Well what do I need now?

Well, as you can tell by my post, I'm knew at this. I've been an electric razor fan since I was 15 years old and now I'm 50. A few weeks ago I picked up a Fat boy and Slim and have shaved with those only, no electric razor and it has gone well. I learned on my dads DE before starting electric. Well last night I purchased my first straight razor and a filly strop. Now I'm thinking about hones. What do I need, what will serve my purpose without going crazy here on buying? Thanks for any help.
Jeff
BTW-Here's the razor I purchased. If I paid too much please don't beat me up too bad.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300960145241?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

That razor looks like it should be good steel, but the seller says it was finished on an 8k stone. For some that is sufficient, but for me I prefer something 12k or higher as I find it gives a way more comfortable shave. I would try it out and see how it feels. If it feels rough, you might want to send it out to a pro to get touched up. As for hones you can go in many different ways. If you are planning on going from a bevel set to finishing, you can get a whole set. If you are just wanting to maintain a shave ready razor, you may only need a finishing type stone for touch up (such as a Chinese 12k or Naniwa 12k). What you want to spend is all up to you. Another option is to try lapping film. That is where I started and its fairly inexpensive to get set up and you can get some sweet edges from them.

Straight shavers have very little need for hones of their own at the newbie stage, so I wouldn't dwell on that too much. The most I'd recommend for a new shaver would be a finishing hone, something like a 12k stone or 1 micron film. If your razor is truly shave ready, you won't need that for quite a while yet.

But, I will say this: what you need in hones depends on what your goals are. Do you want to maintain your own shave ready razor(s)? A fine grit (10k+) or 1 micron film will do just that. Do you want to take a razor from butter knife dull to shave ready? You'll need a range of hones starting from a 1k bevel setter to hones in the 4k, 8k and 10k+ finisher ranges. Coticules and JNATs can be used to hone a razor start to finish, but I would put those firmly into the advanced category. eBay specials or damaged razors may need hones in even lower grits than 1k to work out their problems.

My recommendation would be to become proficient at stropping and shaving, then look into hones.

Looks like a nice razor and +1 on the lapping film. It's all I use to hone my razors. I haven't honed much (total of 6 razors honed), haven't had any issues with burrs or tugging or the razor not being sharp enough to shave. As long as you follow the proper steps, lapping film is the easiest way to hone your own razors. Stones apparently impart some sort of "mojo" but I've got enough juice in the tank already I don't need more.

Cheers,

M.

Thanks for the advice folks. I have been looking at the threads about lapping film and think I will get the kit that has one of each grit and use when needed. And yes, my goal is to just maintain my shave ready razor. So much to learn and know!

+1 to all.

A better way to maintain your edge is, instead of honing it when it gets dull, not let it get dull in the first place. How to do that? By proper post-shave maintenance of the razor. Here is what you need:

1. Balsa strop. Get a piece 3" wide and at least 12" long. 3/4" is a good thickness. Less than 1/2" and you may as well go with 1/4" sheet and glue it to a piece of heavy glass. If you do this, you need two pieces so you can have a coarse and a fine side. Balsa can be bought at your local hobby shop or online, and it should not be more than about $5.

2. Coarse diamond paste. Well, relatively coarse. .5u which is still much finer grit than all but a very few stones. www.tedpella.com is where I get mine but it is common. Lots of vendors have it.

3. Fine diamond paste. .1u works great. Same source.

SETUP:
First you need to make sure that your balsa is perfectly flat. Lightly glue a sheet of 400 grit or 320 grit sandpaper to a very very flat surface, like a glass coffee table top. Work the balsa corner to corner on the paper until you see that you have a complete fresh surface and none of the original surface is left. This tells you that the entire face of the balsa is flat and down below the level of the lowest depression in the original surface. The surface must be completely flat for best results, and nothing less than best results should be acceptable, right?

You want one side with the .5u and the other side with the .1u. Only apply about half a pea worth. Spread it around and work it into the balsa. It will feel like you don't have enough. That's what you want. You must not must not must NOT have a coating of diamond paste because it can give you a slurry effect and limit your sharpness considerably. Best edge maintainence will be from having only diamond particles embedded into the balsa. If it feels like you got enough, you got too much. Apply the fine first, then the coarse. It is okay to get a trace of fine on the coarse side but you must not must not must NOT get even the slightest trace of the coarse onto the fine side. This is extremely important for best results, and nothing less than the best results should be acceptable, right? Right.

METHOD:
After shaving, carefully wipe your blade dry. Pinch it carefully between folds of a towel or old tshirt and pull it through. Be carefull not to damage the edge. Now strop on the balsa, spine leading, just like stropping on the hanging leather strop, about 4 dozen laps with very light pressure and good control. Halfway through, turn the balsa end for end so you work from both edges of the balsa. Use a slight x stroke to randomize the contact to make up for any surface irregularities of the balsa. When done, carefully wipe the blade again because you don't want diamond on your hanging strop. Strop a dozen laps or so on the hanging leather. Oil the blade if desired. When you are ready to shave again, do your normal stropping routine.

This should keep your edge going for a very long time. Possibly forever. But if it should happen to start feeling not quite so sharp, then hit the .5u side. Use as many laps as you need to refresh the edge, and then carefully wipe the blade so you do not contaminate the fine side with .5u diamond. Then hit the fine side your normal 4 dozen. If the .5u touchup is needed more often than once every couple of months, then increase your lap count a dozen or two on the fine side.

If you do this and do it properly, you will never have to re-hone.

Lapping film is GREAT. But I only use it for the initial honing. I no longer need to do any maintenance honing.

I would definitely NOT try to do any honing or any edge maintenance until you have mastered the basics of the WTG shave. It is common to feel that your razor is not sharp enough in the beginning. Sometimes it is NOT sharp enough, but more often, it is, and you are simply looking for the culprit preventing you from getting a good shave. In the immortal words of that great swamp philosopher Pogo Possum, "We have met the enemy, and he is US." Improving your technique will help more than improving an already adequate edge. A well honed 8k edge will shave adequately if your technique is adequate. Trying to improve it yourself at this stage of your straight shaving journey is most likely to cause you a great deal of frustration and confusion. I suggest either keep on trying, or of you still doubt the edge, either send it out or get a cheap vintage shave ready razor from Larry at www.whippeddog.com or a shave-ready Gold Dollar from member Buca3152 http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/361859-Gold-Dollars-66-22-shipped-conus-SHAVE-ready. Getting the second razor is probably a better idea. Anyway, if the first one was dull, the second one from either of these two sources should be sharp enough. Once you have established that your edge was just fine, you can concentrate on your technique without that nagging doubt.

Your edge will last much longer if you are shaving and stropping correctly. Your shave angle is very important. If you lay the blade flat against your cheek and then rotate the spine out away from the face so that there is a gap of one spine thickness, that is about right. More than that will simply turn the shaving stroke into a scraping stroke. Less than that will make the shave more gentle but too much and you will lose some cutting ability. Obviously the scraping stroke is hard on the edge. Stropping can degrade your edge too, if done improperly.

Bottom line is try not to worry about honing or honing supplies just yet. Learning to consistently get smooth and comfortable shaves is enough on your plate for now.

Slash - Your instructions above on how to maintain a straight blade/edge are the best I have read. Clear, concise, easy to understand, etc. Thanks from someone who is also trying to learn, and then jump into, the mysteries of straight shaving.

Good stuff, thanks Slash!

Hey I have been using electric too since I was 12 (facial hair came early) but switched to Straights last year. The electric one has been used a single time since.
Actually a small correction, I started on an atomic razor and used that until mine broke (an heirloom Brawn from my father) and they stopped making them, then I switched to electric.

You have all you need to know now. Go! And shave with an electric no more.

Elevenn said:

Slash - Your instructions above on how to maintain a straight blade/edge are the best I have read. Clear, concise, easy to understand, etc. Thanks from someone who is also trying to learn, and then jump into, the mysteries of straight shaving.

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Everything Slash posts is clear and helpful. An asset to our community.

As for the blade, proper upkeep is critical as said above, but if you'd like it honed at a finer grit to get started, I'm glad to do it for free (pm if interested).

Good luck and keep us posted.

Obiwan said:

Everything Slash posts is clear and helpful. An asset to our community.

As for the blade, proper upkeep is critical as said above, but if you'd like it honed at a finer grit to get started, I'm glad to jobs for free (pm if interested).

Good luck and keep us posted.

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Can't beat that offer, thanks! It arrives tomorrow so I'm looking forward to it!