Quote Originally Posted by Alera View Post
Hello, I'm moderately new to honing and restoring straight razors, but my shop would like to start offering it as a local service. We wanted to know what materials are required to be able to fully restore and fully sharpen.
Current setup:

Combination India
400/1000 grit DMT (we figured we would use this for the occasional pocket knife that comes in and needs to be resharpened)
Soft Arkansas
Hard Arkansas
Black Arkansas
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Green buffing compound
Red buffing compound
Leather strop
Honing oil (combo of kerosene and mineral oil)

We only have a slight clue of what tools are involved in restoration, and would prefer a more educated idea on this front. We're only a small shop, would prefer to stay away from expensive power tools if they are out of budget for now, so alternative tools are a welcome option.

I can get straights to a hair cutting edge with this combination of tools with relative ease. Is there anything that I'm missing on that front?
I want to wish you the best of luck my friends. I have been honing (or at least trying) for about a year now and I still don't know my ass from a hole in the ground. But, I have the people here at SRP guiding me and helping me. When they offer me feedback, it's not meant to hurt, it's meant to help you and enrich your experience. Listening to this feedback has improved my skills, but I still have a long way to go.

Again good luck and I hope that you prosper!