Budget Whippeddog Sight Unseen Alternative?

[JamesBlades]

Yeah, that looks like a good deal to start you off right!

I really don't mind the idea of learning to hone myself right off the bat.

That's a good desire, but you really want to buy a truly shave ready razor to start with. That way, you know exactly what they feel like when they're that sharp, and you can use that as a measuring stick when you try to hone others.

Plus, having the tools to hone a dull razor to shave ready isn't cheap! You'll spend much less by starting with something shave ready.

 

[Suhrim21]

Thanks Suhrim! I'll keep this in mind come payday!

The reviews seem good. And I agree start with something shave ready. You will know how a good razor feels so when you start honing you will know if it's done correctly. I'm trying to learn to hone and it's not as easy as it looks. It is also expensive. I got the king 1k-6k combo and the price is good but the stone is just ok. It cuts extremely slow. You will spend a lot to get the stones you need. If you start with a shave ready razor you can slowly work on getting the stones you need to hone the razor while you are being able to shave.

 

[steveclarkus]

The reviews seem good. And I agree start with something shave ready. You will know how a good razor feels so when you start honing you will know if it's done correctly. I'm trying to learn to hone and it's not as easy as it looks. It is also expensive. I got the king 1k-6k combo and the price is good but the stone is just ok. It cuts extremely slow. You will spend a lot to get the stones you need. If you start with a shave ready razor you can slowly work on getting the stones you need to hone the razor while you are being able to shave.

Lapping film would do you better and be much easier and cheaper and given you a full set of grits.

 

[davidansley]

Lapping film would do you better and be much easier and cheaper and given you a full set of grits.

Exactly my thoughts. I'm actually giving serious consideration to getting some and just trying my hand at honing for the heck of it. Even the good stuff is less than 30 bucks for a full set that would take me from bevel setting to shave ready.

 

[steveclarkus]

Exactly my thoughts. I'm actually giving serious consideration to getting some and just trying my hand at honing for the heck of it. Even the good stuff is less than 30 bucks for a full set that would take me from bevel setting to shave ready.

Yes and it is less complicated than stones. I started honing with it about and never stopped. - no reason to. Quite easy to learn to hone with. Read @Slash McCoy Honing Compendium for Newbies and follow the instructions exactly and you will be home free. Believe me, it works. You can get a piece of acrylic 3/4” x 3”x 12” from Tapplastics.com for a few bucks and every time you put a piece of film on it you get a different synthetic “stone” that you never have to lap.

 

[davidansley]

Yes and it is less complicated than stones. I started honing with it about and never stopped. - no reason to. Quite easy to learn to hone with. Read @Slash McCoy Honing Compendium for Newbies and follow the instructions exactly and you will be home free. Believe me, it works. You can get a piece of acrylic 3/4” x 3”x 12” from Tapplastics.com for a few bucks and every time you put a piece of film on it you get a different synthetic “stone” that you never have to lap.

Read Slash's honing stuff multiple times already actually. It's what convinced me that it can't be that hard to do.

 

[davidansley]

Yes and it is less complicated than stones. I started honing with it about and never stopped. - no reason to.

I can certainly see the appeal of stones for people who are into restoration or hone professionally. Due to the sheer volume of razors they deal with a good set of stones will pay for themselves very quickly. But for the average hobbyist who maybe has a handful of razors they need to hone for personal use, lapping film is a no brainer to me. With razors only needing honing every few months, and everyone reporting 10+ uses per film at times, the initial set of films should really be able to last 1-2 years depending on the amount of razors owned. After that just buy refill packs of the individual films actually used from the original set and that's even cheaper. I dont see any advantage really to buying stones as a new straight user. Films are just too inexpensive to justify paying double(or more) for a single stone what a full set of films cost.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Actually, you only need the films ONCE, unless you damage your razor somehow. This is because you will further refine your edge with a 3 stage lapped and diamond-pasted balsa strop progression, and then use only the finest one. at .1u, yes that is one tenth of a micron, for maintenance of the edge. Your film will just be gathering dust until you buy yet another razor. Ditto, the first two balsa strops. I have never shaved with an edge that was sharper than a Method edge, which is what you get if you follow The Method as laid out in the Newbie Honing Compendium.

FWIW, I sometimes use stones. I have a set of Naniwa Superstones and once in a while I will lap them up and hone a few razors on them. But film is every bit as good, and easier since you do not need to lap the film or the plate it is applied to. And film is far cheaper unless you intend to hone a hundred or two hundred razors. I also have what I am told by an expert is a fairly good Jnat and several nagura to go with it. A Method edge is just as comfortable to shave with, but considerably sharper and easier to use. However, I have also honed with the Jnat and then finished on the diamond on balsa. In terms of edge quality, the route taken to reach the 12k or 1u grit level is not as important as the balsa finish.

 

[davidansley]

Actually, you only need the films ONCE, unless you damage your razor somehow. This is because you will further refine your edge with a 3 stage lapped and diamond-pasted balsa strop progression, and then use only the finest one. at .1u, yes that is one tenth of a micron, for maintenance of the edge. Your film will just be gathering dust until you buy yet another razor. Ditto, the first two balsa strops. I have never shaved with an edge that was sharper than a Method edge, which is what you get if you follow The Method as laid out in the Newbie Honing Compendium.

FWIW, I sometimes use stones. I have a set of Naniwa Superstones and once in a while I will lap them up and hone a few razors on them. But film is every bit as good, and easier since you do not need to lap the film or the plate it is applied to. And film is far cheaper unless you intend to hone a hundred or two hundred razors. I also have what I am told by an expert is a fairly good Jnat and several nagura to go with it. A Method edge is just as comfortable to shave with, but considerably sharper and easier to use. However, I have also honed with the Jnat and then finished on the diamond on balsa. In terms of edge quality, the route taken to reach the 12k or 1u grit level is not as important as the balsa finish.

Awesome info as usual Slash!

 

[steveclarkus]

Awesome info as usual Slash!

My experience is what Slash said. I have razors I’ve only honed once. Daily maintenance keeps them going like the energizer bunny. I sometimes hone for other people but I’m only on my third set of film in many months. I also hone from bevel set up to any new to me razor so the film does hold up.

 

[davidansley]

My experience is what Slash said. I have razors I’ve only honed once. Daily maintenance keeps them going like the energizer bunny. I sometimes hone for other people but I’m only on my third set of film in many months. I also hone from bevel set up to any new to me razor so the film does hold up.

Exactly what I plan to do when I start honing. Unless the razor comes to me shave ready bevel setting just seems part of the process to ensuring it is up to proper standards.

 

[davidansley]

So, I did a thing. I picked up a Gold Dollar 1996 for 9.99 off Amazon.

I also bought a set of 3M lapping films to go with it. I dont think it's completely shave ready, as it didn't pass a hanging hair test. However, I did dry shave a small section underneath my sideburns just to see how sharp it was and it did take hair off( albiet not completely smooth) with zero tugging or discomfort.

I did order "the x-bay" strop off of Amazon as well per @Slash McCoy recommendation. Still waiting on it to come in. Once it does I'll give it a strop to see if I can get it to give me a clean shave. If not, to the lapping films it goes.

Edit: sidenote, the fit on it is actually pretty good. While not completely centered in the scales, the blade is centered enough that there is no danger of the edge coming in contact with the scales anywhere. The scales, while pretty flexy and plastic, are solidly mounted. Overall, pretty impressed for a $10 razor.

 

[davidansley]

Got my strop today. Heres a link to the thread I made in the stropping section for those that are interested.

The X Bay Strop