Teeter tottering....

[Rancor16]

I'm on the verge of breaking down and finally buying a straight/the stuff you need to maintain a straight. My question is
1.) Does Tony Miller still offer his $30 dollar strop? I can't find it on his website, and before I ask him I was wondering if any of yall knew the answer.
2.) I realize that few things can be agreed upon on B&B, but i was wondering if there was a hone that was universally "best" for beginners. The pasted strop on the interactive straight razor guide looked very promising, but it looks like it might be a pain to keep up.
3.) Is a hone actually necessary at first? I know there are some places that offer honing services for a small amount of money (comparatively). How often does one usually have to hone their straight?

Thanks in advance.

 

[holli4pirating]

Tony's website is thewellshavedgentleman.com. I dunno what he has these days, but it's worth looking into. I have a TM; it was my first strop and it's served me well for two years.

I think the Naniwa 12k is a great hone to touch up razors on. It's not too expensive, and it can be bought new. There are other options, including other current production synthetics, barber hones, a vast array of naturals, pastes, etc, but, as of now, the Nani 12k is the hone I would recommend.

No, you won't need a hone right away. If you treat your razor right, your edge should last you for at least a month. You can then do the pasted strop thing, or send it out to be retouched. Or you can retouch it yourself, if you do get a hone.

 

[spoonman]

I believe the TM practice strop is only sold with his more expensive strops - you cannot buy it on it's own. And last time I checked his website, Tony is not making any strops for a while.

And as far as a hone goes, have a read of this thread http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=134994

I was also looking for a single hone for maintaining my razors and it appears that asking that question is like asking how long a piece of string is!

 

[netsurfr]

I agree that asking about hones is likely to get a thousand different answers so I will offer mine. I have tried many and I really like the yellow coticule. This natural stone is outstanding in my opinion for doing a minor touchup.