Thread: Purchasing first razor, what to I REALLY need??

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

About that time you'll bump it on something or drop the blade and then you'll be buying a hone or sending it off to someone to "fix" for you and you'll be back in action again for another couple of months. By then you'll be hooked and you'll just go to another razor. At some point in there you'll get a wicked cut and since you'll be married the wife will talk you out of shaving with a straight too, that'll last about 2 weeks...oh wait thats another thread.

I'll be damned if I am going to want someone else to fix my mistakes, if I kill the blade, I would want to be the one to fix it. If I can go 2 or 3 months without buying a hone, I could justify the expense. I am not sure I understand the difference between the norton 4k/8k hone and a barbers hone? I have read that for minor blade restoration a 4k/8k hone is the grit of choice. The only reason I am suggesting strops with paste on them, is that they seem to be less expensive expecially the pre pasted 4 way from Tony. I am sure I will end up buying all the goodies just like I do with my guns, but I dont want to do it all at once.

Sounds like a good plan....barber hones are the hones used by barbers to refine the edge of the razor when they were shaving guys during the week. They would send out their razors to a honing guy every now and then. Think of a barber hone as a fine grit designed to sharpen an already sharp razor. I agree with everyone else, the pastes are the best for you to start with, no worry there. A Norton is the best all around tool for not only sharpening an edge but fixing up the blade and restoring the old edges off Ebay. Either way, you have to know how to hone first. Stropping is pretty easy. If you drop your razor or hit it on the faucet you can send it out to get "fixed". There is absolutely no disgrace in doing this what so ever...I would even consider it myself, as you may even need a 1000 grit hone, a 4K/8K, and who knows what else to fix the blade up.

Note FUDs post in this thread...third post I think...he says he used a Lynn honed razor for a long time without honing....

Prepasted 4 sided strop from Tony is a very good start for refreshing an edge on a sharp razor. If you are careful and don't ding it on the faucet, as someone else has done, or on the sink, as I have done then you probably won't need a hone for a very long time, if ever.

At the same time if you decide to move on to honing a dull blade then you will continue to use the 4 sided pasted strop to finish the edge. I like mine up to .5 micron, so the 4 sided paddle strop is a good investment.

Being able to hone a blade from nothing to shave sharp carries with it some satisfaction plus any dings are just: "Oh, well, guess I'll go to the hone for an hour" and not a heart sinking experience that it otherwise becomes.

You can get serious nicks out with 4k Norton but it can take a looooooong time. I used a soft 1000 grit Japanese waterstone at first because I had one but then splurged on a 220/1000 Norton. Much faster and easier. I only use the 1k side. It is more than sufficient to create a new bevel from nothing. I don't know what the 220 would be used for on a razor.

I am one of those that started with a razor and a 2" 4k/8k Norton. Honed my first razor myself. The TI 6/8 actually came with a 2 mil (2/1000") nick out of the box. It was scarry at first, but honing my new $150 blade got me more comfortable handling the sharp steel. Made it a bit less stressful for the first shave.

Now, four months later, I don't worry about getting a blade sharp. I know that it is only a matter of time. I like the demystification of the process. It is not rocket science.

By the way, I still prefer 2" width hone. My 1k Norton and 12k Shapton are 3" and I find it easier to hone with an X pattern on the 2", especially a smiling blade because less of the blade is on the stone. If I had to buy another stone I would make it a 2", but you won't know what your preference is until you try it and give yourself time to get used to it.

As far as barbers hones are concerned, I feel it is a matter of taste and history, not a necessity. I have not heard or seen any evidence that you get more out of a barber's hone than you can with artificial ones like Norton or Shapton. In the end it is the quality of your honing followed by the quality of the steel in the blade that matters most.

I think my best bet, so I dont freak out while learning to hone is to eventually get a norton 4k/8k and an ebay POS razor for$10, that way if I screw up, I wont throw a fit. I really like the idea of honing an old beat up razor into the sharp tool it was meant to be, but I dont want to bite off more than I can chew or spend too much this early in the game (I have a horrible habit of doing that!)

The longer my Fiance thinks that this new shaving passion is just a new hobby and not an obsession, the less she will freak out when the bills start rolling in later on!

Since everyone is talking about the hones. Here are a couple that another post led me to. http://www.redtrader99.com/hones.html I am going to get the begginers set of 3. Comes with medium. medium/fine. and fine finishing. Fairly decent price for a 3 stone set.