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Before coming to MD Barber Supply, I ran a very small straight razor sharpening and custom shaving brush project. I hesitate calling it a business, as it was more for fun as a hobby rather than an actual business, but over a few years time, I was able to get rather handy with a straight razor and develop a decent honing process. The best way I can describe the process of learning to properly hone a straight razor is the art of “trial and error.” This is certainly an art, and just like other arts, there is learning curve required before you begin producing razor edges capable of being considered a “masterpiece.” I ruined a lot of straight razors in my first few weeks of learning, and I’m thankful that none of them were extremely valuable or great quality. If you want to learn how to sharpen your own straight razors, I commend you and encourage you to do so! Be patient with yourself and you will eventually become a master (not that I am a master by any means!).
The first thing
I want to talk about when honing a razor is this: there is no one way to properly hone a razor. If you
look into some of the honing communities on social media or on straight razor
forums, you will more than likely see a plethora of people claiming to have
developed the BEST way to hone a razor, and that all other ways are “stupid,”
or even “damaging.” The funny thing is that this “best” method is released
about once every week, and it always looks a little bit different than the
“best” method the week before. As in every niche, there is always a group of
individuals who want to dominate the industry and who desire to establish
themselves within the hierarchy of the trade, seemingly ripping the joy out of
whatever it might be.
Music? I’m sure you
know a legalistic musician. Writing? I see grammar Nazis on a daily basis.
Honing a straight razor? Don’t even get me started.
It’s
difficult to identify the actual origin of modern straight razor honing, but
try to put yourselves in the place of a frontier barber travelling via wagon
train on the Oregon Trail. I highly doubt this individual possessed more than a
few honing stones and a couple straight razors in his barbering box/pack. More
than likely, this frontier barber probably had a single stone or honing surface
which he used to sharpen his straight razors, surgical tools, and dental
instruments. Remember, barbers were also the town doctors and dentists in many
places. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for a “honer” to have 6 or 7 different
stones which they sharpen the razor with in progression from lowest to highest
grit. This process is slightly different than sharpening a knife, as a straight
razor must have a “razors edge,” while a knife simply needs to be sharpened. Of
course there’s more to the process, but I’m not going to bore you with the
details here. You came to read about sharpening a straight razor, so I’m going
to show you how I sharpen a straight razor! As I stated before, there is no one way to sharpen a razor, and as you
progress in your ability, you will find yourself changing your preferred method
even if ever so slightly, as many artists do. Before getting into the actual
process, let’s talk about tools and cost.
Ok, so you
have a straight razor that you want to sharpen. You can get by with a single
stone, but I’m going to explain the process I perform which calls for a more
intricate system. These are the tools I use, but feel free to research and
experiment for yourself:
· Stones
o
Norton 200/1,000 Grit Stone ($45)
o
Norton 1,000 Grit Stone ($50)
o
Norton 4,000/8,000 Grit Stone ($75)
o
Vintage BossBarber Stone (Slurry Stone; $10-$20)
o
Vintage Carborundum Stone ($30)
o
Zulu Grey 3x5 20,000+ Grit Stone ($150)
o
Black Arkansas 25,000+ Grit Stone ($100)
· Strops
o
Straight Razor Designs 2” Red Latigo Strop ($50)
o
J. Ryan & Co. Horween Leather Strop ($200)
· Misc
o
Electrical Tape ($10/large roll)
o
1,200 grit Sandpaper
· Expected
Total Cost: Around $700.
You do not have to get the same
setup I do, which is not even a completed set as I still have a few more stones
I would like to get. As someone just getting into honing, I would suggest
setting a budget around $200. This would allow you to get a decent strop along
with 2 or 3 stones (1,000, 4,000/8,000 combo, and maybe a 10,000 if you are
lucky). Some people prefer to get a “lapping stone” to ensure their honing
stones are always flat, but I like to use 600-1,200 grit sandpaper instead
since its cheaper, and the reliability of sandpaper is dependent on the flat
surface you use it upon, whereas the reliability of a lapping stone is
dependent on the wear-and-tear of the lapping stone, which after much use has
the tendency to become lop-sided. Do what you think is better! There are those
who also get really into the honing
process and buy magnification systems so that they can see the razor’s edge
under extreme magnification. I think this is unnecessary, but nonetheless
pretty cool.
First, you need to ensure you
have the proper lubricant for the stone. Depending on your stone, you should
either ensure your stones surface is covered with water, or a dab of oil. I
know individuals who perform this process with a small stream of water
constantly running on the surface of the stone, but I prefer to apply water via
fingertips or spray bottle. Personally, I do not like oil stones as much (even
though I have two in my rotation), so I tend to focus on water stones. I also
utilize what is called a “slurry stone,” a stone which imparts granules as an
extra layer of abrasiveness to the actual stone you will be honing with. For
myself, I use the Boss Barber stone and rub it together (on a flat surface)
with the wetted surface of the stone I am about to use. You
will see the “gritty” water textured around the stone. Unless your blade is
completely destroyed, you shouldn’t have to start at anything below a 1,000
grit stone. If your bevel is set fine, then perhaps you start at a 4,000 grit
stone, but if you need to do a good bit of work on the edge, I suggest starting
at 1,000 grit then moving up from there. Keep in mind, if you get to a 20,000
grit stone then decide to bring it back down to 1,000, you will need to reuse
the stones in between again. Think of the lower grit stones as the actual
“sharpening” while the higher grit stones are more for “polishing.”
Let’s assume I am resetting the
bevel on a razor. Starting off, I cut a piece of electric tape to fit along the
spine of the razor.
This protects the steel-spine,
which you DON’T want having metal removed, from the abrasive surface of the
stone and allows for a slight elevation advantage which better develops the
cutting edge. Depending on the razor, you may need to use two pieces of tape,
but hardly ever will you need to use more. Next, I apply warm water to the
surface of the 1,000 grit stone. I then use my slurry stone, which has been
soaking in warm water for the past few minutes, and rub it against the surface
of the 1,000 grit stone, carefully applying pressure as needed and constantly
turning the stone as not to wear a section too much. The stone is prepped and
ready to go!
At this point, I now bring the
razor flat on the surface of the
1,000 grit stone, blade pointed away from
me. Some of you may have had a barber college teach you to hone a razor with
the blade faced toward you, but I argue that this is a great way to sharpen a
knife, not a razor. With the blade facing away from you, gently begin making
small circular motions while slowly moving the razor in the cutting direction.
I try to get around thirty circular motions in a single direction. When you get
to the end, careful not to push the blade over the edge of the stone (ruining
the cutting edge against the abrupt edge!), flip the blade the other direction
by turning it a top the stone and not
underneath. When I first started, I
had a bad habit of flipping the blade the wrong way when I would go the other
direction, and on a few occasions, I scrapped the cutting edge of the blade
against the surface of the stone and had to start over. Now, I do this circular
process a total of four times—two times up, and two times down.
If you were to look at the edge
under a microscope, it would look awful! It might be uniform, but the actual
surface would look all scratched up due to the circular motions. This is where
you start the polishing, and thus the “better cutting,” process. With the bevel
set fairly well, I then place the razor back on the stone and gently push the
razor—starting away from me, then toward me—in an X-pattern. This creates that
uniform pattern on the razor which makes for a more comfortable cutting and
shaving experience.
I have what is called the 100
rule: 100 passes on each stone. Some people will do 100 passes on one stone,
then 200 passes on another, but as a general rule of thumb, I start with 100
passes. So on the 1,000 grit stone, I will have pushed the razor up 50 times, and pulled down 50 times. When performed on the
1,000 grit stone, you should have a really decent edge started. The rest really
comes easy—just repeat! I move up to the 4,000 grit stone, then to the 8,000,
then to the Carborundum, then….you get the idea. Start with the lower grit stones,
and then move your way up from there!
As far as the cutting edge is
concerned, I have produced some really decent razors on the 8,000 grit stone as
the highest grit finishing stone. You don’t need
to have stones 10,000+ grit, but it certainly makes for a better razor! If you
just want to hone a razor that will cut, albeit rather uncomfortable depending
on the razor, then you can probably finish on an 8,000 grit stone, although I
suggest eventually investing in some high grit and quality stones if you really
want to develop your razors and skills.
Let’s talk about strops. For
those of you familiar with modern strops, you are already aware of the two
different lengths of a strop and what purpose each side serves. For those of
you wondering why there are usually two different leather strips, or “lengths,”
and why one is not good enough, let me take a moment to elaborate a little on
the strop design. Generally, a strop will have a light side (secondary length)
and a heavy side (main body). The light side serves to (1) remove any burrs or
rust on the edge of the blade in order to prepare the edge for a good
“refreshing,” and (2) to warm the edge’s metal by means of friction in order to
allow the heavy side to properly freshen the blade. This obviously means that
the heavy side is specifically for refreshing the blade in a quicker and more
efficient manner that the lighter side. The heavy side is what actually keeps
the blade sharp. I personally use a J. Ryan & Co. Custom Horsehide Strop,
and highly suggest contacting J. Ryan & Co. if you are in the market for an
heirloom item. If you do not want to take the big plunge into such a luxury
item yet, keep in mind that here at MD Barber Supply, we carry really good
quality beginner strops that will get the job done, and won’t break the bank. I know it seems silly, but you really want to
make sure you are using a good piece of leather. The quality of the leather can
make or break the strops refreshing capability.
As far as using a strop is
concerned, you should be stropping your blade before every use, and it does
take a little bit of practice. More than likely, your first time stropping a
blade will result in you “rolling the edge.” If you hold the blade at a bad
angle, or if you apply too much pressure/leverage, the cutting edge will fold
over on itself, dulling the cutting capability. Stropping a blade is the art of
finding the perfect balance between pressure, angle, and passes. I generally
keep to the 60 rule: 60 passes on the light side, and 60 passes on the heavy
side. If the blade is freshly honed, I will do 30 passes instead. You do not
want to “over-strop” the blade, which is easy to do if you are not keeping
track of the passes.
You are ready to shave! This is
obviously a brief picture of the entire process, as I could go on for days
concerning the different types of straight razors and tricks in honing a
full-wedge razor, or a full-hollow ground razor. To restate what I originally
said in the beginning, learning how to hone a razor takes practice, and there’s
really not a single perfect way or
method of honing. Just get out there and start! What I explained here are just
some tricks and tips I have found, discovered, or learned from others in
developing a method that allows me to produce great edges. Experiment for
yourself, but be warned—it gets addicting!
luis henrique alves godoi1 segundo atrĂ¡s
I made a purchase and never gave me my product and not returning the money.
don't trust buying company no reliable
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Can you let me know which of your straight razors have the exposed blade. .. Please and thank you
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