Thread: Am I just crazy?

I have a 7/8 Robeson that was a crappy shaver. It's in great condition, all original, but just gave a harsh shave. I would go through my honing regimen, and finished on a chinese 12k, and didn't like how it shaved, so I went and tried some chromium oxide. Vast improvement, but still not great.

Fast forward to trying a shapton 16k. In the week after I got the shapton, I shaved with the 7/8 Robeson three times! I originally didn't think that the 16k would be that good, but it was. 5-10 passes on CrO after the 16k, and so far everything has been a great shaver. Different razors like different hones. Some of my other razors shave like a dream right off of the chinese 12k.

Basically, don't judge your razor because of the hone. I think that pairing the right razor with the right hone is the key. So, here's the idea: Sell one of your pretty razors that you'd part with easily for 100 bucks. Buy a Shapton 16k, hone up all your other razors. If you don't like the 16k, then sell it here for 75 bucks. It'll go fast. If you do like it, then you've managed to keep 14 razors instead of 7 or so, and you've picked up a new hone. Its a win win situation.

Originally Posted by Ben325e

I have a 7/8 Robeson that was a crappy shaver. It's in great condition, all original, but just gave a harsh shave. I would go through my honing regimen, and finished on a chinese 12k, and didn't like how it shaved, so I went and tried some chromium oxide. Vast improvement, but still not great.

Fast forward to trying a shapton 16k. In the week after I got the shapton, I shaved with the 7/8 Robeson three times! I originally didn't think that the 16k would be that good, but it was. 5-10 passes on CrO after the 16k, and so far everything has been a great shaver. Different razors like different hones. Some of my other razors shave like a dream right off of the chinese 12k.

Basically, don't judge your razor because of the hone. I think that pairing the right razor with the right hone is the key. So, here's the idea: Sell one of your pretty razors that you'd part with easily for 100 bucks. Buy a Shapton 16k, hone up all your other razors. If you don't like the 16k, then sell it here for 75 bucks. It'll go fast. If you do like it, then you've managed to keep 14 razors instead of 7 or so, and you've picked up a new hone. Its a win win situation.

Nice idea, and very useful, but is counterproductive to this particular thread. We are discussion ways to trim down the active rotation to just a couple of razors, not trying to justify keeping a whole bunch of them around.

Now 10-15 isn't a bad number, but here's where I might be crazy– I feel kind of unsatisfied because I think that is still TOO MANY! Now I have this bright idea to whittle it down to like 4 or even 8 if I can't keep it at 4 and ONLY keep the razors that shave me the best.

Finding a new hone that makes even more of the razors you currently own into fantastic shavers will only make it that much more difficult to cull the herd!

As an update: I just recieved another razor in my mailbox this morning!

Oh wait, I mean

Oh heck, I don't know whether to be happy or not