Whats a Honemeister?

[fine wine]

Exactly the same way I became a lathermeister; one day you write it down and voila, a new meister is born.....

Though at least I passed for the modern Williams test, don't know what the honemeister did.

That is exactly how you do it. Just say you are one and you are.

 

[fine wine]

$20 is a penalty fee for not learning how to sharpen your own razor!


Do it, it's not that hard.

I couldn't have said it better. I do both razors and knives and lawnmower blades and axes and anything else people bring to me. What some people don't realize is the angle is build into the straight razor. Unlike a pocket knife you have to imagine the angle. Go on the enternet type in "customrazors.com". It's a guy name Alex he as a video how he hones razors, it's fast and full proof and his razors pass the" hanging hair test". He is one of the best I've seen yet. When I first started useing a SR I sent one of my razors to a honeing expert. It came back, wouldn't pass the HHT but still shaved very nice. That is when I said this can't be rocket science. All I have as far as stones go is a 4000 wetstone, 8000 wetstone both are king stones I got them at woodcraft and a 12000+ china stone. That's it. I do have otherstones for sharping other things but for SR"s that is all I use......
One more thing, my strop is a scrape piece of leather I had lieing around. I glued it to a piece of plywood and that is the only thing I use....

 

[fine wine]

I have come to think that there is a class of people here who could be described in whatever terms as a razor pro.
And I think there is a criteria. These are the people who not only put a nice edge on a razor, but they can deal with problems and defects in a way that produces a servicable result.
Whether that is dealing with serious rust on grandads 6/8 and giving you a nice usable 5/8. Or scale replacement, or deal professionally with any of the other issues, maybe taking a wedge down an 1/8 to good metal requires maintaining the geometry of the blade, and so on.

It would be great to have a list of such competant folk who have a proven track record over time. But how to quantify and qualify, and who is in a position to assess. Maybe, hopefully, there is an answer to those questions.

To do every thing you just said requires a $49 dremel tool...........

 

[RABIDMONKEY]

To be a true honemeister one would have the skill to hone more than a straight razor. If this person could hone knife blades, plane irons, saw blades, chisels, scythe, scissors and non disposable hypodermic needles then they deserve the title.

and swords , ninja stars, lawnmower blades ....... , maybe make a reality tv show filmed out of a dude/hone /miesters garage /office /basement/work area ? Is there a term for artisian soap maker , brush makers ? The soap guys /gals have to know some chemistry and perfumers arts .... the brush guys work with ivory, antler , exotic woods like bog oak , plus acrylic ... ect ect getting it to look good the 1st time I imagine without the just being able to just start over

 

[AJJ]

IMHO, I think some judgement and humiliy should be exercised. Traditionally:

Apprentice = someone who sort of knows, but has more to learn

Craftsman = knows what he's doing, can get the job done well

Master = Yoda-like knowledge, understanding, and wisdom that can only be acquired through years/decades of experience

"Pro" or "Professional" = some who does it for a living. Opposite of an "Amateur". Both could be any one of the above.

I'd be happy to have an apprentice practice his craft with my blade.

 

[SenorPartagas]

so who is the resident honemeister here and what kind of price to get a frowning blade made shave ready?

 

[Slash McCoy]

A true honemeister is a man who is so focused on his craft that he can put a hair splitting edge on a ZeePk without even using his hands, just by getting angry with it.

 

[Wid]

A true honemeister is a man who is so focused on his craft that he can put a hair splitting edge on a ZeePk without even using his hands, just by getting angry with it.

Chuck Norris could do it

 

[Neil Miller]

...You remove metal from a razor by sliding it across a rock. Sure there is a little more to it, but not much.

What really disgusts me is how much these guys make at it. On average, getting a razor sharpened by a "honemeister" costs about $20 to $30, when back and forth shipping is included. I'll say that an average "honemeister" makes $20 from sharpening a razor. I'll also say that it takes the 10 minutes to 15 minutes to sharpen one razor; it might even take less time. At that rate, an average "honemeister" makes around $80 to $120 an hour for their services. I think I picked the wrong profession and was dumb for going to college .
...

Hahaha - thanks for that, haven't laughed so much in a long-time! I really enjoy reading rubbish like that, makes my day.

How many hones does it take to hone a razor? I regularly use six, sometimes seven. That includes a DMT 600 for chip removal, chosera up to and including the 10k one, and a shapton GS 16,000. I guess that's what you must have meant by '...a little more to it...' either that or you didn't study math at college.

And 10 - 15 minutes - really? It is usually more like 45 minutes to an hour with the razors I get sent. Sometimes longer. The most recent razors I honed included 1 with severe chips, three with severe frowns and two with severely warped spines AND frowns. The others were just run-of-the-mill - small warps and frowns predominated. Of the five I have done today one was easy - only took 30 minutes. If I ever get one that takes just 10 minutes I think I'll throw a party.

Perhaps there is some sort of fundamental difference between the US and the UK - if you are right about the timing, then razor sharpeners on your side of the pond just get sent dull razors. Speaking from my experience (there is no point in being theoretical, otherwise you can suppose just about anything you like and it becomes vlaueless, not even information, just groundless speculation - you wouldn't assume rather than base something on actual experience, would you?) I get sent razors that need an awful lot of work, a lot of razors that have been 'gifted' as family heirlooms and the owner wants to try shaving with them, and a lot of razors from Ebay. Every single one requires at least a bevel reset. It would be a joy to me if that was all that is required, but it seldom is.

In short I work damn hard for very little money when I sharpen razors.

Maybe I picked the wrong profession - I earned more money then I knew how to handle after going to college and training to be a civil engineer. Now it seems I am poor and also an uncivil razor honer due to joke postings like the one quoted.

Regards,
Neil

 

[Danricgro]

Thanks for adding some reality to this thread Neil. The fact that it somehow became a sticky is disturbing.

 

[luvmysuper]

In the words of a famous Sergeant, "lighten up Francis"

This thread isn't poking fun at people who hone professionally, it's poking fun at people who have an ego sufficiently large enough to call themselves "honemeister".

Sticky threads can be ignored like any other post.

 

[Neil Miller]

In the words of a famous Sergeant, "lighten up Francis" .

Sure, Sgt Hulka, sir!

No one call me Francis though, or touch my stuff...

 

[Danricgro]

In the words of a famous Sergeant, "lighten up Francis"

This thread isn't poking fun at people who hone professionally, it's poking fun at people who have an ego sufficiently large enough to call themselves "honemeister".

Sticky threads can be ignored like any other post.

Fair enough. Sorry, I get crabby sometimes.

 

[Doc226]

A man who can hone well doesn't need a title. His results should speak for him, not the other way around.

True, true
Tangentially: A friend of mine has a brother who is a personal trainer. He likes to say that his body is his resume.
That makes him an trainermeister

if the guy pumping my gas for me calls himself a petroleum distribution engineer*

*I've actually seen this term on a job applicant's resume

People today need the ego boots.

There are no more secretaries-only administrative assistants or
Janitors-only custodial engineers or
Mechanics-onyl automotive engineers etc, etc

I am a "precision steel removal engineer"tm

That is good, see above

You know a man can lay a thousand bricks and no one call him a bricklayer, but you hone one razor and you are a honemeister (original saying cleaned up for fear of being banished )

Me I just say I'm waiting to get my razor back from Larry. If they ask who is Larry, i respond "the guy who sharpens my razor)

 

[rimmini]

Its like the laundrymat, the mechanic(for most jobs), the cook, ad infitum. Someone you pay big bucks to do a job you could have done for free if your took the time to buy the right tools and learn.

 

[cleanshaved]

the title is a licience to charge higher fees.
In the PC world we live in a plumber was told the term bullcock could not be used anymore, the new term is now flow governor.
This plumber said he will fit the bullcock for you at normal cost but a flow governor at twice the rate.

 

[GeneC]

IMHO, I think some judgement and humiliy should be exercised. Traditionally:

Apprentice = someone who sort of knows, but has more to learn

Craftsman = knows what he's doing, can get the job done well

Master = Yoda-like knowledge, understanding, and wisdom that can only be acquired through years/decades of experience

"Pro" or "Professional" = some who does it for a living. Opposite of an "Amateur". Both could be any one of the above.

I'd be happy to have an apprentice practice his craft with my blade.

Being a master Glazier, I would agree with this analogy....for me to call someone a "hone master", they would have decades of experience, a extensive knowledge in metalurgy, razors and honing, to a microscopic level. You hand him any razor and he can tell you it's age, a brief history of it, what it's made of, tempering, etc, what condition it's in, what it'd take to get it pristine and if he'd bother with it or not. It's not a matter if he could, but if he would.

But as said, I'd let a regular journeyman sharpen my razor. I know enough to let someone who does it, do it. I'll handle anything with glass, let me do it.

 

[GeneC]

Its like the laundrymat, the mechanic(for most jobs), the cook, ad infitum. Someone you pay big bucks to do a job you could have done for free if your took the time to buy the right tools and learn.

Yes, therein lies the rub, we all have X amt of time in our life, we can spend it doing this or that. It's about time management. Sure, I could invest in the money and time learning how to work on my car, run plumbing, run wiring, shingle my own roof, cut my own hair, etc. and I can mess it up as well as the next guy, but I won't. I have a family and a life and I'll gladly pay those who have devoted their life honing those skills, just like I get paid handsomely for my skills. We have a saying in my profession: if I have to come in and fix your mistakes, it'll cost ya twice as much, better to pay me once to do it right the first time.

 

[rollie]

It's a vague term.
I guess it's anyone that can hone decently and charges a fee.

 

[rollie]

I'm going to be the first to put up my hand and say, as a person who "learned to shave" on these forums, I always thought honemeister was a real term. I didn't know it was made up recently, I thought that was the title of the guy that sharpened your razor in the 19th century and it came from Solingen or somewhere.

Which I guess was why I was never comfortable using the term to describe myself. I sharpen all my own razors, some for friends, and I will sometimes take money from strangers and sharpen theirs. But I have never considered myself a professional honer, which I assumed is what Honemeister meant.

I'll help my buddies fix there cars, but I'm not going to claim to be a mechanic, either.

Strangers ask you if you can hone their razor?
how does that happen?