Thread: Daily maintenance honing?

Ok, I've been thinking about this, and I'm curious.

Is there a daily honing regimen that would avoid an all out honing?

I'm guessing that it would have to be low laps (1 or 2) in a high-grit stone (no less than 8k?). And last, something slow cutting to keep hone wear to a minimum.

I know that a barber's hone can do some touch-ups, but I don't think anyone would use that in this case due to it removing too much metal.

Just to reiterate, I'm not talking a touch up to postpone honing, I'm talking avoiding an all-out honing indefinitely.

Any thoughts?

You have to remember that for a lot of us, honing is not a chore but enjoyable in itself. I think what you are talking about can be done, but how about this alternative?

I "touch up" a blade that I'm shaving with about every two weeks to a month. Between shaves I'm stropping 100 laps on plain leather. I don't need to refinish the edge any more than that. The indicator is when you feel slight pulling or tugging. Then use a Barber's Hone or touch up like I do with a Naniwa 12K or a Shapton 16K. I don't think you could postpone a re-bevel forever this way, but it might last quite a while.

Originally Posted by ace

You have to remember that for a lot of us, honing is not a chore

It's not a chore for me either, but with a family, 80-hour-a-week job and getting my masters, time is a commodity that's at a premium right now. Thanks for the rest though. I break out the strop almost daily even though I only SR shave twice a week.

You can keep an already shaving sharp blade going indefinitly with nothing but a barbers hone. They cut fast but not so fast that you are going to give it undue hone wear.but if you are worried about hone wear, just tape the spine prior to using the barbers hone.

pasted/sprayed strop!?.........as the others have said a barbers hone and or pasted/sprayed strop will allow you to go a longer time between honing but i don't think you could put it off forever!

The barbers hone is a great way to go but that depends on the edge you prefer. One has to realize that eventually you will have to hone a razor no matter which method you choose. There are a lot of variables in the equation of how often you have to eventually hone a razor. Things like experience, beard type, your prep, what you strop on, and the list can go on for quite a while.

I use a felt strip impregnated with 0.1 micron CBN that I use when I think my razor is "lacking". I can keep an edge going for a long time and coupled with the fact that I have five razors it is months before I have to use a hone, which is sad! I really like honing on some of the very nice hones that I have but I simply do not have the time.

Take Care,
Richard

I think we are getting confused by definitions and words. A barber hone will maintain an edge forever. A pasted strop will not.

Most people will eventually drop the razor, bang it against the sink or faucet, or do something else that will tear the edge. Even stropping with too much pressure can make simple maintenance honing difficult.

Any form of stropping will slowly round the edge.