Thread: Hello from Vancouver, Canada

Welcome and have fun overhere

Welcome west coast canuk.
Take your time and hope you learn quickly

Welcome from CowTown Alberta.
if your razor tugs on the whiskers, the blade is not shave ready.
My advise would be to send it out to a pro honer so you will know what a professionaly honed razor feels like.

Thanks again for all the advice guy, I am going to try and do my own honing first, if I run into problems I will definitely look for a qualified honer to do the work for me, but as of now I think that being able to do your own upkeep on your gear is part of the fun!!

Originally Posted by moleng1

Thanks for all the advice guys, appreciated.

I have no fear of honing, I've been doing my knives and woodworking tools forever, I could actually shave with my plane blade! LOL

I have read through all the recommended posts and advice and will proceed with caution and enthusiasm!! Looking forward to learning lots here as time goes on.

Ah yes, I think there have been a few posts from new members that have said there would be no problems honing a razor because they have shaving sharp knives etc sharpened by themselves. Quite a few came back wondering what they were doing wrong when honing a razor.

Sharpening knives and woodworking tools is akin to but not quite the same as honing a straight razor. Just do not be surprised if it turns out not to be as easy as it looks. The finishing hone for a straight razor is a much higher grit than most would use to put the final edge on a knife and the edge on a straight razor is much thinner also.

Bob

Originally Posted by moleng1

Thanks for all the advice guys, appreciated.

I have no fear of honing, I've been doing my knives and woodworking tools forever, I could actually shave with my plane blade! LOL

I have read through all the recommended posts and advice and will proceed with caution and enthusiasm!! Looking forward to learning lots here as time goes on.

As a former meat cutter I knew that honing a razor would be no problem at all! Guess What? PROBLEM! Not only are the angles and pressure or should I say 'Lack of Pressure' entirely different so are the grits.

Most guys start setting the bevel at 1K hone. An 8K gives a nice shave but many finish on a 12K, 20K or even a 30K hone.

Yes maintaining your razors can be part of the fun. However I believe that you would be best off if you learn the basics of Stropping, Lathering and of course Shaving. Go with a Pro Honed Edge while you are learning. It will remove at least One of the Variables. Believe it or not, you can mess up a perfectly good shaving edge with just stropping. Taking a blade to a hone can do more damage in a single lap than you can imagine.

This age old art takes patience. If you take your time, learn the basics of shaving and then once you have those semi mastered, and THEN start to learn how to hone (It's an art all of it's own) you'll really enjoy this age Older but Better Way of Shaving .

Enjoy the Ride! It's a Long Strange Trip, but well worth the Journey

Well, I guess everyone has to start to learn somewhere.

I find it funny that people on a board like this one would be so against someone wanting to try their hand at up-keeping their own equipment. Honing isn't rocket science, and there are LOTS of people out there who do it, so why all the post against trying it??

I have been a hands on guy my whole life and usually succeed at most things I put my mind to. I'm also very able to see what I can't do and go to the pros when that happens. If I find I can't hone a razor to shave readiness I'll be the first to take it to someone who can, but everyone here saying I can't gives me all the more incentive to learn!!

Originally Posted by moleng1

I find it funny that people on a board like this one would be so against someone wanting to try their hand at up-keeping their own equipment. Honing isn't rocket science, and there are LOTS of people out there who do it, so why all the post against trying it?

I Never said that you shouldn't learn to hone. I merely pointed out that I felt that you and everyone else who wants to succeed learn the basics of shaving before learning to hone.

I myself waited for well over a year before attempting my hand at honing and I'm Damn Glad that I did.

I encourage Everyone to try to learn to hone. It can be very rewarding. If you can have a pro or experienced member hone for you for awhile there is a Big Plus. And that is by having an experienced honer do your razors for you, you will have a guide to how your edges are doing when you start to learn. When I was learning I would send a razor off to a Pro and ask that he use Exactly what I had for hones. It was a Valuable Learning Tool.

This Age Old Art has a huge learning and eliminating every variable when you start out is to your advantage to succeed and I for one Want You To Succeed

No everyone wNts you to be able to maintain them yourself, just past experience teaches us that unless you have used a shave ready edge you won't have a clue what one is, I can tell you that you can't sharpen a knife or plane blade better than I. But we don't shave our face with a knife edge, it's a chippy edge that cuts , but a shave ready edge that serrated would not be fun. We're all vehind you, but once you actually learn how to shave and use one hats ready you,ll never know he potential. By the way your knife hones and plane stones might not be the best idea for razors. Good luck. We got got plenty of woodworking guys here who have a lot of experience that will tell you the difference. Have so e fun, I know I thought I knew what a good shave edge is and I've been sharpening things for over 55+ years. Tc

Originally Posted by moleng1

Well, I guess everyone has to start to learn somewhere.

I find it funny that people on a board like this one would be so against someone wanting to try their hand at up-keeping their own equipment. Honing isn't rocket science, and there are LOTS of people out there who do it, so why all the post against trying it??

I have been a hands on guy my whole life and usually succeed at most things I put my mind to. I'm also very able to see what I can't do and go to the pros when that happens. If I find I can't hone a razor to shave readiness I'll be the first to take it to someone who can, but everyone here saying I can't gives me all the more incentive to learn!!

Like the others have said, we want people to succeed. It is a pretty common scenario for a beginner that is competent at honing knives etc to be very confident that honing razors will therefore be not too difficult. Many have posted after asking what they are doing wrong because their edges won't do. Just be prepared for some disappointment at first.

It is a good idea to start with a truly "shave ready" edge and get your shaving and stropping technique working well first. OTH there is nothing stopping you from jumping right on to honing with the hones that you have right now which may or may not be suitable for straight razors.

Good luck to you whichever way you decide to go. If you have questions be sure to ask as you go.

Bob