Thread: One way to hone a E-bay or Damaged blade

Great and helpful post, Glen. Many thanks! I wish I had read this before I spent hours trying to get some really small chips out of a really hard blade by sharpening them out...

This is definite wiki material.

Best,

cass

Yep, that's a good step by step for a basic honing progression. Nice job Glen.

My method is very similar, only I use two layers of tape and hit the DMTs. Start with the 325, do just as many strokes as is necessary to feel the edge meet at one or more points (the bevel is not completely "set" so that I don't over-do-it), then move on to the 1200 to set the bevel the rest of the way, then move on to the 8k for refining that bevel. Finishing stones will take off the DMT 8k scratches, or you could have gone from the DMT1200 to an 8k Norton style hone or a coticule with equally excellent results. The number of strokes for each level is really dependent on the steel of the razor but it's pretty hard to miss the progress you're making on the DMTs, the amount of metal in the water is a good indicator as well.

I use two layers of tape because the DMTs cut fast enough that the third piece is irrelevant and I step down to 1 layer (or no layers) before the 8k.

Worst case scenario; the DMT's take 30 minutes to reset the bevel on a totally junk wedge with serious chips taken out, anything more than that and I'd recommend a regrind for the blade.

Just another .02

Thanks for the DMT info Russel I was hoping that somebody who used them would chime in here....

Thanks Glen. Nice write up! I came to a very similar process through trial and error over the past few months. The type of hones I use are different due to my limited collection but the grits are similar. It's comforting to see that I arrived at a method used by others. The journey to my solution was fun and sometimes frustraiting. I also found that using a pyramid method of alternating from a lpwer grit to a finer grit speeds things up. The finer grit passes flattens the peaks created in the lower grit so when I go back to the lower grit it removes more metal per pass. Circular strokes also cut faster because they are constantly cutting across the peaks. In setting the bevel w/ circular stroles I use a timer on my stove in place of counting strokes reducing concentration while maintaining a balance in metal removed from each side of blade. Thanks again for putting the process into post for all of us.

This has now been put into the Wiki Thanks go to BeBerlin/Robin for doing that for me... I might be pretty good with razors but I suck at computers

This thread will stay open for more discussion on the topic though

I am going to update this here, as I have been getting a few PM's on this system....
I started this about 2 years ago and met with some success but I had been missing a step for the consistency, when I watched the Dovo video the missing step jumped into my brain...
They cut a pre-bevel on that rotating stone and they lift the spine, that was when I added the 3 layers of tape to cut my pre-bevel and that was when this system became very consistant...
You have to realize that you are actually creating a bevel here you are not just honing, you want to get as even a bevel as possible in this step, super light honing strokes will not cut it here, it takes light pressure, and two hands works better than one...I know this goes against all the preconceived ideas of honing, but you are not honing in this step, you are shaping metal....
This is where the low grit 220 or similar stone just really helps, you cut the pre-bevel, then you move to the 1k or similar stone and begin your actual honing.....
To break that down very clearly, in the first step you are not really honing, you are cutting the pre-bevel...

Again this is not for beginners, this is not for a faucet ding, this is re-cutting an edge....

Can you explain why you set the bevel with tape on the spine?

[QUOTE=
I use two layers of tape because the DMTs cut fast enough that the third piece is irrelevant and I step down to 1 layer (or no layers) before the 8k.[/QUOTE]

Sorry for the question, but I don't follow (nothing new, I'm afraid ). What is the purpose of the 2 or 3 pieces of tape in the first place? In the post, it said the tape was to focus the honing to the edge. Like I said, I'm not getting it.

Anyways, I know this is an antique post, but if anybody's still around, and can help me out, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

Kenny

An updated version with Pics to help show the progression as you lower the bevel angle and why

http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...l-setting.html