Honing for a Newbie

[learnintheropes]

Hi guys!

To start off, please excuse my ignorance when it comes to the art of honing. This aspect of straight razor shaving can be really intimidating and confusing to a newbie.

A little background: I've been straight razor shaving for well over a year now. I love it. I have two razors that I alternate between. Both came shave ready. I sent one to be professionally honed after I thought it was getting dull.

But now I think I need to refresh the edge of my second razor. So I'm trying to figure out the best and most simple way to do that.

To my mind, the edge has not been compromised and re-setting the bevel is not necessary. What I need is just a more keen edge.

I keep reading about the option of buying a Naniwa 12k stone and just using this one stone to refresh my razor.

So is this one of the better routes for someone like me who is new to honing? There are sooo many options when it comes to this stuff - naturals vs synthetics, different vendors, different grits, etc.

So if you guys can just give me a simple, idiot proof plan on how to go about sharpening my razor, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[bberg100]

If it just need a touch up, pasted balsa is cheap and works very well. A stone is another option, but is more costly.

 

[Brutus]

Naniwa 12,000 grit is a great stone for your purpose.

Over the years, I slowly expanded from a single 12,000 grit stone to a full set starting at 1000 grit (that I hardly ever use) all the way up to a 20,000 grit Gokumyo (that I use every time after the 12,000 grit stone).

If you later want to expand your number of hones, you could also step up to the 20,000 grit Gokumyo that is pricey but gives you that last bit of discernible smoothness before you go to the strop, and/or take it one step down to an 8,000 grit Naniwa for minor nicks, and then take it from there.
With these three stones you can cover virtually all routine honing jobs, even though it may not be quite enough to work effectively on more serious nicks on the blade.

Unless you want to restore razors, a 1,000 grit may not be necessary and I found that a 3,000 grit is often all I need when I want to do some work to correct a bevel.


Hope this helps....



B

 

[Alum of Potash]

If you've been straight-razor shaving with these two straights for over a year now, I'm wondering what tricks you've been using to keep things up to shaving snuff thus far, apart from stropping on plain leather. In any case, your stropping must have been very good from the start.

Lots of folks recommend the Naniwa 12k. I've never used one, but it will probably do the trick and be easy to use given the large consensus. So why not go with it? Maybe it's the modern equivalent of an old-school barber's hone.

If you are preferring a natural stone, things become more complicated. In the past, I would recommend a Welsh purple slate for touch-ups; but the default seller appears to have closed up shop for the time being. Otherwise, and given your apparent skill with stropping, a pasted strop might be a better option for touch-ups. For starters, a Thiers-Issard aluminum-oxide/diamond crayon applied to the suede side of a Sharpening Supplies paddle strop is pretty fool-proof. I would recommend either it or the Solingen red and black crayons on Solingen loom-strops, moving to a smallish coticule as a precursor as needed. A smallish coticule (longish no. 7 or no. 8 bout) might come handy in any case, although I personally would not follow it with a 12k Naniwa. A coticule followed by Solingen red paste then black paste on toothy leather is a pretty safe bet though. In this case, you would routinely touch-up with the Solingen pastes, leading to a "rounding of the bevel," then restore things with the coticule when the time comes. (NB, under this purview, one is not seeking a coticule as a finishing stone by itself, just to re-establish things, leaving the pastes to define the finished edge; so no need to agonize over the ideal coticule vein in this case.)

 

[Slash McCoy]

The Method:
Newbie Honing Compendium | Badger & Blade

You can probably as you say, skip right to the finishing stage. That means 1u lapping film on a 3/4" thick, 3" x 12" acrylic block available from TAP plastics and other sources for around ten bucks. You should be able to find film for a couple bucks a sheet. A sheet makes three pieces. Each one is good for about a dozen sessions, more if you don't mind if it takes a bit longer than new film. Then go to the pasted balsa as per the thread. If you do it RIGHT, the resulting edge will astonish you. Yes, maybe I overuse that "astonish" word but it really is the only word fit to use. Once you have established this crazy sharp edge, hitting the .1u balsa after every shave will keep it there, probably forever. I never have to rehone my razors.

For a more pedestrian edge, the 12k Naniwa is a pretty easy rock to learn on. A good gateway drug into honing. When you can do touchups with good results, you are definitely ready to try setting a bevel and running a progression, and a full set of Nannys will gitter done. But film is easier, more consistent, and way cheaper if you don't hone an awful lot. Using the full Method outlined in the thread, following the instructions precisely, will save you money and, dare I say it again? Astonish you.

 

[steveclarkus]

Astonish is an understatement. It will set you free!

 

[Dick peck]

I'm amazed at the ability to not buy more razors by now. Also how the two have lasted. I will add that a small coticule is worth a try. Or even a hard black Arkansas. I found each at a reasonable price. About $40. And I originally started with lapping film. I achieved scapel like edges. Good luck to you.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Astonish is an understatement. It will set you free!

I hear a sig line in that. "The Balsa Will Set You Free" or "The Film Will Set You Free". Something like that.

 

[steveclarkus]

I hear a sig line in that. "The Balsa Will Set You Free" or "The Film Will Set You Free". Something like that.

 

[steveclarkus]

Those would be good tag lines for your “Newbies Honing Compendium” and “How to Use Pasted Balsa” manuals which should be pasties. This is really important tech and should be up front and easily accessible. Just consider the number of newbies who give up because they can’t maintain their blades and those who accept less than sharp edges because they don’t know what a sharp edge even feels like. You’ve done a great job putting all this together in an understandable way to the point it is like following a recipe to bake a cake. “Do these steps in this order and you will have a great cake or stew or sharp razor” That is my opinion anyway.

 

[learnintheropes]

Hi guys! I want to just thank you all for your comments/advice. It's very much appreciated. And Slash, I know you're kind of considered the guru of honing on these forums but I may have to just go with the more pedestrian edge for now (lol). The regimen that you outlined in your first paragraph is pretty difficult for a newbie like me to get my head around. Hopefully, like you say, the Naniwa 12k can be my gateway into honing

Anyway, I too am surprised that I've gone this long with only 2 razors and had to only send one of those razors for a honing. But then most likely I just haven't had the pleasure of experiencing a sharp edge.

So I went ahead and bought a setup that includes the 12k stone, a DMT 325 for lapping and a holder for the stone. I'm hoping this will be sufficient (for now, of course, lol).

Just a few questions on what to do when I get the stone. So, am I correct that you don't need to soak the Naniwa 12k? That it is just spray and go when you're using it? Also, when I first get my stone, do I go ahead and lap it with the DMT 325? I saw a video with Mr. Abrams in which he laps his stones under running water. Is this what I should do?

I've read that all you need is a few round trips on the stone, like 5-10 or so? Is that about right. And then another question: when I finish honing on the stone, I then just wipe it down and go to the leather strop, correct?


Thanks again guys! Can't wait to try this.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Way better IMHO to lap on a full sheet of sandpaper glued to a 12x12 polished marble floor tile. The sandpaper will be slightly bigger than the Naniwa. The DMT, not so. With the DMT there will be over run and possible slight dishing. But yes the N12k is a splash and go stone. I never soaked mine. It should be lapped before use.

BTW with film, you don't have to have every single grit of film, just the 1u which is roughly equivelant to the 12k Nanny. And believe it or not, film is easier and faster to learn. Most new guys in the lapping film thread were getting great edges by the second attempt.

 

[steveclarkus]

Hi guys! I want to just thank you all for your comments/advice. It's very much appreciated. And Slash, I know you're kind of considered the guru of honing on these forums but I may have to just go with the more pedestrian edge for now (lol). The regimen that you outlined in your first paragraph is pretty difficult for a newbie like me to get my head around. Hopefully, like you say, the Naniwa 12k can be my gateway into honing

Anyway, I too am surprised that I've gone this long with only 2 razors and had to only send one of those razors for a honing. But then most likely I just haven't had the pleasure of experiencing a sharp edge.

So I went ahead and bought a setup that includes the 12k stone, a DMT 325 for lapping and a holder for the stone. I'm hoping this will be sufficient (for now, of course, lol).

Just a few questions on what to do when I get the stone. So, am I correct that you don't need to soak the Naniwa 12k? That it is just spray and go when you're using it? Also, when I first get my stone, do I go ahead and lap it with the DMT 325? I saw a video with Mr. Abrams in which he laps his stones under running water. Is this what I should do?

I've read that all you need is a few round trips on the stone, like 5-10 or so? Is that about right. And then another question: when I finish honing on the stone, I then just wipe it down and go to the leather strop, correct?


Thanks again guys! Can't wait to try this.

I know where you are coming from. This honing business is really confusing. I made a note of the day I started this straight shaving trip - April 28, 2018. Couldn’t get a stone to do anything. I ran across @Seraphim thread on film then @Slash McCoy. Sounded reasonable but most of all inexpensive. I wasn’t looking to becoming a Honemeister, just wanted to maintain a couple of razors. I got an assortment of film off eBay and in a week I was honing good edges. That really set me free. Soon I was doing the pasted balsa and getting laser edges. There are a lot of variables with stones not with film. It is incredibly easy to
learn and would likely take months to get similar results with stones. After running a progression in pasted balsa, you can do 50 laps on .1u and same on leather after each shave and never have to hone your razor again. Theoretically, you could get by with a single razor. This will never happen, of course, because you done stuck your toe down that rabbit hole. I’m just under 100 shaves now and getting shaves equal to a DE. Just takes a few minutes longer.