Much of the advice available online suggest that you need to spend hundreds of dollars on equipment just to keep your razor sharp. But do you know you may be wasting your time and money while doing this? may be you can utilize this time in growing up your business.
A brief description on how you sharpen your razor will tell you how long it takes.
For all these, you will need to purchase some leather, a block of wood and some glue that is suitable for both leather and wood. The first step is to cut your leather into a 3”x 6” piece. Just a note of caution, do not use your razor to cut the leather. You will need to use a leather knife or strong shears to cut the leather.
Next you will need to glue the leather to a block of wood. You can purchase pre-cut wood from a lumber yard. It doesn’t matter if the block is a little larger than the leather. Before gluing, give the block of wood a quick sand down and ensure that there is not dust or other contaminants that could prevent adhesion. Use a good quality glue, such as rubber cement. Apply the glue to one half of the rough side of the leather then press the leather to the wood, holding it firmly and pushing out any air pockets that may form. Repeat for the other half of the leather.
Already feeling absurd reading this? Wait, I have more for you.
Before you can use your new hone to keep your razor sharp, you will need to purchase a few supplies. First is diamond paste or spray. To properly sharpen your razor, you will need 3 different sprays with different microns. 1 micron, 0.5 micron and 0.25 micron. It is very important to only use 1 paste or spray per hone and leave one hone paste or spray free. Make sure you thoroughly wash your hands and razor before moving between your hones.
Tired of this? Get an electric razor and use it for years with proper care. Read awesome tips on Instant grooming.
Learning how to sharpen the razor can take a little time as it is not the same as sharpening a knife on a stone. You start with the razor laying on the leather, blade up. Rotate the razor to get the blade flat on the hone then pull the razor in the direction of the 3” end of the leather away from the blade. Make sure you pull the razor with the back of the razor facing the hone and do not push the razor, always pull. After reaching the edge, rotate the blade again and pull to the other side of the hone. Repeat this as often as required, starting with the largest grit and moving down through the grits to the smallest. It is important to wash the razor between grit sizes to avoid cross-contamination. The last hone is left without paste or spray and is used for polishing the razor.
If you really want to be away from this hassle get an electric razor for yourself.
If you have enough time to do all these, then it is just fine. I have no problem. All I told that you can utilize this time in other productive works.
