They are not the same as Belgian coticules, which are natural stones. Barbers hones are synthetic hones specifically made for razors, small size like 5" x 2" and very fast and fine. No barbers hones are currently being manufactured and the only way to get one is used from eBay or someone who sells them. User gssixgun usually has some to sell and so does Larry Andro at www.whippeddog.com. There are a lot of brands of barbers hones available. The one I used for 28 years was a Swaty "three-line". It was very good. I have also used a Nox-all, which was equally good. The others I don't know about. The nice thing about barbers hones are that they are very fast, just five strokes and you're done. If the razor has a good bevel, a barbers hone will keep it sharp practically for ever, barring damage.
Just thought I would chime in with my experiences despite the fact that everything has pretty much been answered. Here are my current costs. Brush - £5 on sale Straight razor - £3 antique Shave sticks (palm olive) £2.50 per year (this might be more now as I am shaving almost daily because it's fun) Japanese slip stone - £12.95 Old belt - £2 charity shop Rouge - set of five £5 roughly... been using one for 5-6 years on strops only. Price of shaving gear Just under £30 Being able to shave barber style priceless. I have to admit I have been emailing the whipped dog myself and thinking of a few of his pieces. So this is not going to be my total cost. But it's still pretty cheap, when a cartridge replacements would cost more in two years alone. Even one year if you using the 5 blade nonsense they are coming out with these days.
For that I thank you. Not having a credit card helps, if you have one, cut it up, delete the account and you may find it easier to keep control.
I bought my first straight, a new Bismarck Super, and did exactly this. The barber whipped out a diamond stone and went to town. It was immediately apparent that he had no idea what he was doing. By the time I got it away from him, he had done so much damage that I had to send it out.
+1 I've often considered upgrading to a 4K/8K Norton but just never saw adequate justification to spend that kind of money. My simple hardware store wet stone seems to get the job done and provide more than adequate sharpness on my razors.
I spent over £700 on gear and dont regret one penny. I still want a real Damascus steel razor oneday so maybe that again if Thiers Issard start making them once more. Sounds a lot, but when people splash that out on a T.V. it does not sound so insane. My shave puts a smile on my face every time The gear will outlast my needs by some years for sure.
I'd have to say that if your looking at the expense of converting to straight shaving, look no further than the cost of the shave prep. From my experience a mug of soap will far outlast, by months, any can of shaving foam. And a single puck of soap is much less in initial cost. You dont even need a purpose-built shaving mug, any mug would work, with perhaps a little trimming of the soap. Shaving brushes can get expensive if you look at Kent or Omega, but I've seen Wilkinson-Sword brushes at Wal-mart for less than $5. To answer the OP, yes you can learn to do the sharpening at home, online forums such as this are a great resource. And I've never had any expense with a straight razor beyond the purchase price.
Cost of Straight Shaving The folloinw list uses the following assumtions Razor is a hollow ground 6/8 razor, you already own a brush You already own shaving soap/cream (not that crap they sell in the grocery store or walmat. You already have shaving oil So with no more stalling here is the minimum needed list for straight razor shaving. Single Straight Razor = $75 Leather Strop = $15 Hone = $25 Strop Paste/oil = $7 Razor Oil = $3 I will warn you, I find it addicting. I now have 9 razors and rotate through them with a 7 day set and two that rotate through while I am having them all honed which tends to be at a cost of $10 per razor once a year. Still though with the added cost in creams, oils, razors, and the annual shapening I must say I am very happy with both the end result as well as the daily ritual.
