Originally Posted by
thebigspendur
Back in the day when everyone used a straight and even later when safety razors had made their appearance though most owned a hone of sorts most did not hone their own razors. There were loads of folks who did it commercially from the local barber shop to itinerant folks on a street corner and from talking to my dad about it and what he saw from his dad most who attempted it themselves shaved with a less than "shave ready" razor.
The take away is many common folk shaved with a dull razor and had neither the skill nor inclination to be honing any razor. That's the main reason DEs became the main way of shaving. The new generation embraced them for convenience just leaving the old fogies and troglodytes like us.