Thread: Hone, Hone on the Range...

...Where the Nortons and the coticules play...

I just wanted to drop a note in here and share some newbie honing experiences (and seek some advice from the sages...). I was loaned a "trainer" razor to practice honing (thanks Lynn!), and I'm fairly proud to report that I actually got that beast shave ready all by my lonesome and in fact shaved with it this morning. And lived to talk about it!

Now, before I tear my rotator cuff patting myself on the back... I will admit that the blade is certainly not as sharp as a pro-honed razor, but I followed Lynn’s tutelage (from his tremendous DVD) and got it (eventually) to the point where I can shave with it and get a solid, albeit not perfect (yet) shave. Great, but still awfully (parenthetical)…

I essentially used the Abrams/Tuttle pyramid on a Norton 4K/8K, then did 10 finishing strokes on a Shapton 16K GlassStone (http://www.shaptonstones.com/stones/glass.php). After that, I stropped it (35 laps on a Tony Miller latigo hanger) and test shaved with it. Well… OK, but not quite there yet. So I then did 10 more strokes on the Shapton, then 5 laps on a 1-micron paddle and finally 8 laps on a 0.5-micron paddle. 35 more laps on the strop, and in for round 2. Gettin’ closer…

Finally, I did another 5/8 on the 1.0/0.5 paddles, another 35 laps on the strop and… Viola… Shavage! Too bad it was 6:30 in the morning or I would have poured myself a wee dram of Balvenie Portwood 21 to celebrate!

So – the moral of the story is… Hopefully I’m a good case study of the totally inexperienced noob who leaned heavily on the experience of the wise ones – Lynn, Randy Tuttle, Bill Ellis, Tony Miller, Elija and others – and learned a helluva lot in a very short time. My technique is a far cry from perfection, but I feel like I’m on the path to razor enlightenment, and I know that when I have questions or problems, I can find the answers in here…

In closing – a couple questions. I keep reading about the love affair that lots of guys in here have with the Belgian cotilcule. Sure sounds like the perfect finishing stone. Can they be had any more? I know they are not widely available (except for the blue ones, yes?), but I was wondering if there was any “new old stock” floating around anywhere…

Second, how often do most guys “freshen up” their edge? I’m sure it depends on how many razors are in your rotation, but just in general. I know daily stropping keeps the edge pretty keen, but since I have a fairly tough beard, I suspect that I’ll have to have an interim step between stropping and full-fledged honing.

Originally Posted by entropy

Second, how often do most guys “freshen up” their edge? I’m sure it depends on how many razors are in your rotation, but just in general. I know daily stropping keeps the edge pretty keen, but since I have a fairly tough beard, I suspect that I’ll have to have an interim step between stropping and full-fledged honing.

It depends on an awful lot of variables, how good the initial honing is, how tough your beard is, how good your stropping is, how good your shaving technique is, your tolerance for pulling (which is also related to how heavy your beard is), how hard the razor is etc. Some guys claim they can go months, I usually only go about 5 days to a week before giving the blade a few laps on something (barber hone, translucent arkansas, or pasted paddle). If I find a razor that can go longer then I usually go to a finer grit, which gives me a sharper but more delicate edge, so the razor still needs refreshing every 5-7 shaves.

This is kind of a flying by the seat of your pants thing. I shave until the edge starts to become less comfortable. Every razor is different so some can give 10 shaves and some 60, there's no magic number.

As far as coticules go yes they are great but if you buy make sure you can return it if it doesn't do what you want. Some of the more recent ones have been substandard. Check out theperfectedge.com. That's where I got mine.

As my standards went up, I started giving my blades a refresher every 5 shaves or so.
My experience with a coticule was fairly negative. Norton actually gives me a cleaner edge. That's why I'm going for the pastes but I will be trying out some more hones when I have more $$$ available.

In my time as a boatbuilder/carpenter (30yrs) I have yet to find consistancy in any natural stone. They are forgiven this in general carpentry etc because they suppy an edge capable for the job. Razors are a different matter (imo) They need a true fine edge to match the steel thickness of the razor.

Those diamond/glass hones look fine but hey! the cost

As a final point, I hone only as a last resort. I have found stropping with consistanty holds the edge better and when needed I use hanging strops (4) loaded with progressive grit size pastes. (I am trying the diamond pastes at the moment everyone on here talks about as a comparison, I will post my thought some time in the future)

You may find your honing is sufficient but you may be undoing your work with uneven stopping...just a thought.


PuFF

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

As my standards went up, I started giving my blades a refresher every 5 shaves or so.
My experience with a coticule was fairly negative. Norton actually gives me a cleaner edge. That's why I'm going for the pastes but I will be trying out some more hones when I have more $$$ available.

Elija - are you going to use a paddle strop or a flatbed bench hone like the Hand American system? I'm in the mode right now of basically trying a bunch of different hones/strops and seeking out the best solution for me. I just located and ordered a split yellow/blue coticule and am anxious to give that a try, although you mentioned that you achieved less-than-optimal results with it. In the honing process I documented to kick off this thread, I found that I really like the Shapton 16K GlassStone - nice finish and a reasonable price.

I must say that I am glad I didn't enter into this SR thing assuming that it would be inexpensive...

I'll be trying out the bench hone system but with the leather I got from Tony. Since I'm in the home-reno mode I can't even find the time to tighten the pivot pin on the Filly that arrived today. Barely got to look at it. On that note I got some green chromium oxide 0.5mic abrasive powder that I will be mixing with mink oil to make an abrasive paste, along with some polishing powder from Randy (thanks Randy ) .