What's new

Hone help

I have a few straight razors-that I have no real idea of what to do with, but recently I ended up with a C. Klauberg & Bros. Hone. First, like straight razors, I don't know anything about hones either.
After a week or so of trying to research this hone, all I could find is: VINTAGE STRAIGHT RAZOR HONE - YOKOMA RAZOR HONE W/ ORIGINAL WOOD BOX & INST | #1695628397

There isn't even one being sold on the 'bay, nor has there been in ages. So, any help, direct or indirect, would be greatly appreciated.

This is my straight inventory:
Sept 2019 Straight Razors.jpg

The Tonsonial Gem is above the C. Klauberg & Bros. Yokoma Razor Hone. I think it is shave ready, but don't know.
An old Boker with great looking scales and even the blade attachment looks cool, below the hone.
Boker & Co. World Columbia Exposition, Chicago 1893 to the left of the hone. It needs a little attention.
Sarginson Bros, which I believe is shave ready, on the far left.
A Wadsworth XLNT on the far right that is pretty dull.
 
None of those look like you could shave from the pic. I don’t want to disappoint you, but I would not expect your hone to really be able to get your razors to a shavable state. All depends on your face I guess. But looks like all your razors that are salvageable need to start with new bevel and fresh steel which takes a little work and typically a progression of stones starting with something fairly coarse. A good barber hone is supposed to keep a sharp razor sharp - most aren’t for complete honing from setting a bevel.

Few razors sold are truly shave ready as in open the package and shave. If that is what you are looking for then ther are folks out there who hone razors. You should have a strop to try and maintain the edge.
 
None of those look like you could shave from the pic. I don’t want to disappoint you, but I would not expect your hone to really be able to get your razors to a shavable state. All depends on your face I guess. But looks like all your razors that are salvageable need to start with new bevel and fresh steel which takes a little work and typically a progression of stones starting with something fairly coarse. A good barber hone is supposed to keep a sharp razor sharp - most aren’t for complete honing from setting a bevel.

Few razors sold are truly shave ready as in open the package and shave. If that is what you are looking for then ther are folks out there who hone razors. You should have a strop to try and maintain the edge.
I'm trying to better understand what I have so I can know better where or how to proceed next. The good ones are quite thick along the spine. The only one that seems really bad is the Ivory colored Boker.
 
Well, you have some vintage razors and a barbers hone which you know. That Boker is tragic and looks like massive piece of the toe is gone. Could be made into a shorty with some work and skill. The one on the far right, I really can't tell and can't see the edge too well. Looks like maybe a toe issue but could be the pic. The other 3 appear to be OK to restore. No way to tell from a picture any bending, warping, pitting, or other major geometry issues that would make them a bigger problem. Assuming they are OK, then at bare minimum they need to be cleaned and honed for shaving. Again, not the best pic but look like they should start with fresh bevels followed by proper honing. Every person on this site probably has a different method to do that. But if you want to learn more there are some posts pinned at the top of this forum that give some basics and options on how to go about that. Or you can send off to someone to hone them for you too. Regarding your razor hone, it is not the tool to take a razor from bevel set to shave ready typically. In fact, typically they are pretty terrible. But when they work right, they are used to keep an already sharp razor sharp - not for heavy lifting. Hope this helps
 
Well, you have some vintage razors and a barbers hone which you know. That Boker is tragic and looks like massive piece of the toe is gone. Could be made into a shorty with some work and skill. The one on the far right, I really can't tell and can't see the edge too well. Looks like maybe a toe issue but could be the pic. The other 3 appear to be OK to restore. No way to tell from a picture any bending, warping, pitting, or other major geometry issues that would make them a bigger problem. Assuming they are OK, then at bare minimum they need to be cleaned and honed for shaving. Again, not the best pic but look like they should start with fresh bevels followed by proper honing. Every person on this site probably has a different method to do that. But if you want to learn more there are some posts pinned at the top of this forum that give some basics and options on how to go about that. Or you can send off to someone to hone them for you too. Regarding your razor hone, it is not the tool to take a razor from bevel set to shave ready typically. In fact, typically they are pretty terrible. But when they work right, they are used to keep an already sharp razor sharp - not for heavy lifting. Hope this helps
That does offer far more than I had, so thank you!

Parts_of_a_straight_razor.jpg

The Boker on the left needs new scales, and the blade needs cleaning up. The boker on the bottom needs a new blade. The Wadsworth may or may not be of any use.
What parts of a razor basically fall into the Good-to-Go or No-Go realm? Basically, if it is bad it can be fixed or it makes the razor basically junk?
 
Cheapest and easiest way to jump into honing is use films. Light pressure works best when honing. Check out Slash's vids on honing with films on the board, lots of info and its helpful to watch. The boker is done unles you make a shorty, but what you have are excellent trainers to hone with and maybe you would learn a bit about shaving with them to.

Larry
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
The bottom razor can be made into a shorty and all of them can be made into decent shavers. My suggestion is to send two of them out for honing by someone known and recommended on this forum. Learn to shave FIRST. Your chances of creating a good shaveworthy edge on ANY gear are close to nil, since you do not yet KNOW what a shave ready edge looks and feels like. Shave with one razor. Meanwhile get some 1u lapping film and a 3" x 12" x 3/4" block of acrylic from TAP Plastics. When the first razor is getting a bit dull, switch to the second one and try to retouch the dulled edge of the first one according to "The Method". Get the 1u (one micron) lapping film finish technique down pat. It will shave pretty good. Then try your hand at the balsa strop postfinish/maintenance treatment for the ultimate edge. By the time the second razor needs work, you will have it down pat.

Meanwhile consider your other razors. Once again revisit "The Method", and learn to set the bevel and run the progression. Save the broken blade for last. To fix that one, you need to cut off the offending part with a dremel and a cutoff wheel. That is a delicate operation. It takes about 2 seconds to overheat the blade at the thin part, the edge and vicinity. The razor is thenceforth RUINED. It is also distressingly easy to shatter the blade. You absolutely must wear eye protection when attempting this. Actually, send it out, if anyone offers.

Your barber hone, in this day and age, is little more than a curiousity. It can be used but it really borders on "stunt honing" because we have much more effective honing media at our disposal now. I have shaved off a barber hone, but the typical barber hone edge is just sorta okayish if you are used to a sharp edge. The technique can be tweaked upward a bit, using lather, etc, but it is still only a BH edge.
 
Top Bottom