Prehoned from vintageblades?

[merkurguy]

I was wondering if anyone knew if getting a prehoned straight from vintage blades is a good idea. Lynn abrams supposedly does the honing so it should be done right. Right?

[kca]

My understanding is that they are honed by Lynn...in which case it would be a VERY good idea.

I recently got a Filly 7/8 from Classicshaving that I had them send to Lynn for honing...well worth it.

[voerman]

Jim at Vintage Blades keeps some prehoned (by Lynn) razors in stock. If he happens to have the one you are interested in , you can save a week or two in shipping/honing time.

Jim is also a good guy to deal with.

Lou

[jlander]

+1 for Vintage Blades.

[merkurguy]

It does seem like a great way to get a honed razor. I just have read stories of razors not being honed properly. I don't think it was from vintageblades though.

[netsurfr]

I was wondering if anyone knew if getting a prehoned straight from vintage blades is a good idea. Lynn abrams supposedly does the honing so it should be done right. Right?

Vintage Razors is great and Lynn is one of the best honemeisters out there. I would say that you cannot go wrong.
The Well Shaved Gentleman also has prehoned razors and carries some of the best strops. Tony is a class act and provides great customer service.

[StephenKane]

I'm just a newbie - but I got a blade pre honed from vintage blades and well....it really needs to be sharper to shave with. It drags on my face a bit. I'm learning to hone now so maybe it was a good thing. I had one honed by the service offered at Tony Miller's website and THAT razor is really sharp.

[Seraphim]

My first razor I got "pre-honed" (from a different site), and was also sadly dissapointed with the edge quality. Really, it was rather rough.

I took matters into my own hands, and soon had a 3, 1, 0.5micron edge on that baby, and shaving smooth as can be.

Get a pasted strop and you can easily put your own edge on a razor. Pasted stropping is really very easy, and not as finicky as going edge first (i.e.- honing)

[loueedacat]

My understanding is that they are honed by Lynn...in which case it would be a VERY good idea.

I recently got a Filly 7/8 from Classicshaving that I had them send to Lynn for honing...well worth it.

Veering off topic a bit, how do you like the Filly 7/8? I was thinking about getting one of those - I assume you are talking about the one on their limited edition page.

[merkurguy]

My first razor I got "pre-honed" (from a different site), and was also sadly dissapointed with the edge quality. Really, it was rather rough.

I took matters into my own hands, and soon had a 3, 1, 0.5micron edge on that baby, and shaving smooth as can be.

Get a pasted strop and you can easily put your own edge on a razor. Pasted stropping is really very easy, and not as finicky as going edge first (i.e.- honing)

Where could I find info on pasted stropping? That sounds like a good alternative.

[jlander]

Where could I find info on pasted stropping? That sounds like a good alternative.

Check out Tony Miller at The Well Shaved Gentleman Heirloom Razor Strop Company (http://shop.thewellshavedgentleman.com/main.sc).

[Seraphim]

http://www.badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=543793#post543793

Search for "pasted stropping", there's plenty of info out there.

A good, cheap source for pastes is McMaster-Carr, look under "lapping compounds" See pic below:

But one tube of 4428A14 3 micron diamond paste, one tube of 4428A13 1 micron diamond paste (total cost $22, just a bit more than the honing service...), and you will have enough paste to keep you sharp as can be for years to come.

Get a canvas belt, like I did ($10 at Sears), or a leather belt would work too, depending on the finish. Apply the paste, and give the razor a few round trips on there (be sure to hold the strop taught!), it really does not take much, as the pastes work quite fast and effectively.

[kca]

Veering off topic a bit, how do you like the Filly 7/8? I was thinking about getting one of those - I assume you are talking about the one on their limited edition page.

That's the one. I've been really happy with it and given the price the Fillys have been going for on Ebay I think it was a very good value.

Has a nice weight to it and shaves up there with my Henckels and Helje. Very nice.


Where could I find info on pasted stropping? That sounds like a good alternative.

Check out the strop sub-forum in the straight razor section here. Also, SRP has a lot of information. Tony Miller sells paddle strops and pastes at thewellshavedgentleman.com once you're ready to buy. I just bought one his four sided paddle strops with pastes. I haven't applied the paste yet but the quality of the paddle strop looks great.

[merkurguy]

Do you guys think I can really get by with just paste stropping? It sure would make things a lot easier than honing and stropping.Boy, I am still on the fence about diving into straight shaving but you guys are making it seem a lot easier.

EDIT: Just checked out paddle strops at tony millers and that looks like the way to go. A combo strop would be perfect. I am ready to take the plunge.

[Seraphim]

You will still want to strop (with plain leaher) after using the pasted strops.

While you're at TM's shop getting the pasted paddle strop, get the Starter strop too-- $29, and it is really super-nice! Really, I can't recommend the Starter strop highly enough.

As far as sharpening using only pastes-yes it is just as effective as hones for putting an edge on your razor.

[merkurguy]

The combo strop has one side usable for plain stropping. So, I shouldn't need another. Right?

[Seraphim]

You wouldn't need another. But I, for one, enjoy the feeling from a hanging strop much more than the unyielding surface of a paddle strop. that's a personal choice.

[ZiggyDeath]

The combo strop has one side usable for plain stropping. So, I shouldn't need another. Right?

This would mean you'd be limited to three different pastes, which may mean you'll be skipping out on a coarser or finer paste.

[Daves]

I have bought several prehoned Dovo str8s from Vintage Blades. My first and third str8s. I was quite happy with the edges and they showed what it takes to make a blade sharp.

DaveS

[merkurguy]

I am looking to get a beginner setup for now though. So, I would hope the paddle strop would be good for now. later, I can always get a hanging strop and use the last paddle for coarser or finer pastes.Now to wait for payday.

[joel]

Go with Tony Miller's razors. El, who does the honing for him is (in my personal opinion) the finest fella who's offering honing services right now, in terms of both quality and consistency. The man knows what he is doing.

[merkurguy]

I e-mailed tony and he does not have any razors. I could send one to him though.

[netsurfr]

I'm just a newbie - but I got a blade pre honed from vintage blades and well....it really needs to be sharper to shave with. It drags on my face a bit. I'm learning to hone now so maybe it was a good thing. I had one honed by the service offered at Tony Miller's website and THAT razor is really sharp.

From your post, it is not clear if you stropped your blade or just tried to shave with it upon receipt. Even if it is honed, it does still need to be stropped to put the final finish on the blade edge.

[netsurfr]

I am looking to get a beginner setup for now though. So, I would hope the paddle strop would be good for now. later, I can always get a hanging strop and use the last paddle for coarser or finer pastes.Now to wait for payday.

I would talk to Tony in person on the phone. He will give you the best information.
He carries both two sided paddle strops and a four-sided paddle. He will prepaste them with your choice of diamond pastes (extra cost). I opted for the two-sided because of the larger width. I did not want the additional variable of trying to keep the blade flat on a more narrow four-sided paddle when I was first starting out. I still use the paddles for doing touch up between infrequent honing. Tony's starter hanging strop is a nice piece of leather and will give you good service.

[Tinzien]

Go with Tony Miller's razors. El, who does the honing for him is (in my personal opinion) the finest fella who's offering honing services right now, in terms of both quality and consistency. The man knows what he is doing.

From my recent experience, I completely agree that Chris Ellison is excellent. I ordered his honing services through Tony Miller two weeks ago. Tony sent me Chris's address without a direct request so I did not have to send my straight razor through a middleman.

Chris lives pretty close to me so I had my razor back in three business days with a crisp, super-sharp edge on my Dovo Special. :biggrin:

[kca]

I would talk to Tony in person on the phone. He will give you the best information.
He carries both two sided paddle strops and a four-sided paddle. He will prepaste them with your choice of diamond pastes (extra cost). I opted for the two-sided because of the larger width. I did not want the additional variable of trying to keep the blade flat on a more narrow four-sided paddle when I was first starting out. I still use the paddles for doing touch up between infrequent honing. Tony's starter hanging strop is a nice piece of leather and will give you good service.

I don't think Tony is offering the pre-paste option anymore. Instead, you can add the pastes to your order and he sends containers with enough of each paste for two applications which from what I understand should last a really LONG time.

I'm not sure if he offers his practice strops with the purchase of a paddle strop or not but if he does I think it would be worth getting one. I got one with my Latigo hanging strop with Linen for around $6 more and it does the trick as a very inexpensive strop to start out with.

If he doesn't offer the practice strop with the paddles PM me and I can send you mine. I have the starter/travel strop still so I don't really need the practice strop. It does have a couple nicks in it though but you should be able to smooth them out pretty easily.

[VintageBlades]

Lynn Abrams does in fact do the honing of my razors. I have most models pre-honed, in-stock, ready for immediate shipment. Should you have any concerns with a razor that you receive from me, whether it has been honed by Lynn or not, please contact me by email or by phone.

In the case of one that has been pre-honed, it will be re-honed at no charge if you feel it was somehow not done optimally. Further, you will be sent a pre-paid UPS label for its return to me so that you again have no additional out of pocket expense.