartanburg, and want to have a honing session. Aaron

Honestly, Local help is the best help being able to sit down and watch and get a real feel for what is going on as the blade is honed will give you a huge advatage in your own honing...

If there is a meet up or a guy like Yochatman near by that is willing to help take the time to go...

two sources of help besides what you were just graciously offered

Local Help - Straight Razor Place Wiki

and

Get Togethers and Meetings