When I first started in the 90s I was warned by web sites to NEVER hone your own blade, it's just too difficult. So I never honed for 20 years, just using a strop and chromium oxide. I had a dud Spanish razor (souvenir junk) and thought I'd buy a synthetic stone to 'fix' it, if it works the cost of the stone is offset by the price of the new razor I would have bought. Turned out the Spanish steel was soft as ice-cream & it was a razor shaped object. I gave my old razors a rub and it sparked them up a bit, but wasn't really needed. When I bought some Chinese razors they had to be honed, they were no where near shave ready. Crummy geometry & dull blades, you know the ones. They came out well in the end but took a bit of work. As you say it's not rocket science, but took longer than TH-cam videos show! I thought there was something wrong when after 10mins of honing nothing happened! Consensus on Badger & Blade is that once a blade is sharp, it can be maintained indefinitely using balsa wood with diamond paste. Cheap, simple and quick. I made a cheat version and put some CrOx on balsa and it works just fine. Hanging hair tests, not a problem! I do find the cheap Chinese razors have a much more aggressive finish & often get weepers from them, while my nice razors (TI and others like them) never become unruly. I suspect steel quality has a bit to do with the final finish and it's not just the stone. I have a King 4K and a generic 3k/8K stone and it works great for me.
Wow! xxXXCarbon6XXxx you have really "Embraced the Journey", well done! Yeah Buddy the razor shaped object can be frustrating, but the Chinese razors are a great way to learn how to hone! It does take longer to hone your straight razor than what it looks like on TH-cam videos for sure. Do you feel that your pasted balsa wood strop can keep your straight razor sharp alone? or From time to time you need to go back to your 8K? Steel can be challenging my friend... I know that Stainless Steel does take a bit more work to hone to a Shave Ready Edge than Carbon Steel does. Going from your 8k to your Crom Ox pasted balsa strop should produce a Fine Edge! Thanks so much for your great comment and encouragement for us all, and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
@@AdventuresInWetShaving Eric, there is a thread on B&B right now where long term users of the pasted balsa are complaining that they miss their old stones and will never need to use them again. I won't be going back to the hone unless there is physical damage or misalignment. The Method I speak of can be found here www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/how-to-use-a-pasted-balsa-strop.473580/page-57#post-10897369
As a complete beginner with SRs, with a couple of Chinese pieces (didn't want to overcommit before knowing SRs were right for me) that I either honed in a local shop (a total bust) or bought shave-ready from real pros (seems OK), it is becoming apparent that I'll have to learn to hone by myself. I very much appreciate the simplified explanation.
Great questions Roma! ;) Yeah, Buddy Chinese straight razors are a great place to start learning how to how your own razors! Here's a link to "If I Could Only Have One... Set of Hones to Maintain My Straight Razor" check it out. The other thing is if you can buy a shave-ready straight razor to can maintain the edge using a pasted strop on the cheap. Here's a link th-cam.com/video/rW2lXKJ-lfI/w-d-xo.html to "How To Strop Your Straight Razor, Finish/Refresh Your Edge" you can check this playlist out. It may be a great place to start before going into honing. Please let me know if you have any other questions, and let me know how you get along. Thanks for your great questions and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
Glad you enjoyed it, Ahmet! Yeah Buddy! Thanks for your encouraging comment and thanks for watching! :) Take care and stay safe, have a good day my friend! :) #Heart
Absolutely Chris! ;) Yeah, Buddy with practice and time honing a straight razor is both fun and rewarding. When you can shave off of your own edge that's an amazing feeling! Thanks for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
Josh the ceramic stones are very consistent! ;) Yeah Buddy! Thanks for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
That sounds great Frank! ;) Yeah, Buddy congrats! Thanks for your great comment and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
Barbus thanks so much for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
Glad you enjoyed it, Andy! ;) Yeah Buddy! Thanks for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Take care and stay safe, have a good evening my friend! :) #Heart
Glad you enjoyed it, Douglas! ;) Yeah Buddy! Thanks for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Take care and stay safe, have a good day my friend! :) #Heart
i do love a bit of honing . the ilr is a great stone i find i get a nice edge . comfortable but still sharp enough to cut them whiskers . also i think it’s a great starter stone . don’t need to work out the slurry thing or work out which slurry stone to use when to dilute the slurry . great video sir . not got a synthetic finisher . i do have a 4 sided strop with I micron and .5 micron diamond paste on it if i want to give that edge a real bit of zip to it 👍👍👍
Right on Paul the ILR is a great finishing stone! ;) Yeah, Buddy I do have some synthetic finishers and they will produce a keen light saber edge for sure! But the ILR produces a sharp yet comfortable and enjoyable edge. Your 4 sided strop sounds very interesting! Is that something you made? Thanks for your great comment and encouragement for us all, and for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
Excellent video Eric. I use lapping films. The first time I honed my very first razor, I got great results with the films. It"s inexpensive and an idiot proof honing method. Have an awesome day!
Joseph great Tip using Lapping Film to hone with! ;) Yeah Buddy and a great way to keep your straight razor honed inexpensively! Thanks for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Take care and stay safe, have an awesome day and a good weekend, my friend! :) #Heart
Great question Vasil! ;) Check out this link ebay.to/2LmRD3f for the Imperia La Roccia 3"x8" PREMIUM 12-15K Sharpening Hone. Please let me know if you have any other questions, and let me know how you get along. Thanks so much for the Sub and encouraging comment, and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
👉 Please Let me Know if You have any Questions, Comments or Suggestions for a Video You Would like to See! 👍🙂👍 #Heart ✅ Support this channel by Clicking on Join and Becoming a Member: th-cam.com/users/AdventuresInWetShavingjoin
Congrats Mike, well done! ;) What do you believe is the biggest thing you've learned while honing? Thanks for your great comments and thanks for watching! :) Have a good week, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
@@AdventuresInWetShaving tbh I think the biggest thing I learned is look carefully at the blades geometry. Because if it’s a little off it’s going to throw your whole progression out of wack!
Practicing with gold dollars really made me that much better! I had a TI wolf and sheep, a Henckels, and currently I just have 2 gold dollars , a Dubl Duck Special No.1 and a J.A Henckels golden checkered 72 square tip Friodur INOX. All naniwa stones at a progression of 1k 3K 8k 12k I use the green DIALUX, and I have 3 strops, one horse and 2 English bridals.
But being so used to carbon steel I’m still getting familiar with the face feel and how the stainless acts on the hones. That Friodur sure is pretty though. I just found the red case for it on eBay 💈😁🤙🏻💈 -Mike 🌹
Excellent video Eric. I use lapping films. The first time I honed my very first razor, I got great results with the films. It"s inexpensive and an idiot proof honing method. Have an awesome day!
When I first started in the 90s I was warned by web sites to NEVER hone your own blade, it's just too difficult. So I never honed for 20 years, just using a strop and chromium oxide. I had a dud Spanish razor (souvenir junk) and thought I'd buy a synthetic stone to 'fix' it, if it works the cost of the stone is offset by the price of the new razor I would have bought. Turned out the Spanish steel was soft as ice-cream & it was a razor shaped object. I gave my old razors a rub and it sparked them up a bit, but wasn't really needed.
When I bought some Chinese razors they had to be honed, they were no where near shave ready. Crummy geometry & dull blades, you know the ones. They came out well in the end but took a bit of work. As you say it's not rocket science, but took longer than TH-cam videos show! I thought there was something wrong when after 10mins of honing nothing happened!
Consensus on Badger & Blade is that once a blade is sharp, it can be maintained indefinitely using balsa wood with diamond paste. Cheap, simple and quick. I made a cheat version and put some CrOx on balsa and it works just fine. Hanging hair tests, not a problem!
I do find the cheap Chinese razors have a much more aggressive finish & often get weepers from them, while my nice razors (TI and others like them) never become unruly. I suspect steel quality has a bit to do with the final finish and it's not just the stone. I have a King 4K and a generic 3k/8K stone and it works great for me.
Wow! xxXXCarbon6XXxx you have really "Embraced the Journey", well done!
Yeah Buddy the razor shaped object can be frustrating, but the Chinese razors are a great way to learn how to hone! It does take longer to hone your straight razor than what it looks like on TH-cam videos for sure.
Do you feel that your pasted balsa wood strop can keep your straight razor sharp alone? or From time to time you need to go back to your 8K?
Steel can be challenging my friend... I know that Stainless Steel does take a bit more work to hone to a Shave Ready Edge than Carbon Steel does. Going from your 8k to your Crom Ox pasted balsa strop should produce a Fine Edge!
Thanks so much for your great comment and encouragement for us all, and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
@@AdventuresInWetShaving Eric, there is a thread on B&B right now where long term users of the pasted balsa are complaining that they miss their old stones and will never need to use them again. I won't be going back to the hone unless there is physical damage or misalignment. The Method I speak of can be found here www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/how-to-use-a-pasted-balsa-strop.473580/page-57#post-10897369
Very cool, thanks so much for your link! Yeah Buddy! :) #Heart
As a complete beginner with SRs, with a couple of Chinese pieces (didn't want to overcommit before knowing SRs were right for me) that I either honed in a local shop (a total bust) or bought shave-ready from real pros (seems OK), it is becoming apparent that I'll have to learn to hone by myself.
I very much appreciate the simplified explanation.
Great questions Roma! ;) Yeah, Buddy Chinese straight razors are a great place to start learning how to how your own razors! Here's a link to "If I Could Only Have One... Set of Hones to Maintain My Straight Razor" check it out. The other thing is if you can buy a shave-ready straight razor to can maintain the edge using a pasted strop on the cheap. Here's a link th-cam.com/video/rW2lXKJ-lfI/w-d-xo.html to "How To Strop Your Straight Razor, Finish/Refresh Your Edge" you can check this playlist out. It may be a great place to start before going into honing. Please let me know if you have any other questions, and let me know how you get along.
Thanks for your great questions and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
Great idea I learned on gold dollars like most ppl
Great video Eric.
Glad you enjoyed it, Ahmet! Yeah Buddy!
Thanks for your encouraging comment and thanks for watching! :) Take care and stay safe, have a good day my friend! :) #Heart
Nice job Eric. You're right honing is within the reach of most people with practice and time.
Absolutely Chris! ;) Yeah, Buddy with practice and time honing a straight razor is both fun and rewarding. When you can shave off of your own edge that's an amazing feeling!
Thanks for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
Nice, informative video. I use both natural and synthetic stones, but I love the ceramics.
Josh the ceramic stones are very consistent! ;) Yeah Buddy!
Thanks for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
True i can hone myself now. I have a Nice collection already off Stones in 1 year.
That sounds great Frank! ;) Yeah, Buddy congrats!
Thanks for your great comment and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
You're welcome Erik nice job Man. Specialist in razors I know.
Barbus thanks so much for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
Hi Eric, really nice video with lots of great tips!
Glad you enjoyed it, Andy! ;) Yeah Buddy!
Thanks for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Take care and stay safe, have a good evening my friend! :) #Heart
Great video Eric, very informative.
Glad you enjoyed it, Douglas! ;) Yeah Buddy!
Thanks for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Take care and stay safe, have a good day my friend! :) #Heart
I always admire the Fredrick Herter, such a nice Razor.
Andy it is a fine razor for sure! ;) Have a great weekend! Cheers! :) #Heart
i do love a bit of honing . the ilr is a great stone i find i get a nice edge . comfortable but still sharp enough to cut them whiskers . also i think it’s a great starter stone . don’t need to work out the slurry thing or work out which slurry stone to use when to dilute the slurry . great video sir . not got a synthetic finisher . i do have a 4 sided strop with I micron and .5 micron diamond paste on it if i want to give that edge a real bit of zip to it 👍👍👍
Right on Paul the ILR is a great finishing stone! ;) Yeah, Buddy I do have some synthetic finishers and they will produce a keen light saber edge for sure! But the ILR produces a sharp yet comfortable and enjoyable edge. Your 4 sided strop sounds very interesting! Is that something you made?
Thanks for your great comment and encouragement for us all, and for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
no sir it’s a Haryali Pure Leather 4 Sided Strop i got off ebay a paddle strop
Very cool! I'll check it out brother! :) #Heart
Excellent video Eric. I use lapping films. The first time I honed my very first razor, I got great results with the films. It"s inexpensive and an idiot proof honing method. Have an awesome day!
Joseph great Tip using Lapping Film to hone with! ;) Yeah Buddy and a great way to keep your straight razor honed inexpensively!
Thanks for your great comment and encouragement, and thanks for watching! :) Take care and stay safe, have an awesome day and a good weekend, my friend! :) #Heart
Great video, I just subscribed.
Whare I can Find such a natural stone for straight razors 12-15k aprocimate grit.
Thanks and keep up the good work
Great question Vasil! ;) Check out this link ebay.to/2LmRD3f for the Imperia La Roccia 3"x8" PREMIUM 12-15K Sharpening Hone. Please let me know if you have any other questions, and let me know how you get along.
Thanks so much for the Sub and encouraging comment, and thanks for watching! :) Have a good day, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
👉 Please Let me Know if You have any Questions, Comments or Suggestions for a Video You Would like to See! 👍🙂👍 #Heart
✅ Support this channel by Clicking on Join and Becoming a Member: th-cam.com/users/AdventuresInWetShavingjoin
I’m over a year honing
Congrats Mike, well done! ;) What do you believe is the biggest thing you've learned while honing?
Thanks for your great comments and thanks for watching! :) Have a good week, take care and stay safe my friend! :) #Heart
@@AdventuresInWetShaving tbh I think the biggest thing I learned is look carefully at the blades geometry. Because if it’s a little off it’s going to throw your whole progression out of wack!
Practicing with gold dollars really made me that much better! I had a TI wolf and sheep, a Henckels, and currently I just have 2 gold dollars , a Dubl Duck Special No.1 and a J.A Henckels golden checkered 72 square tip Friodur INOX. All naniwa stones at a progression of 1k 3K 8k 12k I use the green DIALUX, and I have 3 strops, one horse and 2 English bridals.
But being so used to carbon steel I’m still getting familiar with the face feel and how the stainless acts on the hones. That Friodur sure is pretty though. I just found the red case for it on eBay
💈😁🤙🏻💈
-Mike 🌹
Mike you are so right! ;) Blade geometry is key to setting a bevel. :) #Heart
Excellent video Eric. I use lapping films. The first time I honed my very first razor, I got great results with the films. It"s inexpensive and an idiot proof honing method. Have an awesome day!
Thanks so much Joseph! :) #Heart