honing questions

I already have a straight that hurts me to shave with it, was supposed to be shave ready and it is one of the cheaper brands so shave ready im sure means somewhat sharp. So Im looking at honing it, I ordered a couple of stones, because this can get a bit pricey I see the honing guru's start with setting the bevel on a 1k, move to a 3000, 4000, or 5000 then up to an 8 or 12000k.

Because im on a budget here I ordered a 3000k and a 8000k and some chromium OX, and I'll see what I can do with that, maybe later i'll get a 1k and a 12k

does this sound like a process that can work for the budget minded fella?
Im gonna try it anyway but I just wanted a little feedback.

I am by no means a "guru". Im very new to shave and honing straights. I started with Naniwa Specialty stones in 1k, 5k, and 10k. I have a 20 year old natural hard stone that is roughly 12k, and both chromium and iron oxides on either side of a balsa strop.

Out the door, I have spent less than $275 on this honing setup that works well for me, even when starting with an old vintage blade in need of work...

I cant offer much else than that as I am learning as I go...

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I'm getting stones to sharpen my razors, I got into wet shaving as a hobby, never claimed this hobby was to save me money. Although one can if that's his reason for getting into the game. Mine isn't :-)
That being said I don't want to break the bank either.

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After I bought my 3rd razor and 5th soap the save money claim would have went out the window for my wife. So I had to call it what it was from jump, a hobby and a collection lol , 20 razors and 30 soaps later I'm on a roll !

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I think Im the only one that does this as both hobby AND for saving money.

I currently have 4 DE razors, 1 SE razor,4 usable straights, 1 being restored, 2 shavettes, 6 brushes(2 boar, 3 synthetic, 1 badger), 25 or so soaps, 6 or 8 splashes, my stones, my strops, and various miscellaneous sundries and goods, and I am still under the $1000 price tag.

If I sat here and counted dollar-for-dollar, it's probably close to $700 spent over the last 7 months. That's not bad in my opinion...a very reasonable hobby budget for me...Some people spend more than that on a single razor or brush!

I am pretty proud of my ability to amass a very functional den for a relatively small price. Antique shops, bargains, trades, and some very generous community members work wonders for the wallet.

That's one reason I try so hard to return the generosity I have received...

I already have a straight that hurts me to shave with it, was supposed to be shave ready and it is one of the cheaper brands so shave ready im sure means somewhat sharp. So Im looking at honing it, I ordered a couple of stones, because this can get a bit pricey I see the honing guru's start with setting the bevel on a 1k, move to a 3000, 4000, or 5000 then up to an 8 or 12000k.

Because im on a budget here I ordered a 3000k and a 8000k  and some chromium OX, and I'll see what I can do with that, maybe later i'll get a 1k and a 12k

does this sound like a process that can work for the budget minded fella?
Im gonna try it anyway but I just wanted a little feedback.

To answer your question, yes you can get the job done with those. Setting a bevel will take a good while on a 3000, and it will take some extra time on the 8000 because of the jump, but nothing time can't solve. You should be able to get a good shave with that all. On the other hand, what brand is the razor? Do you mean cheaper as in a Dovo Best, Gold Dollar, or a Pakistan blade?

This is just my opinion, I'm not trying to preach the gospel. If you are new to straight razor shaving, learning to hone a razor is not where you want to start. The first thing that you want to do is learn to shave. Clearly, you can't do that with a razor that is not properly sharpened and honed. Since you have no basis of comparison to know what a properly honed razor feels like, how would you be able to tell when the razor was sharp enough if you try to hone it yourself? Therefore, my suggestion is to send the razor out and have the bevel set and honed by a competent professional that knows what they are doing, at least for the first time. It doesn't cost very much and there might be someone near you who can do it. Then, learn to shave with it. While all of that is going on, watch as many videos on razor honing as you can. Once the bevel is properly set, the razor will only need to be touched up occasionally on an 8k or higher stone for a very long time. That is assuming you don't damage the edge by dropping it or banging it on the sink or something.

Setting a bevel and honing a razor is something you can learn to do and you should, just not before you learn to shave with one, in my opinion. Also, like Fair_to_middlin mentioned, it would be helpful to know what brand of razor we're talking about. Particularly since there are plenty of new and vintage razors out there that are truly shave ready that cost a lot less than a set of stones.

I have a GD 66 and a 200, I am getting a properly honed blade frome someone this coming week and I'll start there. Thanks

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I have a GD 66 and a 200, I am getting a properly honed blade frome someone this coming week and I'll start there. Thanks

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OK. Thanks for that. There are places that sell properly honed Gold Dollars for around $25. The ones that you get off of eBay for $7-$8, claim to be shave ready, but the ones I've seen are very, very far from it. Because of the shoulders on most Gold Dollars, they are not the easiest razors to hone properly and would probably not be my first choice for learning to hone. There is another company called ZY razors that also cost about $7-$8 and appear to be GD's with the shoulders ground off. They also claim to be shave ready, but are not even close -- at least along the entire blade. However, if you get one that lays flat on the stone (not all of them do), then they make very good test subjects for learning to hone. If you mess it up too badly, you're out $8. If not, then you have a useable razor for $8 and some fun labor.

PS: Happy shaving with the new, honed razor -- be sure to watch some shaving videos before you start and don't try to do your whole face the first few times.

I have a GD 66 and a 200, I am getting a properly honed blade frome someone this coming week and I'll start there. Thanks

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OK.  Thanks for that.  There are places that sell properly honed Gold Dollars for around $25.  The ones that you get off of eBay for $7-$8, claim to be shave ready, but the ones I've seen are very, very far from it.  Because of the shoulders on most Gold Dollars, they are not the easiest razors to hone properly and would probably not be my first choice for learning to hone.  There is another company called ZY razors that also cost about $7-$8 and appear to be GD's with the shoulders ground off.  They also claim to be shave ready, but are not even close -- at least along the entire blade.  However,  if  you get one that lays flat on the stone (not all of them do), then they make very good test subjects for learning to hone.  If you mess it up too badly, you're out $8.  If not, then you have a useable razor for $8 and some fun labor.

PS:  Happy shaving with the new, honed razor -- be sure to watch some shaving videos before you start and don't try to do your whole face the first few times.

I think you will possibly find the 200 series easier to hone, simply because the grinding is usually better on them than the 66. However, taking it to a 3000 grit stone to set a bevel could potentially be a nightmare. They often need significant work to give them a reasonably straight bevel. The ZY's are definitely better, but like Uzi said, there is no guarantee. If you want to hone a GD or ZY from start to finish, a 1000 would be good investment. It could be quite a challenge, but then you end up learning a whole lot. So have at it!