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Maintaining edges myself

Part of the appeal to me with straights is self-sufficiency (i.e. soap is the only consumable), so in that spirit I'd like to do my own blade touchups. I have 2 razors that are probably due a touchup, however I have 2 more razors on their way, which will buy me some time. A new linen/leather strop should help extend the time too (I currently only use the filly strop with CrOx touchups).

I am considering getting a finishing stone, e.g. Naniwa 12000, to give me a process such as:

12k -> CrOx -> linen -> leather

Would this be enough for me to keep the edges sharp, forever? (assuming no blade damage etc.)

I like the idea of getting into honing, but realistically will probably leave restores, damage repair etc. to the experts. Having said that, I am open to buying a 4k/8k or something in the future if i need to (or if i decide to get into honing).

thanks :001_smile

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I suppose that's a good setup to keep the edge sharp.
There's no need to have lower grits than that.
 
If you have shave ready razors then your set up is fine. If the razors are not shave ready, you will need more hones.
 
If the blades have already been out to a honemeister, I'd say all you need to maintain them almost indefinitely is a good barber hone and strops.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
If the blades have already been out to a honemeister, I'd say all you need to maintain them almost indefinitely is a good barber hone and strops.

That's what I have, barber hone.

One of my straight didn't feel as sharp, I tried the barber hone, the straight seems to be back to where it was (sharp).

As mentionned already, a finishing hone won't restore a dull edge.
 
One other option would be a Coticule. This would alloow you to do a more in-depth honing if needed, as well as just a touch up on blades in need of such.
 
you don't really need anything more than a barber hone and strops to maintain an edge. If you think you want to have a full range of synthetics, the Naniwa 12K is a good choice to start by all accounts of members who use it (for my purposes, I wouldn't just get a synthetic finishing stone that was as expensive as that unless I planned on getting a progression). You could even get by with a Norton 8K if you were so inclined. If you would like the to have the versatility to do a little bit more than just touch up an edge, Coticules are a tremendous option...

The thing about this kind of situation is only you can really decide what works for your situation. I have the full set of Shaptons up to 30K and I use my coticule most of the time despite the fact that it takes significantly more strokes... I just like the edges the best (plus it's cool to take a dull razor from bevel setting through finish on the same stone :001_rolle)
 
Thanks for the replies!

Some food for thought. Glad to hear I'm not being wildly unrealistic.

:001_smile
 
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