Thread: Hello and thanks, very helpful site Jeff McCoy Middletown, OH

If you get your razor pro honed and get a strop you should be good for a fair while providing you don't roll the edge while stropping, but I would also suggest getting a barber hone or something of that high grit (10k or higher) nature for refreshing the edge every few months. I would imagine you would be good for a long time with that. You would also do well to get a 4/8k Norton down the track for when the finishing hone isn't able to cope with getting your edge back up to par.
You should be stropping before every shave, I usually do my stropping at the end of a shave as this fulfills two jobs at the same time. One is to prepare my razor for the (next) shave, and the other is that it helps to remove any traces of moisture from the edge of the razor, after cleaning up.


Mick

Ok, I was very careful and stroped my razor following methods found here. You could hear the razor a little at first then seemed to get quiet. Shave improved but still bad.
Looked at razor under 100X magnification. Edge looks very straight, and light reflection is thin, continuous, no dark spots that I can see. One side is like a mirror with five or six hone marks showing. The other side is not as good, polished but lots of hone markes. Hone marks on edge look a lot like marks left where razor is hollow ground.
Going to order Norton 4/8k stone and finish stone tonight. I know honing will tell, new razor, would you think finish hone would be all I need before strop or will hone marks need to be remove with 4 or 8k first. I really want to try and hone myself, ego I guess. Just curious of your thoughts what I may run into with a new razors edge or bevel.