S
Skeggi
Hello,
I am about to purchase my first straight razor. I have open questions regarding honing and would be grateful for help in resolving them.
Specifically, I want to have the necessary equipment to
1. get a factory-new razor into shaving condition,
2. keep it there.
For various reasons, I like the idea of using paddle strops with abrasive pastes rather than traditional hones. Consider the following configuration:
2 double sided strops treated with 9, 1, 0.5 and 0.25 micron diamond abrasives. (e.g. the type offered by Classic Shaving)
Will this cut it?
Furthermore, are the 0.25 and 9 micron redundant? I gather that the 0.25 is probably overkill (depending on taste). I seem to recall that 1 micron paste is equivalent to an 8000 waterstone (I could be mistaken). Since the workhorse of honing seems (from looking at some posts) to be 4000/8000, I gather that something coarser than 1 micron is probably needed.
Also, say that I order a straight razor, and have it sharpened by a pro. For how long would I be able to keep it sufficiently sharp using only 0.5 and 0.25 (or wold the combo 0.5 and 1 make more sense?)
Or is my preference for pastes misguided? Are there any serious advantages with using a waterstone?
Any suggestions are more than welcome.
Many thanks.
I am about to purchase my first straight razor. I have open questions regarding honing and would be grateful for help in resolving them.
Specifically, I want to have the necessary equipment to
1. get a factory-new razor into shaving condition,
2. keep it there.
For various reasons, I like the idea of using paddle strops with abrasive pastes rather than traditional hones. Consider the following configuration:
2 double sided strops treated with 9, 1, 0.5 and 0.25 micron diamond abrasives. (e.g. the type offered by Classic Shaving)
Will this cut it?
Furthermore, are the 0.25 and 9 micron redundant? I gather that the 0.25 is probably overkill (depending on taste). I seem to recall that 1 micron paste is equivalent to an 8000 waterstone (I could be mistaken). Since the workhorse of honing seems (from looking at some posts) to be 4000/8000, I gather that something coarser than 1 micron is probably needed.
Also, say that I order a straight razor, and have it sharpened by a pro. For how long would I be able to keep it sufficiently sharp using only 0.5 and 0.25 (or wold the combo 0.5 and 1 make more sense?)
Or is my preference for pastes misguided? Are there any serious advantages with using a waterstone?
Any suggestions are more than welcome.
Many thanks.