Thread: Honing review

Originally Posted by unit

Perhaps we can do a meet up in Springfield some day. I believe Lynn does one in Cape...but that is a bit farther for you.

Hailing from Jefferson City, I have pretty much come to terms with the idea that I'm going to be driving a far piece, but it will be worth it.

I wanted to go to Lynn's but I was on family vacation so I missed out on the fun

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Just IMHO. First don't shave off of the 1k, unless self flagellation is your thing. Next, get flea market razors, ebay, cheap as you can but in good full bladed, no cracked scales shape. Hone 100 or so razors and shave test all of them on your own face at the 8k level. Do not sell a razor as "shave ready", or offer honing for $, until you know you can get a smooth, close and comfortable shave with the razors you hone. The proof of the pudding is in the eating and the proof of the honing is in the shaving. If you can hone a razor to shave 'fair' I wouldn't consider that 'good enough' to offer as shave ready .... or to hang a pro honer shingle in the classifieds. Do the groundwork and when you have the requisite skill and experience start from there. Any less effort isn't fair to those you are asking for $.

I know I can produce some good edges cause I've shaved with them but like everyone says I need to build a better foundation and after that it's alittle easier

Guys this isn't the end of the world for anybody. It's just a reminder that this hobby takes a lot of time to develop the skills that are necessary to be good at it. There are many curves and turns before you have seen enough and get a "feel' for what a razor needs to get it to where it needs to be.No one can just jump into this and think that they can charge people to do it and everything will come up roses. The guys that do this, and do it well, have done so for a very long time and have crossed many obstacle razors to get there. I have been honing my own razors for many years and STILL send the occasional stubborn razor over to one of the pros for help. It doesn't happen often , but it's a reminder i still haven't seen all the problems that come up. Thus, i don't do it for money. Too often guys get over emotional to this hobby and lose site that it's just that, a hobby.
Keep you chin up and go back to the stones, take all the pressure off yourself by doing it for yourself and for fun. Once you decide to make money on it, it just becomes work!

Unlike the OP i traded a few razors with other members here and from other forums, and found that having them critique the edge was a good learning experienced for me anyways!

Well Tyler, you have generated 45 posts here and gotten a wealth of advice that should help you very much. Let me add my 2cents by telling you to forget about honing all the way through to a finished edge at the moment and just concentrate and focus on setting a bevel - nothing else. That will take some pressure off of you for now.

You might also change razors for now to see if it goes any better for you with a different blade. Some razors seem to be harder to do a bevel set than others.

There is an old saying that the guy who loses a fight is the guy who gave up first. Don't give up - keep fighting......

JERRY
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Originally Posted by mrsell63

Well Tyler, you have generated 45 posts here and gotten a wealth of advice that should help you very much. Let me add my 2cents by telling you to forget about honing all the way through to a finished edge at the moment and just concentrate and focus on setting a bevel - nothing else. That will take some pressure off of you for now.

You might also change razors for now to see if it goes any better for you with a different blade. Some razors seem to be harder to do a bevel set than others.

There is an old saying that the guy who loses a fight is the guy who gave up first. Don't give up - keep fighting......

JERRY
_____

So far I have one blade that I've set the bevel for sure right because it grabs the wet nail like crazy

The TNT will dull the razor some so you would need to set the bevel again. I don't mean every lap that you did to get there, but enough to put the edge back on. I usually use the TNT to take some of the toothy edge if there is one before I finish with the bevel with light x strokes. My main test for bevel set "for me" is if I can shave my arm hairs cleanly with one pass and not leave any behind I move up on the stones. One other thing you need to consider is not everyones shave ready is the same. Don't get to down on yourself. Also if your having a hard time honing and have been at it for awhile stop and take a break and let your hands and mind rest. It seems to work for me. Good luck honing and don't give up.

Alright than that's what I'll do is I'll take your henckel you gave me and I'll hone till it shaves hair or pops it off

Ty

I think we all make this sound much easier that it is because there are factors that we cannot explain in words. One of those is pressure; I know you have read, no pressure or light pressure. What does that mean?

Of course there is pressure or the razor would be on the floor. Sharpie ink and tape show you where you are applying pressure and where you may need more or less pressure.

There is no 123 method of honing because so much of it is subjective and dependent on the pilot. It is all about pressure, how much where, and when to apply or not. Honing on 1k is visual, look at the bevel, look at the spine, look at the stone, look at the water and look at the edge straight on under magnification. All of those things give you visual feedback.

Your bevel should be even in most cases, the planes of the bevel should meet to form an edge, the edge should be straight and sharp… if you read the queues right.

After 1K you are polishing refining the bevel and there by the edge. Post 1k honing is sensory, feeling & auditory. What do you feel as the razor contacts the stone, what do you hear? A smooth bevel will feel and sound … smooth. How do you translate that in writing?

So we say do x laps or remove x ink and it’s done… but not always.

I taught my grandson to play chess at age 3. What I loved about watching him play was, I would teach him an opening and on that very next game he would unabashedly open with it. He had the ability of letting go of the last game. What ever happened before did not matter. Great athletes and most small children have that ability, to let go of the past and foucs on the now.

Too many of us allow the Past to rule our lives. Guess what? Nothing…Nothing you can do, can ever change the past. A second after it happened, it is gone, no one, no one can get it back or change it.

But, what you do today and tomorrow will shape your future. So decide, what do you want your future to look like? I take it your avatar, is your son? What do you care what someone thinks about your current honing abilities, when you have that guy to wake up to?

Ink, tape, time on the hones and kiss that baby, my friend.

The way I figure it anybody can learn to keep their own blades in good enough shape to get a great shave. To be able to extract the max from a hone to bring a blade to it's max potential requires skill which comes with time and experience and there are some, probably most who will never attain this level. If you are going to be honing for someone else and expect to be paid for it you had better be in the latter category. Also, of course there is the issue of honing vs restoration and these in some circumstances can be mutually exclusive requiring totally different skills for each.

Even the best of them have unhappy customers for a variety of reasons ranging from improper use by the end user to just having a bad day by the honer.

So my general advise to anyone contemplating doing this kind of operation for profit (and this is not directed to the OP) is to make sure you have your skills down really good and are able to tackle anything that comes your way.