Thread: Honing Routine for a Newbie

As I'm new to the world of straights, I've got a few questions regarding honing. I purchased my Dovo Tortoise 5/8 from Vintage Blades. As a result, it has been professionally honed by Lynn before it reached me. I've got two shaves down and they have been great. I've also been working on my stropping routine. However, I know that at some point I will have to acquire a hone. I am looking at going with the very popular Norton 4000/8000 waterstone. Is that a good choice?

Now once I receive the stone, what is the routine I should use? I've been watching some of Lynns videos on YouTube and am just a tiny bit confused. Will I need to reset the bevel of the blade each time I hone or am I good to go now that Lynn already pre-honed my razor and as a result, will I only need to sharpen?

Any input would be greatly appreciated for a straight noob like me!

The Norton 4/8 is a great stone to use. You also have the Naniwa stones which are highly regarded. Either way I do not think you can go wrong.

As far as what to do with the stone it depends. If you edge is still in good shape you can use, for example, the Norton 4/8 to refresh the edge. Actually, if the edge is not too far gone you can just use the 8k side.

So, no, you do not have to reset the bevel each time you use a stone. It will need to be done eventually, which is a bit trickier and I am not really adept at it. When you can afford it you can purchase a 12k finisher stone. This will help keep the edge keen for longer before taking it down to 8k or 4k.

Paste are also an option for people. With the right setup you can maintain razors for a long time before having to reset the bevel.

Originally Posted by TFrankMac2140

As I'm new to the world of straights, I've got a few questions regarding honing. I purchased my Dovo Tortoise 5/8 from Vintage Blades. As a result, it has been professionally honed by Lynn before it reached me. I've got two shaves down and they have been great. I've also been working on my stropping routine. However, I know that at some point I will have to acquire a hone. I am looking at going with the very popular Norton 4000/8000 waterstone. Is that a good choice?

Now once I receive the stone, what is the routine I should use? I've been watching some of Lynns videos on YouTube and am just a tiny bit confused. Will I need to reset the bevel of the blade each time I hone or am I good to go now that Lynn already pre-honed my razor and as a result, will I only need to sharpen?

Any input would be greatly appreciated for a straight noob like me!

The 4/8 is a wonderful stone and will serve you well as a beginner and beyond. A lot of beginners start off with them but they are still a good stone and used by pros as well. Another good thing about the Norton is that there are a ton of videos and how to threads around here made just for that stone. Watch all the videos you can, several times. I would not start to learn on your new razor, I would get a used one or one off of ebay for that. It takes a lot of practice to get it right, and because you are new to straight shaving you want to work on your technique for a while with a razor that you KNOW is done correctly. You don't want to throw in the variable of a self honed razor when you are first starting out. When I started honing I found a couple of videos I really liked and honed along with them. I would get to a certain point and pause it then repeat what I had just seen. I would do so for every step throughout the honing process. It takes more than one or two tries to get this down. I have been at it for a couple of months and I am just now confident enough to say I get a nice, shave ready edge on most of my razors. I had gotten them close before, but not like the pro honed ones I have and not like I am able to get mine now. You should not have to reset the bevel unless you damage the blade. When you finally do need to touch up your razor start off with strokes on the 8k side and see if that does the trick. If not then you can jump down to the 4k. Good choice on the Norton though. I would also suggest checking out the pyramid method first. It will help train your hand to the correct pressure and balance the blade needs to work on the stone. Do yourself a favor though, learn what to look for and begin honing on an ebay razor or a less expensive one, not the one that you use in your daily routine. Your face will thank you!

Welcome to the wonderful world of shaving with a straight razor!!

While as pointed out, yes the Norton 4/8 is a great stone! Yes, I have one! However I always try to get those who are brand new to this Art to be patient and hold off on learning to hone, until you get the basics of stropping, making lather and not making major mistakes when you shave!!!

I practiced what I preach as I waited a year and a half before learning to hone! I’m ever so glad that I did!!!

It allowed me to see how different Professional honer’s edges would feel on the same blade and believe you me, there can be one hell of a Big Difference!!

It also gave me a way to judge how I was doing! I had a lot of experience as a meat cutter with sharpening knives, but honing a razor was Totally Different! I had to relearn all of the muscle memory to do it right!

It took time, but for the last couple of years, I get some very nice edges and compliments from other members with more razors under their belt!!

Be patient, learn the other basics and when you are there, go for it! I find honing very relaxing and rewarding!

Back to the Norton 4/8, when the time comes go with that, and when you can repeatedly get nice smooth and comfortable shaves off the 8k, then and only then should you think about any grit higher.

I finish with a Naniwa 12k, however if I were to drop and break it and couldn’t afford to replace it, I could do without it! But if I dropped my Norton 4/8 and break it, I’d eat peanut butter sandwiches day in and day out until I’d saved enough money to buy another!!

Good Luck on your journey!

Gute Rasur /glatte Rasur, mein Bruder der Klinge
(Smooth Shaving My Brother In Blades)

I did my first touch up on the 8K side of my newly acquired Norton 4K/8K a week or so ago. Just 5 runs both ways very lightly & it made a world of difference. Just remember to do a thorough stropping session afterwards. I will happily shave off the 8K side of the Norton but out of pure curiosity I might pick up a finishing stone at some point in the future when finances permit (2023 then).

I would re-iterate what the more experienced users say. At least get some basic skill using & stropping a shave ready razor before you worry about honing. You'll need that knowledge of what the it feels like shaving before you can judge what the results of honing should feel like on your face. It took me a couple of months to dull my blade before I ordered the Norton, & a touch up is all I've had to do so far. Anything further than that & I think I'd struggle.

Thanks for all the input. I will focus on the stropping side of things until I need a hone. I've been DE shaving for close to 6 years now so I have a good grasp of lathering and traditional wetshaving. Decided to finally make the plunge into straights!

I normally recommend for people to put a very light coating of chromium oxide on the back side of their poly webbing or second strop. When your razor starts to pull a little, then 4-7 light pressure strokes on the chromium oxide followed by a regular stropping should refresh the razor and keep you going for a while. When this quits working, then you have a choice as to getting a finishing type stone or something like the Norton 4K/8K. The nice thing about the finishing stones is having the higher grit which will still refresh the razor and hopefully give a little better shaving edge. That said, when the chromium oxide alone quits working, the Norton using either a 1-3, 1-5 mini pyramid for a refresh or 4-7 light pressure strokes on just the 8K followed by the chromium oxide and regular stropping could also work very well.

Have fun.

Thank you Lynn! I appreciate your input. That seems like the route I will most likely go with for the time being!

I picked up some of the chromium oxide spray from SRD. With the poly webbing should there be a noticeable green layer on the top? I've seemed to spray quite a fair amount on but can't seem to get the green to show up.

Originally Posted by TFrankMac2140

I picked up some of the chromium oxide spray from SRD. With the poly webbing should there be a noticeable green layer on the top? I've seemed to spray quite a fair amount on but can't seem to get the green to show up.

With the poly webbing, you will not be able to see the green as well as if you used the chromium oxide crayon. I just recommend spraying up and down at about 6 inches away from the strop twice and you definitely have sufficient coverage for 18-24 uses.

Have fun.