Thread: questions about honing

First things first, what do i need? I order a barber hone do i need anything... should i need another hone? I have a shitty razor but its just a starter so do i need another hone?

The next question is how do i know when i need to hone and how do i hone my razor. I dont want to send it away to get it professionally honed either.

thanks for the help.

I'm just starting out honing as well. If you look around this site it actually has an endless amount of info regarding honing. Probably want to start out with more than a barbers hone as it's mostly for refreshing an already sharp blade.

I just bought a set of Norton hones 220/1k 4k/8k to get started with. From what I have read they are great for beginners, set ya back about 130 bucks. Good luck and just look around SRP a bit, there's some great stuff from the wet shaving pros here.

Originally Posted by koosh85

First things first, what do i need? I order a barber hone do i need anything... should i need another hone? I have a shitty razor but its just a starter so do i need another hone?

The next question is how do i know when i need to hone and how do i hone my razor. I dont want to send it away to get it professionally honed either.

thanks for the help.

Why are you against sending out your razor to be professionally honed. I think that if you have a bad razor (as you describe it), you should probably send it to a pro to assess the edge and get it shave ready for you. The members here who hone are very helpful and excellent at what they do.

Assuming you still do not want to send it out, a barber hone will not take a dull edge to shave ready. Also, answering "how you hone your razor" is too complicated to answer as it is a learning process that could take months or even years.

frank,
i am only against it because i only have one straight razor and most of places i saw to send it say it could take at least 4 weeks. i dont want to be without a razor for that long. Unless you know someone who will be quicker or somewhere i can find someone who does it locally. I want to start using it asap haha.

Originally Posted by koosh85

frank,
i am only against it because i only have one straight razor and most of places i saw to send it say it could take at least 4 weeks. i dont want to be without a razor for that long. Unless you know someone who will be quicker or somewhere i can find someone who does it locally. I want to start using it asap haha.

Check the classifieds. I guarantee you that if you send your razor to any of the members that advertise there, they will turn it around in one week. Trust me.

Also, you need to get more than one razor to avoid being without one. This will also help you when you do start honing in that you can compare your honing on the practice razor to the honing done by the "pro."

Thanks. I am looking into to find another. Can you recommend a place to look and a type of razor to get

Originally Posted by koosh85

Thanks. I am looking into to find another. Can you recommend a place to look and a type of razor to get

I recommend you look on any of the vendor sites who advertise here. In the alternative, if you would like to save some money, check the classifieds here and you will get a vintage razor that comes shave ready and will not break the bank. Typically, most razors posted on the classifieds here will be good shavers.

Get a barbers hone, IMO everyone needs one for regular maintenance.

Like Nun2sharp said, A Barber's hone should be a requirement. Read this info:
What hone(s), paste(s), or spray(s) do I need? - Straight Razor Place Wiki

There's a whole section in the Wiki devoted to sharpening razors. Lots of suggestions. But what you need to do, depends on what you have.

What do you mean, "shitty razor" ?

. . . Is it a _good_ razor that is dull because it's been used a lot?

. . . Is it a _bad_ razor (a Kreiger, Zeepk, Selective, or other _really cheap_ brands) ?

. . . Is it a razor with a damaged blade -- a nick in the edge, or something like that?

You have to explain what you're starting with.

I bought my first razor at an antique shop. It needed a lot of work, and I learned a lot doing it. But it was step-by-step, with a lot of messages back-and-forth on this website.

Charles