Thread: Help getting started with first time honing please!

Hey Gents,

I've been around this forum for just over 2 years now and I always enjoy reading everything you all have to say about the art of Straight razor shaving. I've been shaving with one ever since the day I joined this site to by my first blade from Lynn and straight Razor Designs. Over this time I've acquired two razors, my trusty "best Quality" Dovo and my very pleasant "Bismark" also from Dovo. I've tried a few different soaps and have settled on Mitchell's Wool fat. But believe it or not I've never actually honed either one of these razors, as I've got a very light beard and always strop before and sometimes after a shave, then meticulous care is taken in wiping the blade down and storing in a spritz of gun oil as these razors are in their containers inside a wooden box in my bathroom where moisture is still a possibility.

So Down to the nitty gritty here! I need to hone my "Best Quality" Dovo as I've noticed it's not cutting quite like it has since day one now. none of my blades have ever been dropped or abused so I'd feel quite confident in saying they SHOULD have very straight lines, especially being honed by the best. thanks Lynn! So my question is what would be a suitable "starter" kit for honing, I saw the kit posted in the beginners section and that looks great but I've also heard about the norton pyramid, and spent a few hours at least reading through the honing library and watching videos as well. precision is something im quite familiar with as I do have quite an attention to detail as well as I work with precision instruments of measurement all day in a machine shop. I'd really love some recommendations from the greats of honing out there. I know this has been asked several times before and I've searched but to be honest, all the different recommendations have made me shaky on just what to get, what with all the different options and whatnot.

The Norton 4000/8000 will get you where you want.

This link:
Lynn Abrams on honing
is great, especially the part on Pyramid Honing.

Here is some Norton info:
The Famous/Infamous Norton 4/8 "JaNorton 2012"

Good luck.

so do you still have your second honing free gift certificates? sounds like a good use for one. you have done really well actually.
you besides the norton you could also consider a barber's hone or a coticule bout.

Agree. I'd try a Barber Hone 1st . It may be just enough.

Buck, you have uncommon wisdom for staying w/ pro edges so long.

As you found w/ machining, you can cut metal fairly quickly, but masterful machining takes a bit more practice. The vids on the Norton or Naniwa progressions should get you there. As Holli4pirating said: hone a couple hundred blades and many of the questions will be more clearly answered. Your blades are good, One of the more demanding skills will be learning what 'no pressure' means. Keeping the 2 parallel surfaces of the spine and edge in contact w/ the stone with no more than the weight of the blade is easier said then done. But you'll get there, and your shaves will likely be fine in the mean time. If you get stuck or want at least one edge honed while you work the other, PM me. 'Just postage costs.

You'll likely pick it up alot faster than most of us.

A Norton 4K/8K is a very nice stone. But after you hone on the 8K, and test-shave, you'll say:

. . . What else do I need to get this edge back to the way it came from SRD?

And you'll be off on an expensive search.

You take good care of your blades. A barber hone should keep them in good condition indefinitely, and will probably give you a nicer edge, with less work, than the Norton 8K.

Alternatively, a high-grit finishing stone (12K or 16K) would let you remove just a little bit of metal, and keep the edge very keen.

Charles

PS -- This is my [genuinely humble] opinion, nothing more.

The Norton 4/8K stone is the standard for newbies. It is an easy stone to master and the 8K side will give you a great edge. It will also allow you to repair a ding to your blade, which is going to happen, whereas a barber hone will probably not without a lot of work. Master the Norton 4/8K first, it's a great edge, then move up to a finishing stone later.

thanks guys!!!! I definitely appreciate all the rapid feedback, and absolutely appreciate the positive boost of confidence you guys give. I was always raised to take care of two things, my belongings, and my loved ones. and when I spend about a hundred dollars on a razor I have every intention of having outlive me, to hand down to my son, I damn well intend to take care of it! Thanks again.

Seeing is it was somewhat unanimous, I'll be starting off with the norton 4k/8k progression, and also purchasing a finishing stone for once I'm comfortable with the results and higher level of difficulty.

SYSlight: to answer your question, yes I've actually got both my Honing certificates. I think what I may do is send in my Bismark while I shave with and attempt to hone my Dovo Best. To me the Bismark is still cutting great but i figure this way I've got a comparison between what a master such as Lynn could provide and what I myself have managed to do to a blade. ha ha. I think a higher grit stone may even suffice for what I'm looking to do at this time as well as I truly haven't noticed that much deterioration of either of my blades, I suppose once I send in one of the blades Lynn will be able to tell me how the blade actually has held up over the past year.