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

Hi guys,

just a quick economy question.

How many of you hone your own straights?

I've got an old Boker I'm fixing up with a decent blade. If it works out, I'd probably have it honed at first, but would like to do my own.

I got into this, because I really like the shave with a DE or Shavette, but also for the economy. If I had to send my own razor out every few months, it would sort of defeat one of the things I love about the Shavette and DE.

Is its really witchcraft, or not too bad? Can an inexpensive hone be made to work?

I'd be happy to have her honed, and just keep it for that nice saturday morning shave.

Thanks,

Ryan

I hone my own and find it to be a very enjoyable and satisfying pursuit. Just in my humble opinion, I wouldn't feel right without at least a 1k, 4k, 8k and 12k or more set of stones. A diamond plate to lap/flatten the stones and a good strop. A paddle or flatbed strop with diamond paste or chrom-ox is very handy to have too. Then, IME, honing many razors in order to learn to use the hones is necessary. Vintage pieces in very good or better condition obtained on ebay, antique shops, the SRP classifieds are how I learned the skill. That is just my experience. I have read that many guys bought a strop and a barber honed and maintained their razors for years with those alone. More folks will chime in with their experience, the above has been mine.

I hone all my razors myself. And to boot, I'm completely self-taught with honing, as well. Seeing as I'm still alive...I must be pretty good.

Haha,

thanks guys, well....for the cost of even a couple of hones, it might be worth jumping in.

I'm trying to get my Dad interested. If he was, it would be really easy to justify buying a couple of hones to share.

Its funny, I rember Dad teaching me to shave 18 years ago, and nowwe're right back were we started!

I have been using Straight Razors for 30 years come this Summer

The first 26 years I used 2 Razors, 1 Strop, and 1 Arkansas Stone, to maintain my razors... They shaved well until I finally dropped the second razor...

Then I found SRP while looking for new razors on the Internet

Keep in mind that some of us are crazy, you do know that right???

You can maintain razors forever with just a Barber's Hone and a strop and they will shave well, the problem comes in with the Well-vs-Great Muhahahaha

To hone your own razors you will need:

- a chosera 1k
- A full set of Shaptons
- A full set of Naniwas
- A 325 grit DMT
- An Escher
- A Thuringian (for comparison)
- At least one J-Nat
- A coticule
- A pasted strop with CrOx
- A pasted strop with diamond spray
- An unpasted strop
- Another unpasted strop of a different leather
- A Charnley Forest
- A small DMT for making slurry
- Rolls of electrical tape if you use it
- An eye loupe
- An electric USB microscope



Seriously though, as a minimum I agree with Jimmy: A bevel setter, a sharpener, a polisher and a finisher plus a strop and a DMT for lapping. That's to get a dull blade shaving.

For maintenance a barber hone alone will do the job pretty much forever.

Then its just how far you want to take things...!

Thanks guys,

Well, maybe I'll send it out for its first, then look into a barbers hone.

Thanks for the replies.............this could be a slippery slope!

Ah yes, the stone slope is slippery indeed; one, or a few, are never enough - it's as if you applied lather and had the glide factor increased by orders of magnitude.

I'll make this simple. If you start out by getting the best basic stones out there you will never need another ever again. So what are the ones to get? err...well....I haven't figured that out yet and each time I think I have some dang fool around here keeps coming up with another.

Seriously though, with a set like the Norton 4k/8k and a 12K like a shapton or similar is really all you need unless you get into restoration.

Thanks guys!

This is a great place.