Hello rabbit hole.

I bought a beautiful straight edge and strop innocently thinking it would last me a lifetime. 6 months later, I discovered edges dull. At ~$30 per "professional" sharpening, I decided to swallow the blue pill and follow the white rabbit into the world of honing an edge.

My goodness this is a deep hole.

Intimidated by my expensive straight edge, I've been sharpening my kitchen knives as a way to get dirty and make mistakes before attempting my beloved straight razor. Thank goodness for YouTube and places like this as I tend to research as much as possible when I commit to something I'm interested in. That said, I'm a little into my second year after first getting the straight razor and still feel like I haven't quite landed with my feet on the ground. I'm still dizzy from the fall down the rabbit hole, but I hope to have a sense of direction and purpose soon.

So hello people of wonderland. Nice to meet you.

It does not have to be a deep hole. What razor do you have? What hone or hones are you using?

You can get by just fine with one razor and one hone.

Welcome to SRP!
There's a lot of great folks and info here
Enjoy and have fun!!

And yes, the rabbit hole can be a deep one

plus 30$ is not that much when you consider hones and the learning curve of have not so good edges for a while and all the sharpening of your knives aren't going to help much with razors Tc

Hi and welcome. You will want to add your location to your profile then get some one on one help from a local. Plenty of us willing to help others learn and will save you a lot of time and frustration. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

I must have found a twisty rabbit hole. 5 months in with S.R. shaving and im up to 18 razors. I think the hole is starting to level out but i could be wrong. Depending on whats around the next bend.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

It does not have to be a deep hole. What razor do you have? What hone or hones are you using?

You can get by just fine with one razor and one hone.

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I'm in a somewhat similar situation as the OP. I've sent my razor out to be honed twice, now. I was thinking of learning to hone, but have been intimidated by the range and costs. If you were starting with one hone, what would you recommend?

And to the OP--welcome to wonderland!


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I would recommend the Norton combo set 220/1000, 4000/8000 with lapping plate, Really it is a nice set for a beginner should run around the $135.00 mark, And on a Plus note if you find Honing is just not for you, They hold there value,Ty

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Originally Posted by AZBronco

I'm in a somewhat similar situation as the OP. I've sent my razor out to be honed twice, now. I was thinking of learning to hone, but have been intimidated by the range and costs. If you were starting with one hone, what would you recommend?

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If you wanted really cheap, then a barber hone off of ebay. If interested, I can advise you on which ones listed would be worth pursuing.

Alternatively, if you are willing to spend more money, then a Naniwa SuperStone or Specialty 12k is a great option. Like a barber hone it can maintain an edge forever, but it is more fine than almost all barber hones. Its only downside is that it needs to occasionally have its surface refreshed. If you only are going to hone a few razors, then the most practical way to do that is with ~300 grit wet/dry sandpaper.

Natural stones are a poorer option ONLY because there is a shallower learning curve for them and too many people get frustrated with them, but they do work just fine if you are willing to learn.

If you are venturing into the rabbit hole of honing because you think it is cheaper to hone your own than to send them out for honing, then stop immediately and escape the hole.

It is quite easy to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on hones. You can send out a lot of razors for the cost of a full set of hones. Of course, if you are satisfied with purchasing a single high grit hone for refreshing your edges periodically to extend the time between honings, it can be cost effective.

I started honing because I wanted to add to my knowledge and skills. I see honing as a natural extension of the wet shaving hobby. I enjoy the sound and feel of steel on stone. I like experimenting with various hones and honing techniques in the relentless pursuit of the perfect edge for my individual beard and face. You might find the right method to produce the perfect edge for you on one razor and find that a completely different method works on yet another razor. I doubt I will ever hone enough razors to consider myself a honemeister, but I enjoy sharpening my own razors.

A honemeister is simply someone who has learned a lot in the process of honing multiple lot of razors. However, even the best still have a lot to learn. Every razor honed adds to their knowledge and skills. Thus, the rabbit hole can be as shallow or as deep and twisted as you want it to be.

I hope you enjoy this aspect of a great hobby. Honing can be quite therapeutic. Of course, if you come across a razor that won't behave on the stones, it can be quite frustrating. However, in the process of learning how to hone those frustrating razors, you acquire the greatest skill.

My hone rig:
House of knives (Chinese) water stone under Edge Logix branding -
400/1000, 1000/3000, 4000/10000,
220 lapping stone
Inexpensive hand held microscope
(Like this guy at 21:25 - https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=c_DjcyEtl7I )
5 mW red laser to assess blade bevels
(Like this https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=tH9zjykXRUw )

From Straight Razor Designs since most of my research online pointed me there.
Dovo Bismark 6/8 full hollow with black ebony scales
3" English Riding leather strop with nylon alternate strop

I was initially going to just get the 4000/10000 stone to refresh my straight razor, then I realized I have dull kitchen knives, woodworking chisels, and pocket knife so the balanced tipped and I decided to learn a new skill.

There is a certain satisfaction that comes from a sharp edge. I would be lying if I said I didn't love it.

Babg0Bang00

Thanks for sharing the idea about using an inexpensive laser to evaluate the edge. I had never considered that as a potential tool, but it makes sense now that I have seen how to use the tool.

Hello and welcome to SRP!
The funny thing about the rabbit hole is that it doesn't seem to have a bottom...you just keep falling!
Anyway, enjoy this long, strange trip!

Pete <:-}

Welcome to SRP! I'm new myself. Tons of info here.

By far, the cheapest long term route is to have it honed by a pro. Get a finishing hone and refresh the razor as needed. As long as you don't damage the razor, this will keep you going for years, maybe for a lifetime. $30 is a bargain, versus buying tons of gear, and going through a long learning curve.

welcome, do yourself a favor and look at as many honing videos on youtube as needed to get yourself comfortable with the routine. Not all approach it in the same manner but you will start to readily pick out the fundamentals. I highly recommend Lynns and Glenns videos. Learn sharpness tests to gage your progress thru the hones as described here on the forum and don't bother with lasers. Sorry I'm not tech saavy enough to upload links to the threads on sharpness tests, perhaps some other folks will be kind enough to do so. Rabbit holes are fun, enjoy the process ;)

Not only have I enjoyed the rabbit hole, but I also appreciate avoiding any potential loss and/or damage of my razors in shipment. I once worked at UPS, so I have seen plenty of breakages and what happens when unloaders really don't give a crap about what they are doing. I suspect USPS is comparable. :gl:

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Originally Posted by Speedster

Not only have I enjoyed the rabbit hole, but I also appreciate avoiding any potential loss and/or damage of my razors in shipment. I once worked at UPS, so I have seen plenty of breakages and what happens when unloaders really don't give a crap about what they are doing. I suspect USPS is comparable. :gl:

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You make a good point.

I do not like sending things through USPS or the package services when I can avoid it. The main issue is that you have to wrap and package the item, label the package, pay the shipping fee and deliver it to the drop-off point. That takes a longer than it does to take out the hones and put an edge on the razor. If you never ship it, there is no risk of loss or breakage in transit.

Hello and welcome to SRP.
It is not because I am a Belgian, but if you need only one stone, then take a belgian coticule/BBW combo wich covers 3K to 9K grit range with the dilucot method. Lower grit is for severe restauration, higher grit can be replaced with chromox paste and leather.

Yeah, I definitely hear the shipping argument. Plus I like to be self reliant. I'd rather learn to drive than ride a bus or taxi my whole life. Plus it's fun to be in the driver seat. One sees things differently from there. Hopefully that analogy makes sense.

I started a play list with some of Lynn's videos in there.

Shaving: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...RFIOaN3b-9UFn7