Thread: first try at honing

Ok i have a new dovo, being my first straight. i did not know if the bad shaves were from my lacks of skills or bad rasor, i bought it in a store and it was factory sealed so i figured it was not shave ready, but i did not mind the dull blade while learning so i could not cut myself too badly. After three weeks i needed more passes and the shaves were worst and worst, i put it on my bad stropping technique. I found a place in montreal for honing but they charge $50 so I bought a norton 4k/8k and decided to give it a try after watching lots of videos. Surprisignly it went great, i gave it about 12 passes on each side and i see a very good improvement on the sharpness. So i tried again for 10 more on each side. My question is: when do i stop the honing? I would keep at it for 4 hours id i need to i feel i did not do it enough, the blade is sharp but i think it can get sharper. It does not pull like it did ATG but still... Do i rely on my feeling for the sharpness? i never had a shave ready before so i dont have any reference. Should i continue honing it with baby steps until im satisfied? Im shaved already so it will have to wait to tomorrow.

Mike

I know it sounds wrong, but a dull razor will often cut you more than a properly honed one.

Skilled honers will hone to feel, and the shave is the ultimate test...however, if you have never experienced a truly shave ready blade, you may be flying blind.

Honestly, I would recommend either hiring the services of a good honer here, or purchase another razor that is TRULY shave ready so that you have a basis for comparison.

I was in your shoes not too long ago...I really wanted to do it myself and experience the pride that comes with it...but I also purchased 2 shave ready blades that were professionally honed for me. It immediately showed me that my results were not all they could be

So im lucky i did not cut myself ;-) I had to put pressure on the blade, thats when i figured it was wrong and thats why it might be more dangerous?

Originally Posted by Mmmike

So im lucky i did not cut myself ;-) I had to put pressure on the blade, thats when i figured it was wrong and thats why it might be more dangerous?

That coupled with the edge not being polished smooth...visualize a coarse tooth saw blade for spreading butter on toast vs a fine toothed hack saw blade. The toothyness of the unfinished blade allows it to bite into the flesh...and at the same time ineffectively remove hair, thus encourages the user to develop bad techniques.

I am still quite a novice at this, but this is what I have learned through my trials and conversations. As with many things in life, the right tools make the job no harder than it should be...poor tools add difficulty. In almost all cases of cutting tools, a sharp blade is a safer blade

You should not have to use pressure when shaving with a straight razor.

Yeah i figured that pressure was a sign that my blade was very dull. I just rehoned it with the pyramid method, and stropped it about 10 times. i try it on my arm and it cut off hairs easily, i cant wait to try it on my face tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Mmmike

Yeah i figured that pressure was a sign that my blade was very dull. I just rehoned it with the pyramid method, and stropped it about 10 times. i try it on my arm and it cut off hairs easily, i cant wait to try it on my face tomorrow.

Strop it more, 50 times before you shave and good luck.

Me personally when I do the arm hair test I use the back of my hand (hair grows back pretty quick). You have alot of nerve endings in your hand like your face does; so the sensitivity is closer than your forearm or leg or whatever you use. Chances are if the blade feels harsh on the back of your hand...it will on your face. Once I have the blade feeling pretty smooth off my 8k from the hand test I do five more laps, then move to the 12k rinse repeat, then 25 passes on crox, 50 on mesh or rough leather, 75 on smooth leather and shave. If it doesn't feel the way I want it, I go back to the 12k for 5 laps and back up the chain. Just my two cents. You will find what works for you, and gain a "feel" for your razors over time and practice. Just pay attention and use the numbers as a "guide" just to help keep track of where you are. Thus, why everyone says # - # and not this many and stop. Oh, and each razor you come across will act differently as well; so what works for one may not work for the other...that's where the "feel" comes to play.

An 800 or 1k or 1200 grit dmt stone does a much faster Jon than sitting on 4/8 grit stones

Originally Posted by tiddle

Me personally when I do the arm hair test I use the back of my hand (hair grows back pretty quick). You have alot of nerve endings in your hand like your face does; so the sensitivity is closer than your forearm or leg or whatever you use. Chances are if the blade feels harsh on the back of your hand...it will on your face. Once I have the blade feeling pretty smooth off my 8k from the hand test I do five more laps, then move to the 12k rinse repeat, then 25 passes on crox, 50 on mesh or rough leather, 75 on smooth leather and shave. If it doesn't feel the way I want it, I go back to the 12k for 5 laps and back up the chain. Just my two cents. You will find what works for you, and gain a "feel" for your razors over time and practice. Just pay attention and use the numbers as a "guide" just to help keep track of where you are. Thus, why everyone says # - # and not this many and stop. Oh, and each razor you come across will act differently as well; so what works for one may not work for the other...that's where the "feel" comes to play.

This is some good advice.

If you're not sure how far you can take your 8k yet you can keep honing until you don't notice any improvement. Just do 20 or 30 laps a night and then strop until it stops getting better. You don't NEED pastes yet, and honestly at this point they'd just be adding one more variable to an already difficult task.

Once you can do that, add some Crox and you'll likely see an immediate and beneficial improvement. If you use pastes too early, you can't really tell if your honing is improving or if the crox is just smoothing out an imperfect edge.

Just my 2 cents.

Let us know how it goes!