Thread: How many of you guys hone your own straights?

Originally Posted by RedsFan75

Part of the fun is honing.

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Welcome RedsFan75!

Cheers, Steve

Yes, welcome redfan75. Be sure to introduce yourself in a new post. I think i might know ya.

Yes we know each has it really been close to a year.

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Too expensive to keep sending razors out

Originally Posted by ryan2022

Thanks guys!

This is a great place.

It is a great place Ryan!
I've been shaving with straights for about 5 years , and I do hone my own razors. I also must add my honing has improved by magnitudes since finding this site and watching and reading. The combined knowledge you have access to here, I believe, is without equal! Getting that razor sharpened by one of the professionals here is a great way to go for a few reasons. You will know how a sharp razor is supposed to shave, you will have a baseline to judge your honing by when you get there ( it is an acquired skill and takes some practice) and you can learn to shave with a properly honed razor!
Welcome aboard!
Stay Sharp!

Actually the challenge of honing is what brought me to straight razor shaving.

Originally Posted by nessmuck

Too expensive to keep sending razors out

really ,, ? ive spent less in the 4 years of shaving on pro honing than I did on the Gok 20 I bought, not to mention any other stones ive bought along the way a drawer full of stones yet only use the 12k naniwa, so that's really not an accurate statement Tc

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

really ,, ? ive spent less in the 4 years of shaving on pro honing than I did on the Gok 20 I bought, not to mention any other stones ive bought along the way a drawer full of stones yet only use the 12k naniwa, so that's really not an accurate statement Tc

You have a point there TC, but it really depends on how many you have to maintain. If its minimal, buying a drawer full of stones is unnecessary but it is fun. if i were to send my current collection which is not large by many standards around here it would be 25 blades and lets say 20 bucks a pop shipping included. That would put me back 500 bucks. I admit i wouldn't have to touch those razors for a decade. I could also get a naniwa 3/8 combo or a norton 4/8 combo plus a 12k or just 1 coticule and be done for life. I would of spent less than half the original sum for pro honing. I am certainly not doing this to save money its more of a sickness to be honest.

I think mostly its just a thing to do for fun or the challenge. I have 15 razors at the moment, the only time I send them off is if I just got it, and the edge is suspect, or if I damage. after my guy gets done with it, other than 3-4 laps on my 12k once in a while, the edge last me months or even years with leather. My beard is very course and stiff, but I being a daily shaver I just have found that if your technique is good and your stropping is good I don't get the opportunity to hone enough to find any enjoyment in it. I,m like the guys who did this years ago, I do it for the shave not the hobby. don't get me wrong I bought all the stones and did the new guy thing. a year later I realized that if your doing your job those stones get real lonely. I sold my Gok20 because I have a friend who really wanted one and it was in the drawer forever. along with the rest of them, I rekon ive got better than 1200$ in naturals and synthetics, and its came down to only needing the 12k at about 90$ and I,m set for life, with the occasional 20$ fee to fix a razor.

guys who love it I applaud them, I got silly hobbies too that really don't amount to anything important, but I,m a good dollars and cents type who has found "FOR ME" I would be money ahead by a long shot just sending them out,,plus I never had to shave with a sub par edge during my learning stages. now as to the money I spent on stones, I did learn to hone, and some are pretty plus I do use one of the others,, my 1k Chosera gets use on my Bruno kitchen knives! either way is not right or wrong. its like that guy who said it was the natural order of straight shaving to learn the hone side of it, he was kinda wrong too, the natural order the way it was when they were just standard shaving equipment was to take it to the barber or catch the sharpening mans wagon when he rolled thru town. I love this hobby cause everything is to each their own,, Tc

I dont hone myself. And wont do for a while. I do have an interest in both the shaving and also restauration. And would therefor love to be able to hone my own razors. I mean the satisfaction from making that old piece of junk both good looking and shave ready would do me good!
But aint got the time or space for it atm and I think its better to start of with the shaving and restauration. Then when its time get some decent stones. But I think If I start with all of it now, i might loose interest (I know myself).