Thread: why so many people get into honing!

Hello Fellows,


I couldn't help but to share this thought I had.

I feel that if so many people get into honing their own razors it is mostly because that's the first and main wet-shaving related activity that you can practice with others without feeling weird.

When I started straight shaving, I would have liked to have someone beside me showing me and telling me how to do it. But that's in the bathroom, usually with just a towel wrap around your waist, that is a kind of intimacy I don't want to share with a stranger met online...

When you start wet-shaving, honing may be the first activity that you can do in a totally non-intimate situation. I kind of believe that, in a way, that is why so many people hone, or why many people do much more than just touch ups (that can take you a long long way...). Because you can easily meet people and share your experience about that.

Any thoughts or opinions about this?


Cheers
Christophe.

I hone alone

Hone and the world hones with you. Shave, and you bleed alone.

The developer left himself open, but I'm not going to make him mad.

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

I hone alone

With just a towel around your waist?

I hone in the middle of the night so not likely to have others around... maybe because no one else is around lol

I got into honing just to be self sufficient at first... so that I could maintain shave ready razors forever. Now, I enjoy honing because of the sense of accomplishment I get when I shave with an edge that I honed myself and get a smooth shave. It's also relaxing. I hone in my garage "man cave" while watching netflix. I'm sure when HAD gets its grasp on me, I will enjoy trying new stones and methods to get that perfect edge. I haven't ever honed with anyone, and don't really have an inclination to... not that I'd mind showing them how...

As I live in Norway, there really wasn't any appealing options out there, other than to do it myself.
Nowadays it has become a major part of why I enjoy this sport so much.

I am in the process of ordering my first set of hones. My main reason is, as mentioned previously, to be self sufficient. I want to be able to keep my razors sharp and eventually not have to send them out.
Also, I think that people who wetshave are obviously persistent individuals, and it is something that none of us take lightly, and we never half-ass the process. As we get better, we want to learn every aspect of it. Like I said, I think that it is something that has to do with the persistence of the individual to continue and further your knowledge and skills.
It is a lot like many other skills and hobbies in that aspect. For example, many people, after learning to drive, learn maintenance on their vehicle. Self sufficiency and the pride of mastering a new skill are what I believe to be the two driving forces behind the masses of people that learn to hone.

I think most of the reason people DIDN'T hone themselves back in the day is because they didn't want to take the time to learn...

I doubt you'll find anyone here who (while we may be impatient with the learning curve) has a problem putting in the time. At some point, we made a decision to put whatever time is needed to learn this art. As long as we are spending all that time, why not go for broke?