Should I embark on the first lap or get stoned

The Naniwa SS 12k without a doubt is the GoTo Re-fresh recommendation.

You can do so much with that hone, including drop-down in grit if you decide you like honing, I think I mentioned it on your Dovo thread too

 

Say 3 Hail Marys and don't call me in the morning

 

You did indeed, my friend. I'm afraid my memory is in the toilet since I turned 22 last week

I'll probably try the lapping film initially and move onto a stone when I run out of paper

I'm just not sure which gradient of film to go for in order to refresh a tired razor.

I don't want to start grinding off great chunks from the bevel. I'll leave that to you guys that actually know what the hell you're doing

 

Long live the king

 

My first route to edge maintenance was pasted balsa strops.

It worked fine. I still use them and added other stuff since.

 

Pasted balsa strops. Absolutely delicious with egg fried rice and a glass of Liebfraumilch.

 

I have a razor that has not seen a stone in about 8 months. I maintain on diamond pasted balsa and naked leather strop. Some say with this system you will never need to hone again. But if you are interested in learning to hone. I strongly suggest film to learn, before you slip down the stone/hone rabbit hole. Films are also an inexpensive entry drug. I would get a vintage razor to learn on and keep the one you have for shaving and a reference point. Would be very Leary of a $26£ 12k stone!

 

Well, if there's one thing I HAVE learned from this thread it's that there is definitely more than one way to skin a cat
I've seen good things about your method online. I've also spotted a guy who swears by running his razor over the leather settee in his lounge, and another guy who insists that the way forward is to rub the thing against an old newspaper!
To keep things nice and simple, I've decided to use an untreated strop before shaving (just the leather and not the canvas), and to invest in a good quality 12k stone (the Naniwa SS as recommended by Glen back there)) to refresh the blade whenever it starts bringing the tears to my eyes. I've watched a guy use one online and it's just a case of pushing and pulling the thing up and down a few times. I mean, how hard can it be fer Chrissakes?

 

Yep, I heard that too. An Irish mate of mine tried it but he told me that it didn't work too good for him. When I asked him to show me what he was doing I noticed that he was using a section with the zip.

 

I have a French strop that actually came with denim for the cloth side. Horse hide on the other.

 

That's nothing, Edison. I bought a German strop last week that had denim on one side and a leather sofa on the other

 

You've been a wonderful audience. Try the veal.

 

There is a learning curve to stropping and honing. There more to it than just pushing and pulling...you can easily make edge worse with bad form on stone or strop. Also get a cheap strop you will inevitably nick it.

 

I'm sure you're right, mate. I'm just going on a vid I spotted on YouTube that showed some old boy from the States who's supposed to be a top banana honemeister cleaning up the edge of a razor on a fine whetstone. He just soaked it, sprayed it and ran the blade up the thing, rolled it on the spine and drew it down again. He did that around 10 times and declared the job was a good un. He claims that as long as you don't use pressure and that you keep the spine and blade in contact with the bed of the stone you should be ok.
Hey, I can do that I thought

 

Honestly, I have been recommending that hone for Refreshing many years, I might take some time later and actually do a vid on how you can get the most out of it

I always refer people to the 3rd part of the Naniwa Honing series I did way back when but I really should do one on Simply refreshing

Hmmmm

 

You should do it, mate. Just make sure you mention the fact that you were inspired by my limey ass to get the job squared away. Then, we just need to decide on my cut if it goes viral

On a serious note, can you get a move on? Only I get my Dovo back in a week and I need all the help I can get before I strike out on my own and totally destroy the edge

 

Yes, more than one way to skin a cat, but at some point the cat must be skinned using one or another method. If you decide on 3m lapping film, make sure you don't buy paper.

Like my learned friend replied, I've been using diamond pasted balsa (200k) and stropping for months to maintain my razors. A good edge and decent technique will provide you with the same quality of shaving as any manufactured edge.

 

Thanks Chuck, that's helpful advice right there. As somebody who has only ever used shavettes, I'm on a steep learning curve here. The trouble is, there's an awful lot of contrasting opinions out there. This is why I've decided initially to go down the route mapped out by a Mr Lynn Abrams on YooToob, who has pointed me towards stropping a freshly-honed blade (which I hope to have in my grubby little mitt in a few days when the guys have done with it) until it begins to tug a little. Mr Lynn, who seems a lovely guy but says, "Mkaay?" quite a lot, then advises CrOx paste on the poly webbing side of the strop until that too fails to refresh the edge. He then advises taking the thing to a good quality 12k hone to bring the blade back to its former glory. I'm definitely going to try the lapping film and the pasted balsa at some point also, but right now, I'm going for the simplest method. I'd like to thank you and all the other guys who have been kind enough to help me out on this one. I shall refer back to it for reference if everything I attempt turns into some kind of all-singing, all-dancing shitshow