Thread: gotta send out the razor

well my shave tonight was less than acceptable, blade didnt feel sharp enough so its off to be honed, i really need to get me some hones and learn to do it myself, maybe that will be my next purchace

-dan-

If all you want to do is refresh the edge you should be able to get away with just a finisher or a barber's hone. Some CrOx on a strop or balsa will extend the time between honing.

what would be a good affordable finisher? i looked for barber hones on ebay and there i so many, any suggestions? i dont want to get a low quality one, and i know nothing about them

-dan-

Well, it depends on what you are comfortable with, what your razor was finished with originally. Also if you can hone to the same level. For barber hones I have read that the Swaty is a good hone. I don't use barber's hone myself. A few years ago the Norton 8k was the finishing hone. I shaved off that hone for a good year and was highly pleased with the results until I got a coticule, for big bucks. Then I purchased a Chinese natural from Wood Craft (CK12) and thought things couldn't get better. Then there are the Eschers. For synthetic hones the Naniwa and Shapton hones have good reviews.

The thing to remember is that finishers remove metal very slowly. If you need more than a refreshed edge they will take forever. The CK12 is amongst the slowest. I have never used one to refresh a blade because I generally only use any one razor once a year and I have the other hones to use to speed things up. If I were going to get a hone just for refreshing the edge and knowing what I know now I would probably just get a Norton or a Naniwa 8k. These hones will give a good edge. When I had more money I would get a coticule, C12k, Escher, Shapton ect. Meanwhile the 8k could be the first hone in your collection on hones, if you wish to get into complete honing. Norton does make a 4k/8k combination hone. Use the 8k for touchups and the 4k when a little more is needed. For the money it's not bad. If your budget is tight, a Swaty will do. Remember, the cost of hones relates directly to speed in honing, versatility and smoothness of the edge. Stuck with the preferred SRP members hones. The hardness of the grit and binders effects the suitability to hone razors. Good luck.

edit: In the end, your budget will determine the hone you purchase. If budget is no issue get an Escher.

I would say that it really doesn't matter all that much. There's no one must have stone out there. An Escher edge is nice, but so is a Shapton 30k, Naniwa, Cerium Oxide, Chromium Oxide, Coticule, etc... The point is, just get one and learn it. It really doesn't matter, but I wouldn't go out and get an Escher for $500+... The full Naniwa set is significantly less, and more versatile.

Meh, I just have a hard time with hone recommendations because they're are so many good options. My preference is the coticule, but I've had excellent results with virtually every stone that you read about. It's more about the hands and the razor than the stone.

Originally Posted by sinnfein

well my shave tonight was less than acceptable, blade didnt feel sharp enough so its off to be honed, i really need to get me some hones and learn to do it myself, maybe that will be my next purchace

-dan-

Did your shaves gradually get worse over time, or did the quality just drop on the previous shave? If the latter is true you may have just had an off-day with your stropping. There have been several times when I thought my blade needed a trip to the hones, but I thought I'd give it one more chance. I stropped the blade with good form and BAM - a wonderful shave from a fine edge.

The point is do not underestimate the power of stropping - sometimes it can bring an edge back from the dead.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

Did your shaves gradually get worse over time, or did the quality just drop on the previous shave?

it was gradually going down then i had two razors honed and got a new shave ready razor so when i went back to the dovo it seemed like a butter knife compared to the freshly honed razors.

i think im going to go with the norton combo stones when i feel like i can drop the greens. thanks for the replies

-dan-

yeah, probably the perfect time to pick up a hone and try to get the edge back. the worst that can happen is you can't get it good enough to your liking and then you send it out again and try next time.
by now you probably have some idea how your razor was finished in the past, so you can pick up something among those that you liked particularly.
but as paul said it doesn't matter all too much.
the norton 4k/8k is still a pretty good option, or say naniwa 8k, or 12k. with natural hones you have the inevitable variations, so whether you have to do on the order of 50 stroked or 300 strokes is unknown, unless the seller has experience with the hone themselves and can give you some guidance, so that's one drawback.

in my opinion your best option is the norton 4k/8k, as if you don't seem to be getting the hang of it you can get randy on skype to help you out (i hope it's ok to volunteer him, he's been helping people this way for a long time). and once you get the basics you can always try something different in case you like it better, just start with something reasonable and take it from there.

And of course I think there are a bunch of people around you, so if you can get some of them to help you in person that could be the cat's meow - you can probably check how it works on their hones before deciding which way you want to go.

Some good barber hones are; Swaty, American hone, Boss, Barbers Choice, Itsapeech, Keen Kutter, Shapleigh Diamond, Shumate and Velvet edge. There are many more and most of them were made by the same person(s) and were simply branded according to the retailer or distributer.