How I learned to hone at uber speed

I got more stones and decided I would learn to master them. So I put myself through honing boot camp--I have vacation this week so I put that time to good use :)

I bought a few cheap clunkers from the antique store and fleabay [Read: Chips and frowns galore]. They all needed to be bread knifed. After I cleaned off the rust and a decent amount of tarnish, I proceeded to set bevels on each with a Nani 1k (sometimes even using a DMT to get it started if it was that bad).

Once the entire blade was popping arm hair, I stropped 40/80 and dry shave tested on the sideburns and cheeks. If the whole length of the blade would also shave me face, I moved on up the slurried Nani progression outlined by Glen. 3k, 5k, 8k, 12k, then CrO for good measure.

It's been a long, frustrating week filled with patchy facial and arm hair. But now I have some new smooth shavers shavers. More important is the experience I gained.

So, fellow honing newbies: Fear not, trial by fire is often the best way.

Thanks once again for the wealth of information. This place is a gold mine.

Trial by fire is the best way. Providing you are conducting it with "cheap clunkers" like you did.

Among those clunkers was a Dubl Duck Special No 1 that was barely clinging to life. I rescued him, but now it's only a 4/8. But that's perfect, I always wanted a little spike for those nooks and crannies.

Cool that your making lemonade out of lemons. Just a tip from someone who has been down that road. Was talking with sixgun today and this came up. Getting old razors to practice on is fine, but don't fall into the trap of getting too many hones too soon. That is what I did and I didn't spend enough time mastering them because I was always going from one to another before I really knew them. I finally thinned the herd to the bare bones and learned those I have before I added more a few years later. Just IMHO.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Cool that your making lemonade out of lemons. Just a tip from someone who has been down that road. Was talking with sixgun today and this came up. Getting old razors to practice on is fine, but don't fall into the trap of getting too many hones too soon. That is what I did and I didn't spend enough time mastering them because I was always going from one to another before I really knew them. I finally thinned the herd to the bare bones and learned those I have before I added more a few years later. Just IMHO.

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I totally get that, and I hope I haven't made the same mistake. At least I'm exclusively using Naniwas, so there's some consistency when moving from hone to hone.

I was using a Naniwa 12k for touchups for a while. Eventually, I found that one of my razors needed more than just the 12k so I thought, "hey why not get the 3/8 combo too." So, I learned how to use the 8k side, never even considering the monster 3k that lay below. One night, I dinged a razor and realized I'd have to drop down to the 3k to set a new bevel and remove a chip. It was a success. I stropped and shaved straight off the 8k to make sure I was wasn't masking poor technique with the 12k or CrO. Only after a good 8k shave will I move on to the 12k and CrO.

So with newfound confidence, I ventured into the world of eBay and got some razors in nice condition. I set a few more bevels with the 3k, then stropped and shaved off the 8k without any problems. But once I started breathing life into some of the antiques, I realized it was taking soooo long to get a good bevel off the 3k.

So why not add a 1k as a bevel setter, and throw in a 5k for good measure? The thought of adding another stone hasn't even crossed my mind because the 1-3-5-8 ---> 12-CrO system has been working so well. I don't really care about playing with the naturals or other systems/brands right now because I can't really imagine anything delivering better results.

I learned to crawl with the 12k and walk with the 3/8 combo. But then I skipped running for the all-out sprint (full Nani system). Did I rush in a little? Yeah, probably. But I'm learning a lot and having a damn good time doing it.

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Originally Posted by funtown

I totally get that, and I hope I haven't made the same mistake. At least I'm exclusively using Naniwas, so there's some consistency when moving from hone to hone.

I was using a Naniwa 12k for touchups for a while. Eventually, I found that one of my razors needed more than just the 12k so I thought, "hey why not get the 3/8 combo too." So, I learned how to use the 8k side, never even considering the monster 3k that lay below. One night, I dinged a razor and realized I'd have to drop down to the 3k to set a new bevel and remove a chip. It was a success. I stropped and shaved straight off the 8k to make sure I was wasn't masking poor technique with the 12k or CrO. Only after a good 8k shave will I move on to the 12k and CrO.

So with newfound confidence, I ventured into the world of eBay and got some razors in nice condition. I set a few more bevels with the 3k, then stropped and shaved off the 8k without any problems. But once I started breathing life into some of the antiques, I realized it was taking soooo long to get a good bevel off the 3k.

So why not add a 1k as a bevel setter, and throw in a 5k for good measure? The thought of adding another stone hasn't even crossed my mind because the 1-3-5-8 ---> 12-CrO system has been working so well. I don't really care about playing with the naturals or other systems/brands right now because I can't really imagine anything delivering better results.

I learned to crawl with the 12k and walk with the 3/8 combo. But then I skipped running for the all-out sprint (full Nani system). Did I rush in a little? Yeah, probably. But I'm learning a lot and having a damn good time doing it.

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Yeah with that you've probably gotten the best edge you can get out of a razor. Naturals or other brands will just give you an edge that feels different that that's already a subjective and personal preference. I shave of off Nani 12k and it's great, adding a G20 (ordered) to just refine it a little.

Update in my honing/restoration adventures...

Whoa. I finally just got my vintage C-Mon Blackie dialed in. I had to put it down and come back to it three days in a row. I think it may be the hardest steel I've worked with so far. Compared to Sheffield, Solingen, and Swedish steel, I think American steel may be the hardest of all (the Genco's up next so time will tell). I've yet to hone a TI C135, but I've done two Le Grelot's (half hollow and a full hollow) and they were cake compared to the C-Mon.

Tonight's shave with the C-Mon was excellent. I can't wait to send it to the 12k and CrO.