Anyone who loves their straight razor will also want to be able to comprehensively care for and maintain it themselves. This includes sharpening on a whetstone. The edge gradually becomes convex through regular stropping. This is intentional to a certain extent. Eventually, however, the angle of the edge becomes too steep and must be reground flat on the stone. Sharpening is also necessary if the edge has been damaged by accidental impact, a fall, or rust resulting from improper storage. We have compiled a short guide to sharpening stones and the sharpening process.
An abrasive is defined by two parameters: the grit size and the bond. The grit size indicates how coarse or fine the structure of a stone is. The coarser the grit, the more material the stone removes from the steel, and the faster it works. With synthetic stones, the grit size is determined during production using appropriate sieves. With natural stones, the grit size can only be approximated. The JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) is the standard commonly used in the trade. The European FEPA standard is used almost exclusively in industry. Stones used for straight razors should be very fine. Opinions differ on the precise grit size that should be used for the final honing of synthetic stones. We use and sell only tried-and-tested traditional natural stones for straight razors, with a grit size corresponding to 4000 to 10000 JIS. The bond indicates how strongly the grains, the actual abrasive particles, are bonded together. The abrasive particles become dull over time and break away from the stone. In this way, the stone keeps itself sharp. The softer the bond, the faster the stone works, and the faster it wears out. No specifications for the bond are provided in industry or trade.
CAUTION! Straight razors are never sharpened on dry stones. The natural stone "Belgian Whetstone" (French: Coticule) is used with water. Its very soft bond creates a fine slurry on which the blade glides. American Arkansas stones, also natural stones, are used exclusively with special honing oil. These stones have a very hard bond and practically do not wear down. To sharpen, similar to stropping, first the spine and then the edge are carefully placed against the stone. Unlike stropping, however, the blade is not pulled away from the edge but pushed against it. To do this, place three or four fingers on the sides of the blade's spine and, with light pressure, push the knife lengthwise across the stone towards the edge. When the blade is properly positioned, the water on the Belgian Whetstone or the oil on the Arkansas stone will form a small ripple in front of the edge. If the spine is decorated with gilding, etching, or engraving, it should first be covered with thin insulating tape to avoid grinding off the decoration. Once the razor has reached the desired sharpness, strop it on a strop treated with compound and then finish with a final strop on an untreated strop.