Thread: Newbie edge touchup?

Hello All,

I am considering buying either a C12K or a barber hone in order to touch up my blade when the time comes. Not quite sure if the C12K would be a good choice from what I have been reading as to the slowness of the stone. Second issue is that I am not sure of which barber hones are good.

The razor is still shave sharp and I have been very careful with my stropping not to damage the edge. It is just that I gave myself some razor burn and a couple of nicks today and realized I would need to make a decision on this.

Thank you!

Lu

Originally Posted by cyclelu

Hello All,

I am considering buying either a C12K or a barber hone in order to touch up my blade when the time comes. Not quite sure if the C12K would be a good choice from what I have been reading as to the slowness of the stone. Second issue is that I am not sure of which barber hones are good.

The razor is still shave sharp and I have been very careful with my stropping not to damage the edge. It is just that I gave myself some razor burn and a couple of nicks today and realized I would need to make a decision on this.

Thank you!

Lu

Well if you say it's still shave sharp and you're getting burn/nicks, it sounds to me like it might be a technique issue.

If you want something effective and cheap then you might want to look into the various pastes (e.g., chromium oxide) to refresh an edge. A barber's hone will suffice but they can be a PITA to lap. Franz Swaty barber hones are probably the most prominent.

Thanks for info. The burn and nicks last night were due to bad technique for sure. It just let me know that sooner or later I would have to refresh the edge.

Even with cro, woldn't I need to touch up on a stone at some point?

I have never lapped a barbers hone, IMO they dont need it. Swaty is good, Keen Kutter, Pike and almost any of them are good, I own a good number of them and havent found a bad one yet. Chrome ox can only do so much for so long, eventually you will still need the barbers hone. Lynn has a youtube video somewhere around here with plentiful barber hone information.

Originally Posted by cyclelu

Thanks for info. The burn and nicks last night were due to bad technique for sure. It just let me know that sooner or later I would have to refresh the edge.

Even with cro, woldn't I need to touch up on a stone at some point?

Eventually you'd need to take it to stone, yes. Like nun2sharp said, a barber's hone will probably suffice to keep a sharp razor sharp.

More importantly, at that point you have to ask yourself if you're content with the razors you have or if you want more (RAD can be very sneaky). If you're content with your razor(s) then the barber's hone will work and should your edge become terribly dull then you can pay a few bucks and send it out to a honemeister.

If you're looking at collecting more razors then you might want to look into a honing set. I chose the latter option but this is really a matter of preference.

Nun2sharp thanks, I will look for Lynn's video. As for that sneaky RAD that commiecat mentioned, I think it got me. I bought another razor this weekend, that makes 3 and it said shave ready. I will eventually get into honing and will try to restor. I will probably end up getting norton set, but that will have to be after hollidays. For now it is just that I am trying to get the most require items first and I know that I will need to touch up before going to a complete honning. Oh, by the way I have a razor that was not shave ready and that will be my hone learning blade.

Thank you again. I will be doing more home work, but I have a better idea of what I need.

Lu

Another approach would be a hard felt strop with diamond spray. That works pretty well for me when the razor isn't quite "there" but it's not really dull either.