Thread: Need to hone too often

You don't mention the grind. If it's very hollow, with a lot of flex, a tough beard may actually be distorting it.
If you buy another, it may be worth considering trying out a heavier grind, such as quarter, or wedge. At the rate you're honing, that one will be all used up within a year or two.

Personally, I find with many razors after about 15 shaves or so the comfort factor starts to decrease. It still shaves fine but it reaches a point after that where a quick refresh is what the doctor ordered.

A touch up after ten shaves is not unusual.

I seem to be having the same issue too I hope its just my beard and not bad stropping or anything.

It is a full hollow ground, I'll get something less for my next razor (when I can convince the wife that I need another, but that's another story...)

I do a 3-5 swipe touch up every 2-3 weeks which would equate to every 14-21 shaves, so that's not unreasonable? Perhaps I misspoke when I said that I honed it every 2-3 weeks, I really meant just a quick 2-3 swipes each way. I guess that 'honing' is something more intense?

Though I would still recommend you try a slightly heavier grind next next time, no, that's not unreasonable. It is quite a bit more than I have to do, but in my mind, a quick touch up is not the same as honing. Probably my error for not seeking clarification, but I do separate the two. You should be fine with that.

There are few members among us, such as Lynn and honedright, that can get by with just plain old stropping alone for 6 months or more (keep in mind we're talking about guys with 30 years experience or so), but for us mere mortals the schedule laid out by the OP is pretty reasonable.

I have a very heavy beard, and my Go-To razor is a Wade&Butcher quarter hollow.
I have similar findings. After about 15 shaves or so, the blade is still plenty sharp, but the
comfort level has gone down a bit, so I give it about 10-15 passes on the CrO strop, and
about 100-125 on leather, and that brings it back just fine. Then, about every 30 shaves
or so, I give a few laps on the Chinese 12K, and that keeps me from "real" honing for
a couple of months.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

There are few members among us, such as Lynn and honedright, that can get by with just plain old stropping alone for 6 months or more (keep in mind we're talking about guys with 30 years experience or so), but for us mere mortals the schedule laid out by the OP is pretty reasonable.

I'm in the "plain old stropping camp" & I do have a tough beard but I choose my razors on edge durability eg I couldn't maintain a soft tempered razor for 6 - 12 months on a strop alone. The grind doesn't really enter into it for me.

In my opinion, the right and reasonable honing frequency is whatever is required. Going with some comments above, I fairly frequently use a barbers hone for just a few passes. It maintains the edge at top sharpness, and I don't believe it removes that much, or any more metal than honing less often but longer.

It never made sense to me to let a blade deteriorate in sharpness until you can't stand the pulling, then honing. I believe it is better to hone with a barbers hone between every few shaves.