no way I’m going to ruin a blade trying to learn how to sharpen it myself; kitchen knives are hard enough

Sharpening razors is easier than kitchen knives. It’s easy to mess up the bevel on a kitchen knife because you need to free-hand a constant angle. Razors lie flat on the stone. It’s honestly a very accessible and also satisfying skill to pick up, if you like that sort of thing.

My other Austere August Challenge is about eating into maintenance and making finding a reliable sharpener unnecessary, if you’re interested.