Thread: Need to hone too often

About 6 months ago I finally took the plunge and bought a decent shave ready razor from bobsrazors and never looked back. It was worlds better than the antique store razor that just would not hone. I am finally getting great shaves.

I do have one issue thought. I seem to need to hone the razor more than I should. I feel the need to hone about every 2, and at most, 3 weeks. I do have pretty heavy facial hair and do have to shave and repeat every day, so the razor does get some heavy use. Would this amount of honing be right under those conditions or is something amiss? I use a strop that I got from the antique store. It seems to be in fine condition but I am really not a judge of that.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by spinsheet

About 6 months ago I finally took the plunge and bought a decent shave ready razor from bobsrazors and never looked back. It was worlds better than the antique store razor that just would not hone. I am finally getting great shaves.

I do have one issue thought. I seem to need to hone the razor more than I should. I feel the need to hone about every 2, and at most, 3 weeks. I do have pretty heavy facial hair and do have to shave and repeat every day, so the razor does get some heavy use. Would this amount of honing be right under those conditions or is something amiss? I use a strop that I got from the antique store. It seems to be in fine condition but I am really not a judge of that.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Tough one to swallow.
How about changing your shaving Technique?
have you ever thought about it?
Lets use straight razor as a saw instead of axe?
This will make edge last a lot longer.
Basically try scything motion shaving.
gl

Is this your one and only razor?, or the only one you use? If so, in addition to Sham's suggestions, You may want to invest in small Barber's hone. You would use this prior to stropping. 3-5 strokes is all that's needed, and it should keep your razor, not only shave ready, but may prolong the edge.

It is a hard one to answer based on your description of use. In addition to the excellent advice already offered how about another one or two razors to get a rotation going ?

If it were possible, I would like to see the bevel and edge.

I'll try and get a picture of the razor and post it. I do have a barber's hone that I bought quite a while ago, that is what I'm using to hone it. I am doing about 3-5 passes on that every 2-3 weeks.

Am I to understand (by zib's post) that a light honing before every shave is not unheard of? I assumed that honing was a once every two months thing?

I do experiment with different types of passes. Thought once that I was going to disconnect my head from my shoulders once, I'm a little more conservative now.

And this is my only 'shavable' razor, the others are too worn out according to people that have looked at them.

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.