How long did it take for you to learn how to hone?

[albsat]

Greetings,

Just wanted to know from experience users.


How long did it take for you to learn how to hone? Especially on setting a bevel? Did you learn this skill alone or with a mentor?

Thanks

 

[Wid]

Still learning.

 

[silverlifter]

Less than half a dozen attempts to set a bevel. A couple more to get there confidently every time.

There is nothing magical about it. Be methodical. Check your work frequently. Observe. Learn. Repeat.

A loupe and a sharpie are your friends. Good luck: it is a fun skill to learn, and the satisfaction from shaving off your own edges repays the modest investment in time.

 

[PintoPlain]

I started using the lapping film route. I managed to get an adequate edge on the first attempt and they only improved from there. I still use film.

I have set a few bevels starting with 600 wet and dry and moving up from there. @silverlifter gave good advice above. Being able to hone your own razor is satisfying.

 

[Legion]

Always something new to learn, but I was able to get a decent shave off the first razor I restored. I probably put a lot more hone wear on it than is ideal, though.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I have now been honing for about 3 1/2 years with over 100 bevel sets under my belt.

Took me about 10 bevel sets to get to sharp without feeling like an imposter.

@silverlifter is right about honing not being magical. You are removing metal to form an apex and then removing scratch marks. Constantly watch what you are doing. I keep a log with notes in a spreadsheet - helps me.

Ironically, one of the straightest, narrowest and sharpest edges I put on a razor was my first Wade & Butcher at the 6-month mark. Most of my initial instincts have proven to be sound.

I needed to try things, both making mistakes and having successes, to convince myself about a wide-range of things to gain confidence.

The whole experience reminds me of learning to drive around a new city before Google Maps and Waze when you needed to try different routes and make wrong turns before eventually learning your way around and how to directly get from A to B.

I am still pretty slow but am now able to chart a direct and predictable path from dull to sharp and smooth.

I have to believe that it even gets better when you get to 1,000 bevel sets.

And to quote Jaco Pastorius, "I am formally self-taught."

 

[Tomo]

I started out with lapping film on an acrylic block. I managed to dull the razor completely on my first attempt (lifted the spine). On the second try I got it back to shave ready. Films are quite forgiving and are probably the cheapest way to start.

Setting a bevel is not that complicated. You just keep honing on a low grit until the bevels on both sides of the blade meet in the middle. You can test this at the bevel setting stage by cutting a cherry tomato. The blade should slice through easily at all sections. If you get to the finisher and can’t pass a hanging hair test you may need to start over. You might have wasted some time but it not a big deal. Just try again. It might take a few tries.

Razors have a built in angle guide which helps a lot. You just lay them flat on the stone. Over time you will get better at judging the pressure and hitting the full length of the blade consistently with each stroke. Having a razor with good geometry in the beginning helps too. By this I mean a razor that is free of warps. Straight edges are easier to hone in the beginning than smiles. I got lucky with my first razor.

Some people like to collect stones. This adds many layers of complication to what is essentially a simple process. Some stones are easier than others. Some will require special techniques and slurry management to tease a good edge out of them. Playing with different stones and edges can be fun but it’s not required.

I’ve tried just about every stone I’ve ever heard of. In the end I haven’t found anything that beats a synthetic progression followed by a hard Arkansas finisher. Both of which are readily available for a modest investment. Stone collecting is not essential part of straight razor shaving.

 

[Chandu]

Two hours. 10 minutes of instruction and 1:50 minutes of practice. My instruction was from a 75 year old Greek wood carver. Served me from carving tools to kitchen knives to scissors to lawnmower blades. It's all the same once you understand the concept, only the tools and methods change very slightly. The principle's remain.

I really don't understand how razors are difficult. You rest the entire thing on a stone. You don't have to hold an angle free hand. The razor already makes the angle from the spine to the apex. Carving tools... one actually needs to hold a free hand angle. Straight razors... the razor is its own jig, set's it's own angle. Nothing for you to do but pull across the stone.

 

[JPO]

I am a slow learner. I still feel like I am improving after more the 12 years.
However, my first razors had a bevel from the factory, so I just honed it.
All I had was some natural stones and allot of time and patience.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I am constantly gaining intuition and deeper insight. For example, when I am having trouble getting the heel portion of the edge sharp, I no longer close my eyes, move the edge in a circular motion on the stone and pray. I now watch what I am doing and use some combination of x-strokes, rolling x-strokes and circles to remove only the necessary amount of steel to form an apex, closely watching what I am doing.

On one level, honing razors is stupid simple - like throwing a basketball through a hoop. For me it is now about forming straighter, narrower, sharper and smoother edges more consistently.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

I learned to maintain a razor on a Translucent stone, after 5-minutes of instruction from my barber. Shave with that single razor for 10 years, before I bought another razor and stone.

I have taught a number of guys to hone, in person in an hour or two and many folks to hone on-line over the course of days.

Google (My Second Try at Honing) this was the second razor he had honed. Took an eBay beater to shave ready with on-line instruction and a $30 USB scope, in a few days. That post has taught a lot of folks to hone.

From this…

To this.

 

[Christian1212]

Mostly depends on what gear you are starting out with. To get a good synthetic edge on a razor in good condition, will probably only take a few tries. This is if the person has done some research on the subject though and can strop.

 

[Gamma]

Sharpening is a simple process. I knew how to do that before having a razor.
So, my first edge shaved well enough.
Subsequent razor edges shaved better. And so on.
For me, learning razor honing has been a process, not an event.
Note - experience matters but it doesn't guarantee achievement.

There are many ways to look at all of it.
Some address honing as a simple linear thing.
The belief being that there is a single trajectory and single end point.
"Once you get somewhere then there's no place left to go".

Wherever the alleged single end point is though, that's a personal decision.
I can't tell you where yours is and you can't tell me where mine is.

When I got here, there were hoards of know-it-alls telling me what I need and what I didn't need.
They were also big on telling everyone that everyone's personal standards have to align with theirs.
Most of them are gone now, or have changed their tune.
But those types continue to trickle in the front door, the internet is loaded with them.

For some of us honing isn't a linear thing.
Deciding to constantly push the envelope has proven to raise the bar enough each time for me to continue working on it.
There is more to an edge than just the 'sharp component, and there are many variations on the theme. Then, there is feel and preference, and the myriad mechanics involved in making the edge matter too.

I have advised new users on how important the bevel is so they 'know' it and have learned it right away.

Then like a year later they email me and write "holy carp, you were right about that bevel thing".

What happened was that their knowledge became wisdom via practice. They had been shaving all along, but then one day they put that extra ounce of effort into it and then the lights turned on. The lights can come on today but maybe sometimes it's best to have reference points so that you know just how bright things can be, in comparison.

Take your time, enjoy the ride. Go where you want, and go there any way you want.

 

[lightfoot]

Learning the basic strokes and being able to recognize variations in geometry didn’t really take that long but arriving at an understanding of creating an edge that’s smooth, shaves easily, offers good post-shave, & has good retention has been a much more long and drawn out process.

 

[Steve56]

I agree with @Wid - Honing a razor is like playing chess, you can learn in 15 minutes but doing it well is a learning process that never ends (unless you want it to), and I like it that way. It’s all muscle memory, like playing a musical instrument or riding a bike. Never practice and you’ll never get better, practice a lot and it’s easy.

 

[Eshebert]

Just trying to soak as much in as I can, keep a learners mentality. Not much room for another know-it-all in the honing community, we have reached overload.

 

[rhgg2]

I am still very much a beginner, and I think the question for me was less, how long does it take to learn, more, how long until I get results I can be happy with. The answer to that had as much to do with my expectations as with technical ability. The nice thing is that it is possible to achieve results which are not so bad that you want to give up, but bad enough that you want to try and do better next time.

 

[spyoly]

I think what can save time for a beginner is to buy 2-3 shave ready razors from different sources and have them as reference.
It is important to realise from the start of the journey what is your target and where you have to aim.

 

[Derwent]

I've been sharpening stuff since I was 8 or 9 years old...so a very long time...and I'm still learning.

Razors for a couple of years, my first was usable, they are still getting better.

 

[JPO]

Just trying to soak as much in as I can, keep a learners mentality. Not much room for another know-it-all in the honing community, we have reached overload.

You need the unicorn honing solution for good razors. All your honing problems will be solved.