Whats a Honemeister?

Gents, not a straight shaver nor am I interested in becoming one but I see this title thrown around quite a bit. Joe Blow honemeister extraordinaire, etc. Anyway, how do you get this title? Do you go to school and get a certificate? Do you apprentice under a Jedi honemeister? How do I become one if I wanted to?

Basically at what point does one transition from "guy who can hone razors for himself and his friends, and get eBay specials shave ready?" to "honemeister"? Personally I don't know... but am curious as well. heh

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.

There is no formal training, rite of passage, qualification to this title. It's a vanity more than anything.

For me, the guy I send my razor to for touch-ups is a honemeister. Why? Because it just sounds more cool to say, "My razor's due back from the honemeister today," as opposed to, "my razor's due back today from the dude that sharpens it for me."

Isn't there a program for this at one of the institutes of higher education that advertise on late-night TV???

Seriously though, I think its a designation that applies to folks who are extremely skilled at honing straight razors and can bring up a wickedly sharp edge on any type of razor, including fixing defects in the edge (for example frowning blades).

Before someone can truly qualify as a honemeister, they will have likely sharpened hundreds of straights from carbon steel antiques to the harder steels and know which of their stones/strops (and they will likely have several) will bring out the best in a particular razor.

Honemeister is really something that developed on Straight Razor Place.

Here is the history of the term:

http://straightrazorplace.com/honing/49383-what-makes-someone-honemeister.html#post546032

It is a self-appointed title used amongst a group of individuals to provide credibility for their businesses. In actuality, this designation is really meaningless as there is no program to evaluate and designate the title for razor sharpeners. For instance, a person becomes a Doctor in their field when they go through an educational program and meet its requirements for the title. I know a German guy who really detests this term because the title of Meister holds a whole other meaning in Germany.

Please note that I do not have a personal problem with individuals or businesses that use the title of "honemeister," even if I don't care for the term.

rod251 said:

For me, the guy I send my razor to for touch-ups is a honemeister. Why? Because it just sounds more cool to say, "My razor's due back from the honemeister today," as opposed to, "my razor's due back today from the dude that sharpens it for me."

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honestly, i completely feel the opposite.. i am a bit embarassed talking about a honemeister.. IMO anything with the suffix -meister kinda fits that perception though . except brewmeister maybe..

I mean no real offense to people who are experts in honing, but to me saying honemeister aloud makes me feel the same way as when i see the guy next to me in the DC slug-line with his satin baseball/car jacket embroidered with dragonlord as his name...

now i think honing is great and all, but i just can't get past this title right now...

It's someone with some hone that can take a blunt straight razor and put a shave ready edge on it. I don't know any honemeister that use the same set of stones so you would have a different edge on different razors.

Your next question should be, what's a shave ready edge? That's were it depends for many of us. What some might consider a shave ready edge is not shave ready for others. I had shave ready straights that were sold to me and they were not. I had some that were shave ready but the edge was so rough that I couldn't shave with them and I had some that were very smooth.

That's my point of view from a user perspective.

altshaver said:

Honemeister is really something that developed on Straight Razor Place.

Here is the history of the term:

http://straightrazorplace.com/honing/49383-what-makes-someone-honemeister.html#post546032

It is a self-appointed title used amongst a group of individuals to provide credibility for their businesses. In actuality, this designation is really meaningless as there is no program to evaluate and designate the title for razor sharpeners. For instance, a person becomes a Doctor in their field when they go through an educational program and meet its requirements for the title. I know a German guy who really detests this term because the title of Meister holds a whole other meaning in Germany.

Please note that I do not have a personal problem with individuals or businesses that use the title of "honemeister," even if I don't care for the term.

Click to expand...

It sounds like a made up commercial term to sell services. My grandfather straight shaved all his life. I remember going to his bath and seeing a strop on a hook. He had 4 razors that he used on a regular basis. I guess he was a honemeister.

Since it is accepted that the use of stone tools goes back at least to the Paleolithic era, I assume that is where the earliest "honemeisters" can be found.
I believe the term is self bestowed, often bolstered by how many razors the individual has under his belt, as if that made a difference. There is no discounting that experience and practice have much value, but think of how many people can be shown a skill time and time again, and never catch on, while others seem to acquire the knowledge and "feel" in short order.
Numbers do not tell the entire story, and serve as smokescreen to impress the troops more than anything else.
I would prefer to know how much feel and aptitude one has in the hands, and the connection of senses to the mind, than X number of razors honed.

If cavemen could do it, I believe I'm capable also... And one could call me anything they want... As long as it's not late for dinner!

Man+hone+ego=honemeister.

I've rehoned every single razor that has come "shave ready" not because it wasn't honed properly but because it wasn't honed to my liking. Many of these razors came from well known folks or businesses so they know what they are doing but some of these sources are what some consider a "honemeister" so the term means squat.

rod251 said:

For me, the guy I send my razor to for touch-ups is a honemeister. Why? Because it just sounds more cool to say, "My razor's due back from the honemeister today," as opposed to, "my razor's due back today from the dude that sharpens it for me."

Click to expand...

rod251 said:

For me, the guy I send my razor to for touch-ups is a honemeister. Why? Because it just sounds more cool to say, "My razor's due back from the honemeister today," as opposed to, "my razor's due back today from the dude that sharpens it for me."

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That surely must be the correct answer

I don't like the term myself. I'm not even really sure why, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I've used it, but really just for a lack of a better word.

I guess it's because when I think of "meister" it makes me think of somebody with great amounts of skill. The first thing that comes to mind are people like Bill Ellis and the rest of the guys that take raw materials and create functional works of art with their skill. Somehow running a blade across a couple of rocks a few times until it is sharp just doesn't compare to me.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2992505&postcount=8


I hate the term to be honest

I'd love to stay and discuss the finer aspects of honemeisterness, but I'm off to get Dragonlord embroidered on my satin baseball jacket.

rod251 said:

I'd love to stay and discuss the finer aspects of honemeisterness, but I'm off to get Dragonlord embroidered on my satin baseball jacket.

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i hope you'll take a picture of it while wearing your 3 wolves t-shirt too..

global_dev said:

i hope you'll take a picture of it while wearing your 3 wolves t-shirt too..

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I hope you're not knocking the power of the wolves

global_dev said:

i hope you'll take a picture of it while wearing your 3 wolves t-shirt too..

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Don't need a 3 wolves shirt, 'cause I'm a