Thread: Hello from Aus and UK

Some nice rocks for sure. The handles look nice on the razors but I think id prefer original shaped scales. To each there own, as they say.

You clearly have some skills and a lot of experience.

Thanks for sharing.

I’m curious about how you store your fixed handled straights.

Haha! Yeah storage and travel is certainly the downside for doing fixed handles. Atm I just store them on their sides on a shelf. The balance point for each is pretty much exactly at the start of the handle, but they'll lie flat, either on their side or face up. Next project will definitely though be some kind of storage for them, probably something simple - a box with dividers, along the lines of a cutlery drawer. A travel case might be a bit more tricky though, what do people use for kamisori...?

As Gasman said above - the style probably wouldn't be for everybody, but I was slightly surprised after the first one and how easy I found it to use. Not necessarily better or worse for actually shaving (at least for me), but I knew I was going to prefer honing with a fixed handle. It possibly also helped that I was very new to using SRs, so hadn't built up much muscle memory in my hands. I imagine someone who's been using normal handled SRs for years might find a fixed one a bit weird and alien.

At some point I'll do one with scales too though. Nice to have a bit of variety!

Welcome aboard, Oli.

Nice work in the handles.!

As for hones, ya got some good ones. I too, am partial to my Washitas. I have the white, and a butterscotch.



I find them to be the most versatile hone I've ever had in my hand.

A lot of us here have a multitude of different types of hones, from synthetic to naturals.



How about strops.... Gotta have a selection, their all different, just like hones.

A little harder to hide from the wife, though.

Here FWIW is 'my end of the kitchen', that's probably about half of the total I guess, maybe a bit under...



A lot of my 'work' sharpening is done on a handful of synthetics permasoaking in the bucket on the left, though in terms of numbers the very large majority are natural. Mixed bag of; Cotis, Arks, Wahsitas, 'Turkish' / Cretan, Charnleys, Idwal, Melynllyn, TOS, Dalmore, Hindostan, jnats (I use these mostly for bevel polishing on knives), Thuris, various other slates, French stone or two, some Israeli stones, Rozsutec, and probably various others that escape me.

Mostly just for fun and collecting, though now I've started using SRs many of them get more use; a lot of natural stones are too fine and slow to be much good for most kitchen knives. The only ones I use frequently, and would go out of my way to get multiple of, are Washitas, Turkish, and maybe cotis.

Originally Posted by outback

Welcome aboard, Oli.

Nice work in the handles.!

As for hones, ya got some good ones. I too, am partial to my Washitas. I have the white, and a butterscotch.



I find them to be the most versatile hone I've ever had in my hand.

A lot of us here have a multitude of different types of hones, from synthetic to naturals.



How about strops.... Gotta have a selection, their all different, just like hones.

A little harder to hide from the wife, though.

Ah very nice! I've got one old Washita that remains defiantly caramel/butterscotch no matter how much I degrease it, also very hard and highly translucent for a Washita, though I don't know if that's related. They're certainly excellent and very versatile stones, with incredible range. I actually used one on a SR for the first time yesterday after I dropped it on the bathroom floor and put a few dings along the edge The Washita sorted it nicely before moving onto a Thuri .

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I have a couple of old BHs too that came in job lots; a Swaty Two Line and a Pike Handihone, though I've not really used them yet. I understand the surfaces might need reconditioning (?), the Pike in particular seems a little dry, so any thoughts or advice for that would be gratefully received...

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Only have two strops atm; a very nice one kindly made and given to me by someone on B&B, and a smaller one that's dual sided leather and linen. Though knowing me I'll probably fall down that rabbit hole soon enough and end up with 30 of the things!

When I first used one on a SR I found it quite interesting how much of an improvement it made... For knives I (and many people I know who are far better sharpeners than me) simply use cardboard or paper, and I was kinda expecting that would work for razors too. But while I can strop a razor on cardboard, leather is infinitely better I find, and conversely - knives don't strop so well on leather - I still use card or paper for them. Something to do with the way different media refine edges in different ways I imagine, but I certainly found it interesting the varying effect!

Yeah, I started with knives when I was at a young age of 6 or 7 years old, using and learning the various rock's from out of the garden. My father gave me a combo hone, that came from my my grandfather. ( Unknown make, 220/1k grt. est. ). I've used it to hone all sorts of edged things, as well as my first SR. For me, I don't like synthetics for knives, I find most that I've used, too soft.

But the Washitas.... and high carbon kitchen knives....you bet.! Actually, a spooky edge, for a kitchen knife. But I don't have time for anything dull, in my life.

And actually on the subject of butterscotch Washitas - here’s a grubby old ebay stone I got a couple of days ago that after a couple of days soak turned out to be a funky two-tone Washita, which I was quite pleased about. Very quick indeed, the darker bits are translucent ark levels of see-through, with the lighter bits more normal Washita like...

Welcome to SRP!
I really like, and approve of, your collection of hones. I also find them to be very interesting in their different characteristics.
Someday, after I finish moving, I will take and post a pic of my collection.
Btw, I really like what you have done with the razors.

The old Barber's hones, like the Swatty. Most of us have had success with coating them with petroleum jelly, and heating them up. Probably can find it in a search.

Funny you mention your butterscotch, being translucent. Mines the same way. The white, next to it for reference.



Definitely, the cream of the crop for Washitas.
Mines very burnished, and I use it only for straights. I leave the white, for knives in such.

I initially set the bevel on a razor, with a 1k synthetic. Then move to the Washita and just plain water. That will refine to about 5 k. If I want to refine the edge further, I can add a few drops or pure glycerin, or maybe hand or dish soap. I don't like oil, unless I want it to be more aggressive, and become a cutter, than a polisher.

Their a really cool stone, once you figure them out.