Thread: Noob needs help with tiny nick repair

I don't want to come across as ingrateful for SRP as a forum, but put yourself in my shoes. The responses here have not exactly demonstrated a willingness to share information on how to become adept at honing or even how to start, so much as suggesting that this is a skill that only a select constituency - one that is exclusive of yours truly - possesses.

I have, in other hobbies and occupations, been in a situation to let people know that there is no 'magic bullet' to fix their problem/address their request, but I usually follow this up with the necessary steps to achieve the knowledge I am being asked of.

I guess I expected the same, and I'd be lying if I told you I was anything but disappointed.

Surely, people who learn how to hone have a starting point, and that starting point cannot 100% of the time be asking another SRP member to mentor them.

Danny

You basically have two choices 1) to send it out to be professionally fixed or alternately get a local member to do it for you and 2) spend about $400.00 or so to acquire the equipment needed to repair the damage.

In the library section of this site's shave wiki you will find Honing a damaged blade - Straight Razor Place Wiki . That should go a long way to showing you what needs to be done to fix the damage.

That is about all I can tell you, the choice is yours. If you feel that you want to have a go at it yourself have at her. It might be better to learn on an old practice razor first so you don't mess up a brand new razor though.

Bob

Danny, I'm sorry if you feel you're not getting great help. I would encourage you, if you're available, to attend the NY/NJ meetup this Sunday. It would be a great opportunity for you to get some hands on advice. In my experience, the members here are more than happy to help.

Part of the reason you're seeing responses that seem counterintuitive, is because honing is a "feel" based exercise and does not always translate to a written word. Also, what stones you use affects things. I would encourage you to check out some of the videos posted by Lynn Abrams and Glen Mercurio (GSSixGun) both here and on YouTube if you're determined to jump into the deep end of that pool without any direct assistance. Their videos are very well done and informative.

Hey man (the OP), I feel yer pain. I have been teaching myself how to hone over the last 5-6 months, and I can tell you that one thing I've learned is that NOTHING is set in stone. I was the guy who was asking a million and one questions, and was getting frustrated when I could not get answers that translated into positive results on the hone.

Now that's not to say that I didn't get some great advice here on SRP (I got TONS), but the last thing you want to hear as a Noob is that YMMV, or "just send it out to be honed". You know what, though? As it turns out, that WAS the best advice I could have gotten, because it's true. You really won't have a good idea of what you're doing unless you have a "benchmark" to compare it to.

I sent my razor to Glen to be honed, and the reason that was such a good move on my part is because it gave me something to work towards; a direction to move in if you will. I also found out that the best way to learn how to hone is to use YouTube videos & advice from SRP as guidelines, rather than absolutes. This information is open for interpretation, and you must experiment to find out what works best for you.

So in summary, don;t get discouraged when people tell you to just send it out; they're just trying to help you get some direction so that you know which way to move once you do start to hone on your own...

Oh, and I'm just rambling..feel free to disregard everything I said, but I'm just speaking from experience...

DannyMcO, I understand your desire for a path forward. I felt the same and I will tell you the path I am on and you can decide if you like it for yourself or not! (Everyone likes a slightly different path it seems!)

1.) Purchase razor and love the straight shave!
2.) Realize I like the old ones and want to be able to bring them back to life in the future
3.) Get a second cheap razor that shaves... This one is critical to my plan! I don't really care for this razor but It is of shave quality and it is something I can compare the items I learn to hone on with! (Whippeddog.com sight unseen deal is by far the most cost effective method I have found to get this second razor!)
4.) Decide on a good set of hones to try. I went the whipped dog method on this and spent under 100 dollars to get the small set of Nortons and a 12K Chinese. They are all small, but they will help me get a feel for things and let me ruin a couple of them while learning without feeling like I completely drained my wallet!
5.) Buy some junk razors and learn!
6.) Buy some nicer razors and get them where you like them!

Having two razors at first allows you the freedom to work on a problem with one while keeping shaving. You may find a finisher stone will get the razor you have up to par, but you really will still want something to compare your work to.

That's my plan, and I am in step 6 now! I'm pretty happy as I have been able to fix nicks in my daily shavers and now I am bringing some nice pieces back to life!

@LegalBegal - already planned on attending.

@BobH - thanks, the link is very helpful. As much as I'd like to say it's easy to find stuff here on SRP, sorting through the noise in search results isn't something I'm familiar enough with the threads here to do easily. I appreciate your legwork in helping me find the right thread.

@jpcwon - thanks, I get it. I'm a headhunter by day and 30 year guitarist by evening, and routinely get "magic bullet" questions from people I know like "How do I avoid giving my compensation in an interview?" and "What's the best scale to use?" that do not have a short answer.

I have no aversion to sending out the razor to be honed (and will probably go to NY Shaving Co today for that reason), but want to start the learning ASAP so that I can become self-sufficient in the shortest time possible.

Hi Dan,
There are a few reasons why you received the advice given above. First, it is generally not a great idea to do one's own honing when starting out. Jpcwon's experience is a great example as is my own. I was one of the many who did not get a truly shave-ready edge for far too long. I shaved off a factory edge, and then when that went horribly wrong I tried honing it myself without the benefit of all the info here on SRP (which I didn't discover until later). It wasn't until I dinged my razor on the tap and sent it out to have the chip repaired that I realized what a truly shave-ready razor feels like.

The problem with that approach (honing yourself when starting out) is that everyone encounters problems/issues/challenges etc when starting out. And there are a lot of variables involved here: if you have a harsh/bad shave is your blade to blame? Or what about your face prep, lather, etc. By always sending your blade out to be honed by a pro, you eliminate one of the variables (is your blade to blame) and, IMHO just as importantly for someone who wants to learn to hone, you will get a good idea of what a truly shave-ready blade feels like. That is a *great* help in evaluating your efforts at honing.

So you could definitely invest in some hones and give it a shot. But experience has proven for a lot of us that that isn't necessarily the best path to take when starting out. And I mean absolutely no disrespect by that: we have all been there.

The suggestion of attending a meetup or finding a local mentor is an excellent one. If you have someone hands-on to show you how to hone, your path to becoming a honemeister will be considerably shortened.

So hang in there, and keep reading stuff here at SRP. All the info you need is buried in here somewhere. And if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to post them or send me a PM and I'll help if I can.

Originally Posted by DannyMcO

@jpcwon - thanks, I get it. I'm a headhunter by day and 30 year guitarist by evening, and routinely get "magic bullet" questions from people I know like "How do I avoid giving my compensation in an interview?" and "What's the best scale to use?" that do not have a short answer.

No kiddin'!! I'm a drummer who went to Berklee in Boston...been playing for almost 30 years myself!!

I recently bought a Fender Strat and am currently teaching myself how to play guitar...it's a LOT of fun, but like honing it can be frustrating at times. I have learned that persistence is key though, and the end result is well worth it!

I am approaching guitar a lot like honing...asking questions to friends and watching youtube vids. I am learning to accept the fact that "Rome wasn't built in a day", and that I need to be patient..

--Thread Hijack Over--

Two pics of the offending nick from under an 8x linen tester. Had to move it around quite a bit to get them visible at all - leading me to wonder if they are technically qualified as 'nicks' to begin with...?

Danny

I am by no means an expert at honing but that "nick" does not look like it would be a huge problem to hone out. If it is not biting you when you shave you could try giving it a good stropping on leather for 100 or so laps and see what happens.

Bob