Thread: B to B Tip #2 - Honing

“Beginner to Beginner” Tip #2 - Honing

Last night I completed the honing process for an old Wade and Butcher wedge I purchased recently. The edge was pretty darn dull when I got it. I am new to honing razors – attempted to hone only a handful of razors thus far. For certain, this was the first time I attempted to hone a razor in such poor starting condition and it was the first time I attempted to hone a wedge.

For my fellow newbies, I thought I’d share what I learned during the process:

1/ I learned that honing a razor is tremendously time consuming, particularly in the bevel setting stage. (For all you honemeisters out there, I have a heightened level of respect for what you guys do!) It took me 5-6 hours of work spread over several days to get the razor in shave ready condition. I certainly hope that the time investment reduces as I gain more experience. I guess my advice for fellow newbies is to be patient and persistent in the beginning. Frustration in the beginning over your speed of progress is counterproductive.

2/ It’s stated many times on this forum that the shave test is the only definitive sharpness test. For a newbie (at least for myself), this statement didn’t appear practical. Do I really have to progress through all the hones, strop, lather, shave, and repeat over and over again until the razor is completely dialed in? This approach just didn’t seem efficient to me. However, I learned very quickly that the shave test just may be the only test that works for a newbie. For me, I don’t yet have sufficient skill to determine sharpness with the TPT – or any other test for that matter. I literally had to lather and shave to determine sharpness. Accordingly, I did all my honing at the bathroom sink. Perhaps this is why it took me so long to achieve success. In any event, my perspective on the shave test changed 180 degrees as a result of this project.

3/ The HHT sometimes receives criticism for being an imperfect test. I didn’t appreciate this fully until this project. Multiple times the razor was able to pass the HHT yet the razor simply refused to give an acceptably comfortable shave. Simply put, I learned that there is a meaningful gap between passing the HHT and shave readiness.

4/ I learned that stropping really is king. This shouldn’t be a surprise, as it’s mentioned on these forums on a regular basis. Sometimes, however, things don’t sink in until one experiences something for himself. For me, I couldn’t get my razor to shave ready condition off the hones unless I did what seemed like an absurd number of strokes (200+). I now fully appreciate the benefits of stropping!

Anyhow, hope my experience helps a fellow newbie in some small way.

Happy honing!


PS: It sure was a pleasure shaving with the old W&B this morning.

Thanks for sharing, I think you might have really helped quite a few people out with this post

One last paragraph if I might ask it of you, is to post the Stones/Hones that you used... Lap counts are not needed, or of much use, but the types that you employed would be great !!!


Oh yeah Congratulations on a honing milestone, wedges ain't easy

Thanks for the reply. I’m happy to share.

I did most of my bevel work on an 800 grit King brand Japanese waterstone that I borrowed from my knife sharpening kit. I seemed to spend FOREVER grinding away on this stone. (My next HAD purchase will be a Norton 1000 - based on the reviews, the Norton may be a bit faster than the King??) Anyways, once the hunk of metal started resembling a razor again I moved onto a 1200 grit King, but I didn’t stay on this stone very long. Next in the batting lineup was a Norton 4000/8000. My approach to the Norton was largely experimental. I tried the pyramids. I tried long periods on the 4000 alone and then the same with the 8000. At one point I dropped back to the Kings for a spell. Then I would try 4000/8000 pyramids or partial pyramids again. Then periods on the 4000 alone and 8000 alone again. I went back and forth trying out different approaches until I felt I was making progress. I stopped to strop and test multiple times throughout this process. My approach was not particularly scientific – some would call my approach unorthodox even - but it worked in the end. I ultimately moved to a Naniwa 12K and ended with the marathon stropping session.

Originally Posted by diyguy

...My approach was not particularly scientific – some would call my approach unorthodox even - but it worked in the end....

I wouldn't call it an unorthodox approach, I'd call it learning.

Originally Posted by HNSB

I wouldn't call it an unorthodox approach, I'd call it learning.

Aint that the truth!

@diyguy Thanks for proving what we have been preaching. What you said should be mandatory reading for those ready to embark on the honing journey.

Sounds like your learning quite well. You're always welcome back to my place for one on one instruction in honing, particularly if you get stuck.

If you really want to learn what you are doing to the blade you might want to get a jewlers loupe or a pocket microscope. cheap on ebay
I thought I knew what I was doing to the blade, til I could actually see
what the different stones were doing, it might help you to when you're just starting to hone.