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Swaty Hones & why I love them!

jgreenepa

jgreenepa

TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
There’s not a lot of discussion about the effectiveness of Swaty hones as finishers. I’ve been using mine very effectively in conjunction with my constroption. Once a bevel is set, the Swaty can maintain it for quite some time. I use mine in conjunation with Smith’s Honing oil. I really like the edge I get. After a shave, I do about 10-15 strokes on the Swaty, and then my 40 on the constroption (10 strokes per side). Since I‘ve been flatblading, this regimen works well at preserving my edge. Does anyone else out there use a Swaty or another Barber hone to maintain their edge? Great, if so, what works for you!
 
global_dev said:
Whats flatblading?

Almost a dozen years of straight using and never tried a barbers hone that i can remember. No reason i can really think of though.
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Flatblading is a technique @BarberDave of this site writes about for achieving a very smooth neck finish, Jon. It’s on one of his more recent videos here. Bill M has a YT video on it with respect to shavettes. Look up flatblading and it should pop up. The one issue with the technique which Bill M explains is that it dulls the edge. The technique involves a 90 degree angled blade approach (I.e. perpendicular) that very gently scrapes the whiskers flat and smooth. I have been taken to task on FB by a troll who Pooh Pooh’s it, but it does work for me. I’ve found that my Swaty hone restores my edge after flatblading beautifully, which I then further enhance with pasted stropping on my constroption which is a 4 sided pasted stropping tool Howard Schlecter sells on his site, theperfectedge.com.

I use the Swaty with 2 drops of Smith’s honing oil and never more than 10-15 strokes.
 
I’ve used a Swaty hone on occasion, but never after each shave. I’be never really seen all that much improvement on one of my edges from using one. Though I’ve never tried your method, so I’m may very well be the ticket to a great edge. I have 5-6 different types of Swaty/Barber hones, I should give it a go for a week to see how they work out. I do have a lot of razors, so I’m typically switching to a new razor every day of the month or test shaving razors for folks that send them to me to hone. Thus, I don’t often feel the need to touch up my edges that often.

I think At the start of next week, I’ll freshly lap a Swaty or other barber hone and stick to one razor for the week and decide if I like the edge after 10-15 laps per day. It would be good to try something different!

Great thread btw!

jgreenepa said:
I’ve been using mine very effectively in conjunction with my constroption.
Click to expand...
At first I thought you said constipation 😂

I had to look this up as Is never heard of one before. Can you start a thread on this? Thanks!
 
Luecke3262 said:
I’ve used a Swaty hone on occasion, but never after each shave. I’be never really seen all that much improvement on one of my edges from using one. Though I’ve never tried your method, so I’m may very well be the ticket to a great edge. I have 5-6 different types of Swaty/Barber hones, I should give it a go for a week to see how they work out. I do have a lot of razors, so I’m typically switching to a new razor every day of the month or test shaving razors for folks that send them to me to hone. Thus, I don’t often feel the need to touch up my edges that often.

I think At the start of next week, I’ll freshly lap a Swaty or other barber hone and stick to one razor for the week and decide if I like the edge after 10-15 laps per day. It would be good to try something different!

Great thread btw!


At first I thought you said constipation 😂

I had to look this up as Is never heard of one before. Can you start a thread on this? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Matt, I‘ve been using mine w/o lapping at my son’s suggestion. He’s a straight shaver of almost 25 years experience. He told me that the Swaty is very fine grained aNd designed to be used as is. He said he was told that by his neighbor’s grandfather, a retired barber years ago. The honing oil works well with it. I use it until the oil is black. Wedges, as you might imagine, take longer than hollow grinds.
 
I haven't really started honing yet, despite having several straights and almost a full set of stones (lacking a finisher). I have several barber hones that I've picked up here and there....... but what exactly is a Swaty? Can't say I've heard that term before.
 
Franz Swaty put his last name on his barber hones for his company. A couple variations

2 or 3 Line Barber Hone (refers to text lines on branding iirc)

some manufactured in Yugoslavia, but also manufactured in Austria.

Probably one of the more ubiquitous barbe hone brands.
 
It’s a Barber’s hone originally made in Austria, which after the fall of the Austrohungarian Empire became Slovenia. They were originally used by barbers who used lather as the lubricant on them to maintain their edges in the days when barbers used regular straights between about every 4-5 shaves. The Swaty is known to be ultrafine grit. My son collects them, so I was able to get my NOS hone from him. Does a great job for me. I used to use my NANIWA 12K, but I think the Swaty does as good or better a job. I use Smith’s honing oil with mine.

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I have one of these in the shop as we still do use Regular straights for shaving customers
 
I typically use one of my tiles with a film on it for touch ups, but this just seems like a good way to throw myself down the stone rabbit hole.
 
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