All of my razors are shave ready, my honing progression is as follows:
325 grit diamond hone for initial bevel setting,
1000 grit Japanese waterstone for bevel setting,
5000 grit Japanese waterstone for initial polishing,
8000 grit Japanese waterstone for polishing,
12000 grit Japanese waterstone for final polishing,
Japanese asagi natural stone with tomo nagura for finishing,
Then i strop on linen then finally leather for a super sharp but comfortable edge.
Then I will shave test the razor, and if it passes i will sterilize the blade before applying a layer of Renaissance wax to protect against corrosion.
After some time of use the blade will naturally dull, and start to pull and tug,
Now is the time to refresh the cutting edge, there are a couple of options:
1. Pasted strop
2. Finishing hone
3. Sending out to be honed
I highly recommend learning how to refresh the edge yourself so you are not reliant on somebody else, finishing hones are relatively cheap and once mastered you are self reliant, many straight razor shavers just have a strop and finishing hone and with these you can keep your razor sharp indefinitely (as long as you don't damage the edge).
I won't get into honing as there are many great guides online, some good places to start are:
www.theshavingroom.co.uk
www.badgerandblade.com
www.straightrazorpalace.com
I do offer a honing service, price per razor is £25 and that includes return postage (uk only) please feel free to contact me if interested.
325 grit diamond hone for initial bevel setting,
1000 grit Japanese waterstone for bevel setting,
5000 grit Japanese waterstone for initial polishing,
8000 grit Japanese waterstone for polishing,
12000 grit Japanese waterstone for final polishing,
Japanese asagi natural stone with tomo nagura for finishing,
Then i strop on linen then finally leather for a super sharp but comfortable edge.
Then I will shave test the razor, and if it passes i will sterilize the blade before applying a layer of Renaissance wax to protect against corrosion.
After some time of use the blade will naturally dull, and start to pull and tug,
Now is the time to refresh the cutting edge, there are a couple of options:
1. Pasted strop
2. Finishing hone
3. Sending out to be honed
I highly recommend learning how to refresh the edge yourself so you are not reliant on somebody else, finishing hones are relatively cheap and once mastered you are self reliant, many straight razor shavers just have a strop and finishing hone and with these you can keep your razor sharp indefinitely (as long as you don't damage the edge).
I won't get into honing as there are many great guides online, some good places to start are:
www.theshavingroom.co.uk
www.badgerandblade.com
www.straightrazorpalace.com
I do offer a honing service, price per razor is £25 and that includes return postage (uk only) please feel free to contact me if interested.