Hi all,
Although this is a honing/stropping question, it seemed that this is the best place for this post. My apologies if I am incorrect.
I am yet to start my straight razor journey, although I have a shave ready straight on the way given to me as a gift (either a wapi or dovo from invisible edge)! Im currently looking into hones and strops.
I have read through the interactive guide, and read many threads on this site and others, but I am still a little confused about a few things, and would really appreciate your advice or comments on these.
1) how often to hone a razor? The standard answer seems to be along the lines of 'once your razor gets dull and stropping as normal doesnt restore it...the time this takes depends on factors such as beard coarsness.' Anyone have an rough guesstimate of the time scale? Once every month, more frequently, less frequently? Im just after a very rough idea.
2) I dont have the cash to buy a whole honing stone set. There is so much discussion here about how certain stones really dont leave the razor in a good enough state for shaving, and progressive honing on progressively finer stones is required. How true is this? Can I get away with just one (eg chinese 12k)? Or will this give poor results?
3) I also dont have the tools/facilities to effectively 'lap' any honing stone with a diamond plate or other expensive stones. Does this mean that I shouldnt bother with an 'unlapped' honing stone at all?
4) If I cant get away with an 'unlapped' honing stone, can stropping paste be used effectively instead? Or is stropping paste more of a 'post-honing stone' thing.
What i guess im getting at is, can I take my shave-ready razor, keep it well stropped (before and after shaves), look after it well (keep it dry and undamaged), and use just one unlapped honing stone periodically?
Or am I better off taking my shave-ready razor, keeping it well stropped and looked after, and get away without need for a honing stone? Could I use stropping paste instead? How frequently would I need to do this? (more frequently than if I were using a honing stone I presume?).
Im sorry that there are so many questions. I have plenty more, but I dont want to bore you all to death.
Any input would be great.
Thanks!
Although this is a honing/stropping question, it seemed that this is the best place for this post. My apologies if I am incorrect.
I am yet to start my straight razor journey, although I have a shave ready straight on the way given to me as a gift (either a wapi or dovo from invisible edge)! Im currently looking into hones and strops.
I have read through the interactive guide, and read many threads on this site and others, but I am still a little confused about a few things, and would really appreciate your advice or comments on these.
1) how often to hone a razor? The standard answer seems to be along the lines of 'once your razor gets dull and stropping as normal doesnt restore it...the time this takes depends on factors such as beard coarsness.' Anyone have an rough guesstimate of the time scale? Once every month, more frequently, less frequently? Im just after a very rough idea.
2) I dont have the cash to buy a whole honing stone set. There is so much discussion here about how certain stones really dont leave the razor in a good enough state for shaving, and progressive honing on progressively finer stones is required. How true is this? Can I get away with just one (eg chinese 12k)? Or will this give poor results?
3) I also dont have the tools/facilities to effectively 'lap' any honing stone with a diamond plate or other expensive stones. Does this mean that I shouldnt bother with an 'unlapped' honing stone at all?
4) If I cant get away with an 'unlapped' honing stone, can stropping paste be used effectively instead? Or is stropping paste more of a 'post-honing stone' thing.
What i guess im getting at is, can I take my shave-ready razor, keep it well stropped (before and after shaves), look after it well (keep it dry and undamaged), and use just one unlapped honing stone periodically?
Or am I better off taking my shave-ready razor, keeping it well stropped and looked after, and get away without need for a honing stone? Could I use stropping paste instead? How frequently would I need to do this? (more frequently than if I were using a honing stone I presume?).
Im sorry that there are so many questions. I have plenty more, but I dont want to bore you all to death.
Any input would be great.
Thanks!