How many shaves do you get per hone?
- Thread starter TheNines
- Start date
I don't keep track any more, but my guess would be 50 / 80 shaves. I shave almost exclusively with a set of Gold Dollar 66 razors that I rotate when one or the other gets tuggy.
A lot of needing touch ups has to do with your personal care of the edge. Poor shaving technique and poor stropping will cause a razor to dull quickly. A razor which is properly stropped and kept dry should retain its edge for quite some time, I’d say between 25-40 shaves(give or take). If you own a pasted strop, you can maintain your edge indefinitely. All you’d need to do is touch it up on paste very 10-15 shaves. Really once the bevel is set, you shouldn’t need to go through a full honing regiment again unless you damage the edge. A portion of how long your edge may last, depends also on the type of steel your razor is made out of. Swedish steel is universally known for being very hard and for holding a superb edge. In fact my Haljestrand MK31 was honed two years ago and has had at least 60 shaves on its original edge. I have not touched it up once. To summarize, there are several factors in how long an edge may last you, but most of those rest with the users care of the razor.
Matt
Matt
I wouldn't let the issue of honing interfere with trying straight razor shaving. I usually encourage people to focus on learning to use a straight and stropping for the firs year, then decide whether you want to learn to hone. Many people have their razors professionally honed when they purchase a new razor, then occasionally use a pasted strop to keep up the edge. It's also fairly easy to learn how to do a few strokes on a finishing hone every couple dozen shaves or so to maintain the edge indefinitely.
There is no real solid way to answer that question. Especially since new users are prone to mucking up edges sooner rather than later. Essentially, touch up honing happens more frequently than full-on bevel-set through finish honing. I'd suppose the majority of users that aren't hone freaks probably touch up an edge 1x every 30-90 days. Maybe 1x a year or 1x every 2 yr for full honing. I think Dovo used to suggest 1x a year for 'grinding'.
But I hone every day and edges rarely ever get to the 'tugging' stage. So there's that.
As for pastes...
For me - pastes might 'sharpen' an edge for an indefinite period of time.
Also for me - the window of opportunity where pastes make acceptable edges is not indefinite.
What I see on my scope.
Razors wear unevenly along the edge, and pastes do not correct that. They can actually exacerbate that wear.
Stropping creates uneven plastic deformation across the bevel. Pastes to not mitigate that either.
Finally, pastes have a way of making the very apex of the edge fragile, eventually this gives way to creating a very micro-toothy edge that stropping can't smooth out.
Conclusion...
So, on one hand, yes - I can sharpen with pastes forever - but lets not forget that sharp is not all I need.
With any razor being maintained on pastes, I find that there is a point where I have to rehone the edge from the ground up.
Same goes for continued use with a finishing hone too but the stone-tweaked edge will last longer usually.
But I hone every day and edges rarely ever get to the 'tugging' stage. So there's that.
As for pastes...
For me - pastes might 'sharpen' an edge for an indefinite period of time.
Also for me - the window of opportunity where pastes make acceptable edges is not indefinite.
What I see on my scope.
Razors wear unevenly along the edge, and pastes do not correct that. They can actually exacerbate that wear.
Stropping creates uneven plastic deformation across the bevel. Pastes to not mitigate that either.
Finally, pastes have a way of making the very apex of the edge fragile, eventually this gives way to creating a very micro-toothy edge that stropping can't smooth out.
Conclusion...
So, on one hand, yes - I can sharpen with pastes forever - but lets not forget that sharp is not all I need.
With any razor being maintained on pastes, I find that there is a point where I have to rehone the edge from the ground up.
Same goes for continued use with a finishing hone too but the stone-tweaked edge will last longer usually.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
I never rehone a razor. The pasted balsa strop as per The Method keeps it sharp. The trick is how it is prepared and used. You can indeed get mediocre results from paste and be forced back to the hone after a while. Or you can follow The Method and never see that happen.
Without using The Method, it is common for your first edge to not last a month. Even a couple of weeks. Once you have developed proper shaving and stropping technique your edge, without using The Method, ought to last a couple of months or longer, depending on the razor and your beard. It varies A LOT. Some guys go a year or even more! But definitely don't count on that. My money is on using The Method to prevent the razor going dull in the first place, rather than touch it up after it does go dull on you.
Without using The Method, it is common for your first edge to not last a month. Even a couple of weeks. Once you have developed proper shaving and stropping technique your edge, without using The Method, ought to last a couple of months or longer, depending on the razor and your beard. It varies A LOT. Some guys go a year or even more! But definitely don't count on that. My money is on using The Method to prevent the razor going dull in the first place, rather than touch it up after it does go dull on you.
There is no good answer to your question as there are too many variables.
Unless a razor is damaged, you should never have to do a full rehoning on a razor once it is properly honed the first time. All razors need to be refreshed from time to time. The frequency will depend upon the quality of your razor, the toughness of your beard, the sensitivity of your skin and your edge maintenance routine.
I have a tough, fast-growing beard, and sensitive skin. Thus, I am very particular about the quality of my edges. I touch up my edges with pasted strops every couple of shaves and refresh the edge using natural finishing hone about every 6 shaves. I have enough razors that I only use a given razor for one shave per month, so I go about six months between refreshing a specific razor, but I refresh one razor per week. If I go much longer than that, the edge will either become dull and tug, or become harsh and irritate my face. I keep a finishing hone on my sink counter and use it as soon as the edge does not meet my standards. Refreshing an edge takes less than five minutes, so it is not a big deal. It is not like going through the full process of bevel set to polished edge that can take 1/2 hour.
Unless a razor is damaged, you should never have to do a full rehoning on a razor once it is properly honed the first time. All razors need to be refreshed from time to time. The frequency will depend upon the quality of your razor, the toughness of your beard, the sensitivity of your skin and your edge maintenance routine.
I have a tough, fast-growing beard, and sensitive skin. Thus, I am very particular about the quality of my edges. I touch up my edges with pasted strops every couple of shaves and refresh the edge using natural finishing hone about every 6 shaves. I have enough razors that I only use a given razor for one shave per month, so I go about six months between refreshing a specific razor, but I refresh one razor per week. If I go much longer than that, the edge will either become dull and tug, or become harsh and irritate my face. I keep a finishing hone on my sink counter and use it as soon as the edge does not meet my standards. Refreshing an edge takes less than five minutes, so it is not a big deal. It is not like going through the full process of bevel set to polished edge that can take 1/2 hour.
I've never rehoned a razor. A very occasional stropping on a pasted strop or pasted balsa seems to do the trick.
A lot, maybe most, of how people, including myself, treat their edges, or what they think about their edges, has a lot to do with their own perceptions and preferences. What someone likes, I might hate, vice versa - and so on.
An edge that someone who is considers to be good might be considered to be subpar edge to me or anyone else.
A honing regimen that someone says 'always works' - means that it works for them. It might not work for me or someone else. Such is the case, for me, with indefinite edge maintenence via pastes. If someone likes that, fine, but I don't - which has to also be equally fine.
BTW - there is no 'trick' or magic to any of this and no 'special sauce' - all of that noise is just 'smoke and mirrors', distractions on the perimeter. Honeslty, this is all mechanical in nature - there are only facts, realities and opinions. Someone either likes maintaining their edge indefinitely with pastes, or they do not. And for those that don't, it's not because the ones that do say they're doing it wrong. That's just more mis-direction heard from.
My findings are not based on anything other than extended in-depth research & testing that is still ongoing. The laws of physics always apply, but they might not overrule personal preferences. I can understand that someone might like to do any one thing any one way, but their opinion is not more 'correct' than what I know to be my truth based on my own first-hand experiences, or my own personal preferences. For example, I seriously dislike any edge sharpenend on any diamond product. But someone else might enjoy those edges. Who is right and who is wrong? Both.
Bottom line - it doesn't matter if someone never hones a razor of if someone else hones their razor every day.
What any one person is willing to consider their own 'edge truth' is their own truth for themselves - not neccessarily everyone else.
I relaize that squashing opinions contrary to those held by the loudest voices is the general practice here though. God forbid that someone disagrees with the accepted or heavily promoted opinion. Even if they have spent years looking into the subject and tested hundreds of edges with dozens of different abrasives - what could they possibly know?
With that in mind, and no horse in this race; have a great day and enjoy your shaves.
An edge that someone who is considers to be good might be considered to be subpar edge to me or anyone else.
A honing regimen that someone says 'always works' - means that it works for them. It might not work for me or someone else. Such is the case, for me, with indefinite edge maintenence via pastes. If someone likes that, fine, but I don't - which has to also be equally fine.
BTW - there is no 'trick' or magic to any of this and no 'special sauce' - all of that noise is just 'smoke and mirrors', distractions on the perimeter. Honeslty, this is all mechanical in nature - there are only facts, realities and opinions. Someone either likes maintaining their edge indefinitely with pastes, or they do not. And for those that don't, it's not because the ones that do say they're doing it wrong. That's just more mis-direction heard from.
My findings are not based on anything other than extended in-depth research & testing that is still ongoing. The laws of physics always apply, but they might not overrule personal preferences. I can understand that someone might like to do any one thing any one way, but their opinion is not more 'correct' than what I know to be my truth based on my own first-hand experiences, or my own personal preferences. For example, I seriously dislike any edge sharpenend on any diamond product. But someone else might enjoy those edges. Who is right and who is wrong? Both.
Bottom line - it doesn't matter if someone never hones a razor of if someone else hones their razor every day.
What any one person is willing to consider their own 'edge truth' is their own truth for themselves - not neccessarily everyone else.
I relaize that squashing opinions contrary to those held by the loudest voices is the general practice here though. God forbid that someone disagrees with the accepted or heavily promoted opinion. Even if they have spent years looking into the subject and tested hundreds of edges with dozens of different abrasives - what could they possibly know?
With that in mind, and no horse in this race; have a great day and enjoy your shaves.
I assumed you were looking for a simple answer, an average. Not suggestions on what was available, how long someone's been honing or everyone's preferences on how to get things done.
Use whatever you want, practice on getting good at it and at the end of the day you will be left with - the average.
Again, as an average, 25- 40. Maybe a little more.
This is assuming you are proficient in honing and stropping.
It doesn't matter what you hone with or how you hone it.
Once you have a decent edge it will last about as long as stated.
I don't think there's any correlation between a type of razor and the number of shaves someone might get between honing it. Some folks like fresh edges, some folks enjoy an edge as it changes with use. Some of us can't tell the difference, and use other tells for when it's time for them to hone.
I used to get many many shaves from a single edge, probably around 80. But now I need a sharper razor, which I find minimizes weepers, so I touch up my razors much more frequently.
I used to get many many shaves from a single edge, probably around 80. But now I need a sharper razor, which I find minimizes weepers, so I touch up my razors much more frequently.
With all due respect to those who believe or preach them, My personal advice is to refrain from any dogmatic view about honing (or shaving for all that matters). Your personal experience is much more valuable
In my experience, the more I read about honing, the more complicated it seemed, and it certainly does not help someone who is just starting
Shaving with a straight should be more difficult than honing and maintaining your straight razor. Think about how people shaved and maintained their razors 100 years ago.
Start with quality, shave ready razor. Many people say factory edge is not good enough, but again beware of the dogmas
All you will need is a quality strop and a razor refreshing media to be used sparingly (lapping film, a naniwa 12k stone, a pasted strop (balsa or canvas or leather), a Coticule, a barber’s hone, ...) and PRACTICE
In my experience, the more I read about honing, the more complicated it seemed, and it certainly does not help someone who is just starting
Shaving with a straight should be more difficult than honing and maintaining your straight razor. Think about how people shaved and maintained their razors 100 years ago.
Start with quality, shave ready razor. Many people say factory edge is not good enough, but again beware of the dogmas
All you will need is a quality strop and a razor refreshing media to be used sparingly (lapping film, a naniwa 12k stone, a pasted strop (balsa or canvas or leather), a Coticule, a barber’s hone, ...) and PRACTICE
I fully agree with this. Rubbing your razor on a refreshing media a dozen times every now and then should be easy once you have mastered the shaving technique
I'm a newbie (only 1 shave in) so I only know what iveI been reading here and maybe I shouldn't be trying to give advice yet, but honing is something that I was concerned about too before diving into the straight razor ranks. As everyone else before me has said "it depends", there are just too many variables involved to say "you need to hone every X shaves". It seems like if you're a straight razor shaver you have 4 basic options (though I'm sure there's more) as far as honing goes.
Option 1: Shavette - Has disposable blades that need no stropping or honing.
Option 2: Send your razor to a honemeister for a small fee and let the professional hone it.
Option 3: The Method - After you've learned how to strop, get yourself a pasted strop. More frequent maintenance than honing, but you already know how to strop, so one less thing to learn.
Option 4: Honing Stones - Less frequent maintenance than a pasted strop/balsa, but more practice and learning needed for a proper hone.
Experienced members, please correct me if I've made a mistake somewhere. That way the OP, others and myself can learn from them.
Option 1: Shavette - Has disposable blades that need no stropping or honing.
Option 2: Send your razor to a honemeister for a small fee and let the professional hone it.
Option 3: The Method - After you've learned how to strop, get yourself a pasted strop. More frequent maintenance than honing, but you already know how to strop, so one less thing to learn.
Option 4: Honing Stones - Less frequent maintenance than a pasted strop/balsa, but more practice and learning needed for a proper hone.
Experienced members, please correct me if I've made a mistake somewhere. That way the OP, others and myself can learn from them.
Looks right to me. I’ve used “TheMethod” From the start. It is inexpensive, quick and easy to learn, and if you follow the instructions it works. What’s not to like? BTW, keep at it - it gets wonderfuler and wonderfuller!
Option 5 would be lapping film on a flat medium - sort of the poor man's stones, but very efficient and repeatable. That's the route I'm heading until I can afford those 8" DMT stones I have my sights set on.
Isn't that pretty much the same as The Method? Or have I missed something?
I'll be going with The Method. When I got my Poor Man's Strop kit from WhippedDog it came with a pasted balsa and some extra red/green paste. So I may as well use it. For started out I think it may be the cheapest way to go, since you'll need a strop anyway.
