Thread: How long between honings?

I'm new to this, and I'm thinking about buying a shave ready razor and a strop, probably from Straight Razor Designs. Comes shave ready with 1 free sharpening.

While it sounds like a good deal, based on the average guy and beard, and proper stropping, how long before I would have to get the razor sharpened again?

Eventually I would like to hone the razor myself.

TIA

I seem to recall a few people telling me now that if you use the same razor every day you will probably need to hone it in about 3 months. That assumes you dont get the nice new shave ready razor and then blunt it on your first stropping, requiring re-honing immediately to bring it back to shave ready state (a common problem for newbies, me included).

Originally Posted by ziggy925

I'm new to this, and I'm thinking about buying a shave ready razor and a strop, probably from Straight Razor Designs. Comes shave ready with 1 free sharpening.

While it sounds like a good deal, based on the average guy and beard, and proper stropping, how long before I would have to get the razor sharpened again?

Eventually I would like to hone the razor myself.

TIA

It varies widely. Some guys get 3-4 days before honing is needed, some guys get a year or more. You can extend the life of the edge by using a paddle strop with a little bit of some very fine abrasive on it. 0.5 micron chrome oxide and 0.5 micron diamond are popular choices. Pasted paddle strops are very easy to use, much easier than a hone, and a great choice for a beginner.

Interesting. I had just asked a question in the strop forum about whether I should get a hanging strop or a paddle strop. Maybe you've answered my question.

like everything it's personal. I got a paddle when I was a beginner and it was a total waste of money. And I love my hanging strop, and it was intuitive to me from the beginning.