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.