Hello, just now getting into straight shaving. I would be able to hone my own blades, but the store mailed me the wrong stone. So can anyone near Salem, IL hone my razor for me? 
It would be much appreciated.
It would be much appreciated.Live near Salem, Illinois? I need some blades honed :(
- Thread starter eclipse75
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I'm not in IL, but I'm offering free honing right now if your interested. Thread is somewhere, maybe I linked it in my sig. I'll go check on that...
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- #3
Crap... no one? I am willing to pay a little bit.. heh I got these razors in and can't use them..
Crap... no one? I am willing to pay a little bit.. heh I got these razors in and can't use them..
Let Leighton hook you up!
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- #5
heh wellll i get my hone in on probably friday now. so it'd take longer. i was just impatient as always
as always
even though your getting a hone (only one 
) since your just getting started, it would definately be to your advantage to have a razor that was honed by an experienced honemeister , this would give you an accurate idea of how sharp a razor should be, what the bevel looks like, etc... than you have a standard to go by as you hone your own. Also, since your just starting to shave with a straight, you will want the sharpest edge possible, if you try to learn with a dull blade all you will end up with is irritated skin and frustration, a sharp blade will allow you to learn the neccessary angle and provide you with a wonderful shaving experience.
I can also tell you from experience that being in too much of a hurry to hone can lead to disaster with mistakes like uneven strokes, too much pressure, and failure to keep the spine flat one the hone, which will cause hours of frustration, my advice would be to relax, go very slow (bad habits learned are hard to break later) and read all you can and watch all the videos before you start.
good luck to you, and be sure to lap your hone when you get it
) since your just getting started, it would definately be to your advantage to have a razor that was honed by an experienced honemeister , this would give you an accurate idea of how sharp a razor should be, what the bevel looks like, etc... than you have a standard to go by as you hone your own. Also, since your just starting to shave with a straight, you will want the sharpest edge possible, if you try to learn with a dull blade all you will end up with is irritated skin and frustration, a sharp blade will allow you to learn the neccessary angle and provide you with a wonderful shaving experience.I can also tell you from experience that being in too much of a hurry to hone can lead to disaster with mistakes like uneven strokes, too much pressure, and failure to keep the spine flat one the hone, which will cause hours of frustration, my advice would be to relax, go very slow (bad habits learned are hard to break later) and read all you can and watch all the videos before you start.
good luck to you, and be sure to lap your hone when you get it
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- #7
heh im just in a hurry to get all the stuff and get started. im sure i'll do alright in the end. plus i think ive read all i can without actually learning hands on. only so much you can be told.. buuut it is a good idea to get a good sharpened blade to reference. thanks for that bit oh, and i got the norton 4k/8k
plus i think ive read all i can without actually learning hands on. only so much you can be told.. buuut it is a good idea to get a good sharpened blade to reference. thanks for that bit oh, and i got the norton 4k/8k- Thread starter
- #8
oh, and what do you mean by lapping a hone?
Lapping a hone is making it as flat as possible, there is a great write up from Joel here when you receive your nortons, the will need to be lapped, once you pencil grid it and start lapping it will be obvious that they are not flat from the factory.
I originally bought the norton flattening stone, but I find the I like the surface of the norton 4K much better when I lap it with a DMT 8C, (I lap before every honing session) I would also mention that on the 4k side of my norton I had to lap off about 1/8" of the top surface (it was to course and grainy) until I reached a "better" surface, while your norton may not suffer this malady I just wanted to mention it.
I originally bought the norton flattening stone, but I find the I like the surface of the norton 4K much better when I lap it with a DMT 8C, (I lap before every honing session) I would also mention that on the 4k side of my norton I had to lap off about 1/8" of the top surface (it was to course and grainy) until I reached a "better" surface, while your norton may not suffer this malady I just wanted to mention it.
I'm in Urbana, IL and have 'fooled around' with straights for a while. I am definitely not experienced enough to play the role of an expert, but i'm interested to hear how this lapping thing turns out. I have a norton 4k/8k but have never lapped it. I definitely noticed that it was not flat from the factory, though. It seemed to be concave, wearing more on the edges than in the center. I did get good hanging hair test results after the 8k with my straight and decent shaves...though now i'm into the DE thing and haven't touched the straight for a while. Good luck, and I'll stay posted to learn more about lapping.
According to Lynn the new nortons benefit from lapping about 1/8" to get past the grainy part.
Also the hanging hair test is useful but only after you are able to correlate the test with the shave results, not before.
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- #12
more stuff?! im gonna go insane. the money spending aint ever going to stop fortunately i found a cheap way of lapping http://www.straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Hone_Lapping_101 These investments keep racking up and its deterring me
fortunately i found a cheap way of lapping http://www.straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Hone_Lapping_101 These investments keep racking up and its deterring me - Thread starter
- #13
oh, and how often should i lap?
more stuff?! im gonna go insane. the money spending aint ever going to stop
If you lap with a granite tile and sandpaper be sure that you use wet/dry paper, and remove the swarf often so it doesnt load into the norton surface.
dont get deterred, just make your investments wisely, to be honest I have several razors that I bought "shave ready" and the only honing they have received is a few strokes on a swaty every now and then. If you have a razor that is already sharp it is very easy to maintain it, however if you buy of ebay or antique shops, odd are you will need more hones and much more work.
with the notons i lap them before each use (dont forget to soak them first), with my coticules, bbw's and eschers, I lap rarely
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- #15
k, one more question. with all the lapping and sharpening, how long would 1 of these stones even last? i read one guy took off 1/8" to begin with on his.. sheesh
A lifetime. You would have to be doing an awful lot of honing to wear out a Norton in less than a decade. For personal use, it should outlast you.
I don't think you need to lap your Norton every time you use it though. I know some guys do but I have had no problems using it repeatedly without lapping it. Keep in mind though that I set my bevels on a 1k grit DMT and I only use the stone for razors.
Any way you do it, eventually it will need another lapping, but it's not a big deal. Some guys say after 2-300 passes, but I would say you can probably get more like 5-700 passes out of it before it needs lapping, and when you do lap it you don't need to do it for very long as it's just a touch up to expose fresh honing surface.
more stuff?! im gonna go insane. the money spending aint ever going to stop
Cheap initial costs. 
Sorry, I don't mean to be mean or rude or anything. Just letting you know the true cots. After 50 lappings, the sandpaper starts becoming more and more expensive. Plus that stuff doesn't last as long as I/you/we would hope.
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- #18
heh alright. well thank all of you for your help, currentman, leighton, and savantstrike
