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  1. #1
    Senior Member SpicyJem's Avatar
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    Default Beginner Honing Question

    Ok, as many of you know, I've been a pretty avid poster around here for a couple months now. When I am not posting, I am reading up on a ton of information and watching videos.

    Still, when I find that I'm ready to try something for the first time, it's a habit to start a post about it!

    My question today is related to honing. Now, here's a little background information: I have a Norton 4000/8000 stone, and arriving this week will be a Water Finishing Stone (12,000 grit). I have never used any of them yet.

    A lot of honing videos start from the premise that the razor is dull and the bevel needs to be set or refined. In those cases, they obviously START with a 4,000 or lower grit to reset/refine the bevel.

    But what do you recommend for someone in my situation, as a beginner, who still is using the first razor and it's still sharp? The bevel is fine, but I want to make sure it stays as sharp as it can be do that it doesn't get too dull.

    Here are my questions (yes, I know I started this thread acting like I only had ONE question, but that's never the case!)

    1. Do YOU recommend using a finishing water stone after every x-amount of shaves (or weeks) just to keep it in tip-top shape? I hear this can prolong the razor so that it doesn't need to be really honed as much since you're constantly refining the edge with a high grit stone.

    2. When dealing with a honed razor, would you wait until it starts pulling and then use the HIGHEST GRIT POSSIBLE to see if that improves, and then only drop down to a lower grit if it doesn't improve?

    For example, lets say that you have a nicely honed razor. You use it for a couple months but start to feel pulling. So would you bust out the 12,000 and run the blade along to see if that helps, and ONLY IF IT DOESN'T would you drop down to the 8,000 automatically? In my logical mind, I would think you would drop down to the HIGHEST GRIT FIRST, and if that don't work, then you would drop down to the NEXT LOWEST GRIT, and if that don't work, then you would drop down to the NEXT LOWEST GRIT, etc.

    Ex: Blade is pulling. Run it on the 12K stone. Still no big improvement. Drop down to an 8K stone + 12K finisher. If that improves, YAY! If not, then drop down to the 4K stone + 8K + 12K finisher.

    I don't know if that's the proper way or not. So I am curious what YOU do. You obviously don't want to use a razor until it's completely uncomfortable and dull......so do you constantly run it on a finishing stone once a week, etc? And when that doesn't work, only then do you drop down and do an 8,000 or 4,000?

    Curious to hear what works for you guys!

  2. #2
    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
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    Jeff, I always try the higher grit to touch up first. If that doesn't get me anywhere I'll drop down in grit. If I'm not getting a real good shave with a razor I hone it. I don't wait until it pulls. My advice is to get some razors in decent condition as cheaply as possible and practice on them. If you have a pro honed razor that is shaving well using it to learn to hone is risky. Not that you'll ruin it but chances are it will take some practice to begin to get acceptable edges. Antique stores, flea markets, ebay ...... get some practice razors , maybe 3 or 4 and work on them. Reserve your good razor for shaving until you've had success honing the others.
    Be careful how you treat people on your way up, you may meet them again on your way back down.

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    cudarunner (04-08-2011)

  4. #3
    Senior Member blabbermouth hi_bud_gl's Avatar
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    Try it and see.
    Quote Originally Posted by SpicyJem View Post

    Ex: Blade is pulling. Run it on the 12K stone. Still no big improvement. Drop down to an 8K stone + 12K finisher. If that improves, YAY! If not, then drop down to the 4K stone + 8K + 12K finisher.

    !
    This should work.

  5. #4
    Senior Member SpicyJem's Avatar
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    Thanks guys! I appreciate the feedback.

    @JimmyHAD - I ended up purchasing a cheap $40 razor from Larry (WhippedDog.com) for this very reason. I was going to shave with that until it needed sharpening, and then practice on that.

    I guess I want to know, do any of you guys ever run your razors over a finishing stone (12,000 grit) just for the heck of it, even if it's not dull? Just to give it that EXTRA little edge of maintenance? I read somewhere that using a finishing stone like that every week or so would prolong the intervals between needing to hone the razor. But it also seems like a lot of work, and probably better off doing what hi_bud_gl quoted above:

    Ex: Blade is pulling. Run it on the 12K stone. Still no big improvement. Drop down to an 8K stone + 12K finisher. If that improves, YAY! If not, then drop down to the 4K stone + 8K + 12K finisher.

  6. #5
    'with that said' cudarunner's Avatar
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    While I'm very new to Honing Razors, I've got years of practice sharpening. The different tools are black and white! However, I'm a firm believer in developing a routine!

    I found the videos, that Glen and Lynn made most helpful! I've been using the 20 circles to sharpen in my own fashion and it has worked well! There was one razor that was just starting to not respond as well to stropping. (25-30 on the linen and 50 or so on the leather) I used a DMT 325 to lap my Naniwa 12000 and left a slurry. I did the 20 on each side with only enough pressure to keep the blade flat and in consistent contact. I rinsed the razor and added water to the stone to dilute the slurry and did 20 x-strokes. Only 20 not 40. I then rinsed the blade and stone and repeated the 20 circles (this time it was the true 40) on both sides, then re-rinsed the stone and blade then repeated with 40 x strokes on each side of the edge.

    After stropping I found the edge better than I received it from a professional honer! Please note: I had sent the razor to another web site and they gave me an address to send it to. After receiving the razor, I received no response to any of my questions.

    I had another razor that was in much worse shape, it wouldn't begin to give any drag or resistance to a wet thumbnail. I used the same procedure starting with a King 1200, then the Norton 4k, 8k and ended up on the Naniwa 12000. Great Results!

    You might take the razor that you bought and shave with it for say a week, then use the 12000. Then repeat! You should after a few week be able to tell if touching up that often has made a noticable difference. Then repeat, only waiting two weeks in between. Then 3 weeks etc. Just a thought to keep the variables as close as possible. Same razor, same touch,different times in between!

    Good Luck! I can't thank all of the people here at SRP that have taken their time to help someone they've never met!

    Smooth Shaving!

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    SpicyJem (04-09-2011)

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