Thread: 1st time honing

Well I took the plunge and decided to hone as I can see my self using a straight for a long time

I have been shaving with straights for about 1 year and have 3 razors professionally honed so I have something to compare to

Well I got a Wilhelm webber aw part of a 4 razor lot on eBay none of the razors are any where near shave ready I got 2 x Bengall 1 Wilhelmina webber and a 7/8 Hugo koller ( I am saving that one until I learn to hone as it is the most interesting to me)

With the Wilhelm webber I honed I did the following
Spine no tape
King 1200 45 min to 1 hour to get the bevel set to my liking using x strokes and some circles
King 6000 about 10 min with care x strokes and circles no pressure
Paddle strop with bio diamond 1 nano
150 oases on unpasted strop

The shave is ok a little ruff compared to my other razors but usable.

I think I will try tape on next razor as there was more hone ware than I was hoping

I think I have done a better job on the heal than the rest of the razor so any feed back on how to get a better hone evenly across the blade would be appreciated

I think I could stand a 10k stone for maintenance and finishing but that will have to wait for a bit.

All in all I. Found out that honing and setting bevels takes time and patience, and there is a lot more involved in it than the videos show.

I think the best video for me is the one gssisgun made teaching a 1st timer how to hone as I discovered I had a lot of similar questions

Glad to hear that you are off & running down the honing trail,,,just see it as a pleasurable thing to do & don't let frustration slow the fun.

Well, that’s a honing progression. I don’t know much about honing razors on anything but natural stones and I only use clean leather and cotton or linen to strop on. Let me suggest that when using 1200 grit as in bevel setting, it should only take a very few strokes to establish the two planes. Then, a few passes on something in the 3000 - 4000 range to clean up what the 1200 left unsightly. Next, would come the actual honing to refine the edge for shaving on something in the 6000 - 8000 range. This is where you would spend most of your time. Let me caution that even though you want to get finished as soon as you can with the more coarse stones, don’t leave them before that stage is complete. Therefore, in all phases use deliberate, concentrated strokes and look for your progress as you go. In the final stages look often to see if the edge will shave an arm hair or two or even if it will pop them mid strand. Once it does that you will want to start working toward refining the super keeness with lighter strokes on the finishing stone. Then your clean linen and clean leather will do the trick to give you a comfortable shaving edge. Once your edge is established as a shaver, from then on you should be able to refresh it on the finishing stone and not drop back to the aforementioned coarse stones. This process should save your razor from too much hone wear. A good strop and good stropping technique will minimize your visits to the stones too.

Good luck.

Chasmo

I would suggest trying to get it even and as sharp as possible on the 6k then you will probably need a fair bit on the 1k strop as this is not going to cut fast as it is roughly equivalent to a 12k stone so it is a fair jump in honing grits. You might be better with a stone in the 8-10k region. Good luck and hope you find your happy edge. Ed

Seems like you done pretty well since the edge was ok, dont expect the same results as your pro-honed razor since your finest stone is 6k.

The permanent marker method on the bevel is a good way to test your honing stroke, it gives you a good idea on how the blade is making contact with the hone.

Originally Posted by Martin103

The permanent marker method on the bevel is a good way to test your honing stroke, it gives you a good idea on how the blade is making contact with the hone.

I am assuming that this is marking the edge with a marker and making a stroke to check the contact of the razor on stone

Let me know if I am wrong

Cameron

Originally Posted by monkeycam

Well I took the plunge and decided to hone as I can see my self using a straight for a long time

I have been shaving with straights for about 1 year and have 3 razors professionally honed so I have something to compare to

Well I got a Wilhelm webber aw part of a 4 razor lot on eBay none of the razors are any where near shave ready I got 2 x Bengall 1 Wilhelmina webber and a 7/8 Hugo koller ( I am saving that one until I learn to hone as it is the most interesting to me)

With the Wilhelm webber I honed I did the following
Spine no tape
King 1200 45 min to 1 hour to get the bevel set to my liking using x strokes and some circles
King 6000 about 10 min with care x strokes and circles no pressure
Paddle strop with bio diamond 1 nano
150 oases on unpasted strop

The shave is ok a little ruff compared to my other razors but usable.

I think I will try tape on next razor as there was more hone ware than I was hoping

I think I have done a better job on the heal than the rest of the razor so any feed back on how to get a better hone evenly across the blade would be appreciated

I think I could stand a 10k stone for maintenance and finishing but that will have to wait for a bit.

All in all I. Found out that honing and setting bevels takes time and patience, and there is a lot more involved in it than the videos show.

I think the best video for me is the one gssisgun made teaching a 1st timer how to hone as I discovered I had a lot of similar questions

I also use kings and it took me a while to develop my own little technic ... I basically use everyones suggestions in my honing... I use a king 1k to set bevel! I start with 30 circles and then x strokes! All of this with take... I change the tape after each hone... My X strokes change every 5 strokes... For example heel foward x strokes, lynn style xstrokes , glen style x strokes and i also do some heel to tip x strokes... I found out that by switching every 5 strokes the stone cuts faster... Once i can shave hairs of my arm i know my bevel is set! I then go to my king 6k and i do a version of a one stone hone... Very thick slurry, circles, x strokes... Thin slurry, circles, x strokes and then just waters... Then i jump to my Chinese 12k which i love! She is very slow but really wide and the bevel gets a nice polish! My theory behind switching between styles of strokes is this... I compare to sanding... When u are sanding something and you go back and forward in the same motion and pattern you are creating lines and basically following those... When you change direction ... There more friction is created thus cutting faster... Wrong or right this is what works for me... From 1k to shave rdy... It takes me about an hr an hr half... I do 7passes in chromium oxide...30 passes in linnen and 60 on leather and i am rdy! Last thing! Every razor is different so number of passes and circles its just a guide... Look at that edge regularly... Test on nail, with thumb, magnifying glass... Cut hair from legs or whatever... But not 2 razors take the same amount of passes to hone... Happy honing! Btw... I am no pro at this... I have learned alot here and i keep learning everyday! Get the king slurry stone! It helps soooo much!

Originally Posted by monkeycam

I am assuming that this is marking the edge with a marker and making a stroke to check the contact of the razor on stone

Let me know if I am wrong

Cameron

Yes Cameron your right, a very good tool to make sure the entire edge of the razor makes contact with the hone.
If the bevel still has ink on it you need to adjust your stroke or try a different one, once that is establish it just repeating it over and over.
Strokes for honing a razor - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Originally Posted by robert2286

My X strokes change every 5 strokes... For example heel foward x strokes, lynn style xstrokes , glen style x strokes and i also do some heel to tip x strokes... I found out that by switching every 5 strokes the stone cuts faster...

That is a trick that I use also, I only casually mention it in a couple of the vids so as not to confuse a beginner.. I find it cuts fast yes but more importantly it seems to me that the bevel is more even both in size and IMO the actual depth of the striations...

The only problem for a beginner is it is hard enough to master one type of stroke let alone trying to switch them and learn them all

Originally Posted by gssixgun

That is a trick that I use also, I only casually mention it in a couple of the vids so as not to confuse a beginner.. I find it cuts fast yes but more importantly it seems to me that the bevel is more even both in size and IMO the actual depth of the striations...

The only problem for a beginner is it is hard enough to master one type of stroke let alone trying to switch them and learn them all

Indeed! I think i learned that from one of your videos in fact...!