'You can maintain your razor using a synthetic Finishing hone only '

I have read this numerous time on shaving forums, reddit, facebook etc.

I have also read that sometimes, we might need to go back to a 8K synthetic, but never below that unless we damage the bevel.


My question is: has anyone really done that? Meaning after setting the bevel, maintained the razor using finishing synthetic stone only (may be 8K every once in a while) for say 300+ shaves.

Or is this just a saying people like to mention.

None of my friends who use straights use synthetic finishers, but in practical terms, if you keep the edge in good condition throughout your shaves, I don't see why you couldn't do this. Nevertheless, this is all speculation on my part as I don't generally shave with a straight razor.

Good luck in finding your answer, my friend.

https://youtu.be/28_o9N2qqUg

@"iamsms" I don’t know much of anything about straight razors or honing, but I’m trying to learn. I had found several really interesting videos by Lynn Abrams regarding honing, I don’t know if this will help or not, but hopefully it will be beneficial.

Yes I believe that's a reasonable statement, you should be able to maintain the razor with a 12k or finer hone with few problems. You can also probably maintain it with diamond or CBN on lapped balsa, that's popular but I have a small jnat hone collection and so have not gone that route.

However, if you use pasted strops, especially hanging strops, the bevel will round and sooner or later you will have to re-set the bevel to get bevels flat again. Old European razors are particularly bad because paste was so popular there, and I've had to go to a 500-1000 grit stone just to save a lot of time and wear on a finer stone.

Cheers, Steve

Yes I believe that's a reasonable statement, you should be able to maintain the razor with a 12k or finer hone with few problems.
Cheers, Steve

I know that's a reasonable statement, I was simply wondering has anyone actually done it?

I would like to talk to such a person and take some tips.

There are a number of folks over at SRP that use a Naniwa 12k for maintenance, it's very popular. But there's nothing magic about 12k except that finer is usually better where straight razors are concerned. Basically, if you can finish a razor with a stone you can maintain it with the same stone unless maybe as before, you're using pastes that round the bevel.

You can actually do most of your maintenance with just stropping. I'm on shave 26 with one razor and it's hangin' in there, no need to re-hone it yet. Alfredo Gil (Doc226) used a razor more than a year with just stropping.

Cheers, Steve

There are a number of folks over at SRP that use a Naniwa 12k for maintenance, it's very popular. But there's nothing magic about 12k except that finer is usually better where straight razors are concerned. Basically, if you can finish a razor with a stone you can maintain it with the same stone unless maybe as before, you're using pastes that round the bevel.

You can actually do most of your maintenance with just stropping. I'm on shave 26 with one razor and it's hangin' in there, no need to re-hone it yet. Alfredo Gil (Doc226) used a razor more than a year with just stropping.

Cheers, Steve

My question is nothing about what stropping can achieve, how many shaves one got without re-sharpening, how popular Naniwa 12K is or what pasted strop does. As insightful those answers are, I am not looking for them.

I am simply looking for an actual person who maintained one razor with a finishing stone for more than say 250 shaves. I would like to ask some questions.

I have a couple of razors that I've had for a while. Now, while these don't have anything in the realm of 300 shaves on them (by me anyway), eventually, the edges started to feel like they weren't as sharp as they were when I first received them professionally honed. Since then, I've done a few passes on a finishing stone (Naniwa 12k), and they feel like they've been brought back in line with where they were initially. I can't speak to how effective this is after several touch-ups, but it seems to me that it should be a viable option.

I have a lot of straights, so I don’t use any one of them hundreds of times per year. I do touch them up when they need it though. I use Jnats and Coticules but I probably do touch ups on my Nani 12k more then anything else. Once you feel the performance of an edge slightly falling off, it only takes four or five very light strokes to bring it back. My barber has a handful of razors that he maintains with one synthetic barber hone. He’s maintained some of them like this for decades. Another thing to be mindful of with synthetics is over doing it. Too many strokes will give you a harsh edge that will quickly degrade.

Yes.  Someone really has done that.  I have maintained a set of razors with nothing but a couple of barber hones (Swaty and Carborundum 102) since 2002.  They were my only shavers and hones for about 5 years--when I started trying other hones.  The original 7 razors have continued to be used and maintained only with barber hones and they still shave just fine.