Honing School - Honemeisters & Newbies Unite!

Funny fact of honing

The more you hone the better you get

Learning how to use "Honing Gymnastics" is a major step, it will eventually lead to being able to hone most any razor, on most any hone.

It is quite satisfying to hear so many using the idea of "Torque" when honing, I remember the pushback that RandyDance and I got back in 2008 on SRP when we introduced the concept it took a ton of typing and Vids to explain what we meant by the term and how it was used while honing razors

 

So I spent a couple hours honing this bad boy. Why a couple hours you ask? Well, I bought it used before I discovered that it had really significant (and really wonky) hone wear. As a result, not only was it unnecessarily hard to hone, but the uneven, wavy hone wear really detracted from its looks. Part way in I realized that it was such a problem and looked so bad that I had nothing to lose, so I decided to do what I would normally never consider. I taped the edge and ground down the spine on the stones so that the hone wear became relatively even. Then I sanded down the spine and blade to remove the evidence of hone wear, and left it with a matte finish. Finally I taped it and honed it like normal. Lots of work, but it no longer looks like someone butchered the spine, and the end result looks much better than how it started.

To be clear, I don’t think this is generally good practice, and never should be done in lieu of learning to hone properly. However, this was more of a repair and restoration issue than anything, and I’m really pleased that the blade no longer looks like someone indesciminantly ground away on the spine. Really happy with the finished looks.

 

I've mostly read through the first couple of pages. I do not believe one needs to hone 1000 razors to be proficient in maintaining the razors they use for shaving. I believe the value of an experienced hone person might be the ability to resurrect and restore damaged blades whether it's a razor or other tool.

If one is going to buy off eBay they need to develop a keen eye to spot hidden issues, or have a friend with a good eye. Four eyes are better than two.

 

Time to revive this thread.