Is honing really that difficult?

Hello all. So, now that Ive gotten into straights, Im looking into honing. Now, Ive read a lot of people who say that you should leave honing to the pros but Ive watched a bunch of Youtube videos on it and honestly, it doesnt look that difficult.
So, now Im looking into getting a 220/1000 stone, 4000/8000 stone, 12000 stone and a lapping stone. At first, I was only going to get a 4000/8000 stone but then I read that you want the 1000 to set the bevel and want the 12000 for final polishing.
Am I absolutely insane for wanting to learn honing? I mean, it just doesnt look that difficult and it seems kind of silly to send my razors out for honing when I could just do it myself.
Thoughts?

 

I would wager most of us hone our own razors. I would also say that honing isn’t rocket science . I started with lapping film, to see if I was capable. I then bought the Norton 4/8 combo stone, and added the 1k sometime later. I still finish in 1 micron lapping film. I can say that I have failed a number of time and had to start over. After a little over a year, I can say that I can get consistent edges. I see where some use this hone for this type of steel ad finitum. With that said, I don’t hone for pleasure, or as a means to feed an ad for hones.
I started with pro honed straight razors, so I had a baseline to compare against. I’m happy with my setup and results, so I don’t plan on changing anything anytime soon
Again, if I can do it, anybody can.

 

Yeah, I mean, honing razors looks like its easier than sharpening knives because all you have to do is hold the razor flat on the stone and run it back and forth. I feel like with a knife its more difficult because you have to maintain the angle, whereas the spine of a razor holds that angle for you.
I should probably also add in that right now all Ive got are a couple Whipped Dog sight unseen razors. Ive told myself that Im not going to buy a really nice straight until Ive been doing this for a year, so I feel like if I mess up a bit with the razors I have now, its not as big of a deal.
It seems like really for the most part, stropping is all you need, with the occasional touchup hone. It just really doesnt seem that difficult to me. *shrug*

 

Honing Straight Razors is Like Learning Anything Else..Its Easy when You Know How..In My Experience Few Know How..90/95 % of the Learning is on the 1 K Bevel Stone..MOST Razors I get to Hone have Never Been Proper Bevel Set in their Life..So there is a MESSAGE Right there..

To Me there is Zero Comparison to Sharpening or Honing a Knife..Absolutely No Comparison at All..It Requires a Lot of Sensitivity to Hone an SR Properly..I Would Recommend a 12 K Finisher at Least..South of 12 K Falls Short in My Books..

Billy..

 

I can’t argue with any of the logic- start with getting good at shaving and stropping. I think this saves people money if they find out straight razors aren’t for them since some of these stones aren’t cheap.

But I LOVE finding something on eBay that I think I can bring back to life, and the process is enjoyable and weirdly Zen-like.

I started with a 12k so I could keep my first razors sharp and start learning the muscle memory. I never did lapping film, but Keith has great points. Then I jumped in hard with synthetic stones, and I would never change a thing. I’m a big kid and I guess I still like to play with rocks!!!!

Start honing!!!

 

I fully agree it is a talent/technique that require time and a bit of dedication to master. But in comparing knife to straight razor sharpening they are basically the same thing. The real difference in my mind is how far you want to take it. For the most part you don't want to hone a knife edge as fine as a straight razor edge, as its unneeded and the knife edge and razor edge are used for different purposes. IMO stopping with knife edge around 3-6k is more than adequate for its intended task, while a straight should go as fine as you can make it. That said proper stropping is critical for both edges Just saying

 

Is learning to play guitar difficult?
For me, yes. For my son, almost like he knew how to play when he was born.

Like Billy said, it's easy when you know how.
I also agree that sharpening a knife is an entirely different animal than sharpening a straight razor.

Can you learn? I have no doubt. How quickly you will learn is the unknown.

 

Honing is really really easy if your quality rock is perfectly flat and so is your quality blade. And therein lies the challenge.

I don’t mean that to be snarky, but if you have a brand new razor and a few Naniwa Super stones, no it isn’t difficult at all to keep a razor honed.

If you have an old smiling 7/8 with a ton of hone wear, that you want to sharpen from the bevel set up with a natural? That is into what we call an art, and I do not play in that ballpark yet.

 

If you can get to a meet, that is the easiest place to learn.
Billy said a lot. The foundation of the edge is the bevel set.
It is not rocket science, I definitely agree with that.
If you start with very good equipment, very nice razors nice hones, tape the spine, do a little touch up honing, then move on to more challenging honing that is probably the most simple method.
There are a ton of honing videos on the interweb. Some of those people are total quacks. There are others that I simply find to be very aggressive with heavy handed techniques and diamond hones. I found it easiest to follow one person with a very high reputation until I got repeatable results. I later attended a couple of meets with that person there teaching. In person at a meet is the shortest learning curve. Gssixgun teaches at a lot of meets and has a lot of energy for teaching and all aspects of honing. Any meet you attend you will be able to try different hones, look through a loupe at various stages of bevel set and edge progression and see and talk to people at all levels of learning to hone.

 

I think what everyone has said here is pretty spot on.

Is honing difficult? No it isn't. Like any skill it just takes time, patience and a willingness to learn. Honing can be challenging at times, but not really hard. As @PickledNorthern stated though, it's a world apart to hone a new, fresh out of the box, Dovo compared to honing a 100 year old razor with tons of spine wear you have to compensate for. With time and practice though, even those 100 year old vintage razors are not as much of a challenge in say year two as opposed to month two of your honing journey. Every razor has its own personality in how it feels on your face and the same could be said for how they feel on a stone. Some are soft, some are hard as, well, steel!

As for me, I started with a Naniwa 12k for refreshing the edge and then went to a Norton 4/8 and a Chosera 1K now I have several different stones.

Good luck to you and feel free to ask questions!

 

Good deal. Thanks for all the advice. Right now, all Ive got is a couple of Whipped Dog sight unseen razors, which came shave ready and have straight spines. Ive considered picking up a couple of Gold Dollars for practice but those are known to need a bit of work right out of the box to get them to hone properly and that is probably a bit above my pay grade right now. Thats why I went with the WD. I wanted a razor that comes to me with a good edge and is straight, so that I know what a good edge feels like and are something that I can do a touchup hone myself fairly easily.
Last night, I watched a couple Youtube videos on how to straighten a spine and it doesnt look that difficult, just that it takes patience and time. Basically, you tape the edge and hone the spine until it sits level on the stone. Obviously, thats easier said than done but you get the idea.
Ive also been looking at some vintage razors on Ebay and need some work and my pick one or two or them up to practice on and see if I can get a usable edge out of them. Theyre each like $10, so even if I fail miserably, its not like Im out much.

 

As stated above, honing an SR isn’t ‘rocket science’ - so anyone can learn to hone. To hone well takes considerable practice and is far easier if...

• You know what you are doing (practice)
• Your razor is in decent condition

I like Steve’s reference to “learning to play guitar.” Practically anyone can learn to play a guitar. Some pick it up easily and are quite adept. Others master it with God-given talent and many hours of practice. Some prefer to let others play the guitar and simply pay for the privilege of listening.

 

I recently watched a YouTube video called ‘Ghost Pepper Challenge’ and those peppers sure didn’t look too hot on my laptop.

 

Well, Ive done the ghost pepper challenge and lived to tell the tale, so maybe I'll be alright with honing too.

 

Pick up a jewler's loupe as well.

My wife just got me one with LED lights for Christmas.

What everyone above is talking around above is that the metal on the edge of a razor is so thin that slight pressures on a razor as it's laying flat can drastically change your bevel and edge.

Now a razor isn't going to jump up and bite you...but that doesn't mean that it's going to give you a buttery smooth shave either.
Getting the stropping techniques right with a pasted strop as well as a leather strop can maintain an edge for a long time.

But at the same time

Improper honing techniques can destroy a razor pretty quickly though.


Now where sharpening knives versus sharpening a razor appear different due to angle...they really aren't much different in practice. What you can't see in the videos is the pressures put on the blade by the honer. (And it isn't much)

Smiling razor are a bit different than straight edges. And there's a reason why many old razors frown... their former owners didn't think that could fail either.

Just something to think about while practicing on a $9 razor off eBay.

 

I think I will be sending mine out to the masters.

 

"Honing is really easy, right up until it isn't" gssixgun~ca 2008
and you start chasing the edge and hone the razor to death

The other big problem with honing is that no one listens, they all know better, they all honed knives and tools and think it is the same.... such is life

Same advice for years now but few listen because these forums are all about honing and being a "Honemeister"


First learn to Shave then how to correctly Strop a SR, having been teaching skills at the meets for over 10 years I can tell you all now that most users can't strop a razor to IMPROVE their edge..

There are 3 stages to stropping "Simplified here"

Learn to do no harm - Do no harm - Improve the edge

Most people stop at the second stage, yes really

To learn to actually hone you should start at the top of the ladder with a finisher and learn to maintain the edge.
Then slowly work you way down the ladder with more difficult razors finally getting to the Bevel set at the 1k level
This has the added benefit of saving you money, because about 50% of the people never use the lower hones they end up deciding that they just want to shave and enjoy it


IME


ps: It ain't Rocket Science I have always loved that one and it is true, see science implies a strict guidelines and repeatable results, honing is way more "Art" than "Science" and the results vary ie: YMMV

 

Update: after about 100 shave days and strop sessions, the Aust you honed will still shave the white off rice.

 

The razor gets a better part of that credit my friend, starting with a quality razor can make a honer look really good

 

If find maintaining a properly honed razor with a pasted strop and finishing stones easy.

If the razor is flat and geometry is spot on I can set the bevel and make a nice edge.

But

If the razor has issues I struggle to set a bevel, I end up sending these razors to a pro.

In short you can go a very long time with just a pasted strop and finishing hone. Get a good synthetic finisher, I find them much easier and faster to use.