One of my blades has a nick on it, should I hone myself?

Hi everyone,

I recently joined the world of straight razor shaving and I've been reading here quietly for a while. I can't tell you how much the information in this forum helped me and also how much I got sucked into this fascinating topic.

Initially, I thought straight razor shaving would save me some money. However, after having ordered a couple of "initial" items (Dovo Best Quality 5/8, Wacker Jungmeister 7/8, 2 strops (one of exceptional quality from Lynn, thank you!), Golddachs shaving soap, Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream, Omega brush, Norton 4000/8000 waterstone, etc.), I now know that this will most likely be a long-term relationship with beautiful blades, aromatic smelling creams and soaps, and an exceptional shaving experience… I also learned very quickly how to order items so they wouldn't get delivered on days when my wife has a day off – I guess you know what I mean ;-)

With that said, my Dovo blade got a nick on it close to the point (see photo below). And now I'm wondering whether I should hone/repair the blade myself or whether I should send it in. I was planning to hone it myself anyway and I already own the Norton 4000/8000. But this specific nick looks bigger than what a beginner might be able to fix. Any advice?

Also, is there someone on this forum who lives close to me (Mill Valley, Marin County, California) and could help me with this?

Thanks a lot in advance,

Frank

Attachment 161673

It looks like it will easily hone out to me. It is up to you whether you want to try honing out yourself or send it out.

Bob

Thanks a lot, Bob. Do you think I'll need a stone coarser than 4000 (e.g. 1000) or is the Norton 4000/8000 waterstone going to be sufficient in this case?

Frank

That is a very small nick and should come out easily. The 4k should be able to do the job and as you are just starting honing going a bit slower is probably better anyway. Try watching the vids by Gssixgun as he has a lot that go from bevel set up and that is where you are going to have to start. Good luck

Hey Ed, thanks a lot. That's super helpful for me to know. I just didn't want to ruin the blade and thought it would be better to ask here. I'll keep you in the loop on how it goes. Now, I ordered sandpaper to smoothen the Norton prior to using it for the first time. Anything else I should keep in mind when trying to fix the part with the nick?

Welcome to the forum, glad you've signed on!! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fschulenburg

Anything else I should keep in mind when trying to fix the part with the nick?

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Yes, since you're new to honing and will be on the hone longer for that nick. Tape the spine. If you put uneven hone wear on the spine, that nick will seem as a flea bite. Also you're not just concentrating on the toe. You're honing the whole blade, like normal, until that nick is gone. If you concentrate on just the nick, or put extra pressure on just that part, you'll get an uneven edge. Hone the whole edge, the nick will go away as you hone the blade even.

Here's a link to Glen's videos. http://m.youtube.com/results?desktop...l=1&sa=X&gl=US

:gl:

Regards,

Howard :)

This should help also....

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vxrs5kF...%3Dvxrs5kFkmJg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fschulenburg

... Anything else I should keep in mind when trying to fix the part with the nick?

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If i was fixin' it (in your shoes, and I am another student of the Idaho School): I'd tape the spine and use a marker to test my honing strokes-starting on the 4 or 8k. That way you don't burn a lot of blade just getting "oriented" and marker test is more accurate at finer grits. Once i had developed a way to evenly work the full edge, then I'd drop down to the 1000 and settle in for a long ride, of being diligent with strokes-checking now and then. It'll take a few (dozens), but don't even think of going back to 4k until the nick is completely (with magnification) gone and the bevel is sticky sharp end to end. Work on mixing up the various strokes and varying pressure and slurry. Then move to 4 and 8.

If you focus on the nick, you'll start uneven wear on your blade. I'd try to remove the same amount heel to toe to keep proper original blade shape.

Never tried sandpaper on the Nortons, I use the DMT coarse continuous 8", a/k/a 325. Be double dang sure to check for and eliminate any abrasive particles that my stick to the hones. But yes, flatten them out good that first time.

Nah, that's not a 'small nick that will come out easily', esp. with your coarsest hone norton 4000.

There are more issues with thee edge too, but that's the major one. Here's a pic to highlight some, but your whole edge is pretty serrated (make sure you dry the razor well and strop it well including the fabric component):
Attachment 161703

You can give it a try and see how it goes. Do 100 laps without slurry see your progress, then make slurry do 100 laps with it and see the progress again. That will give you some ideas how slow it is.

Be careful with pressure too, you can't put back the steel, may be tape the spine to be on the safe side.

Hi Frank,

Using Norton 4000 will take some time, but it's perfect for practice since you are just starting out. I do recommend that in the future, you should get a coarser stone, for example a 1k stone because it will set the bevel faster/remove metal quicker.

Some 1k stones you may want to consider are: Naniwa SS 1k (SS stands for super stone), Naniwa Chosera 1k.

Hope this helps!

Thanks to all of you. I learned a lot since yesterday. Let me summarize it:

* I'll have to improve my stropping skills and both strop with the linen and the leather;
* it will take some time with the Norton 4000 to fix the edge, but it seems to be doable (and it might even be a good practice);
* I should tape the spine; using a marker will help as well;
* focusing on the nick would be wrong, as I'd like to get an evenly sharp edge;
* flattening the stone prior to first use is good. However, sandpaper might not be the best solution and if I use it, I should double-check to remove residue on the stone;
* buying a 1000 stone (preferred: Naniwa) could be a good idea in the near future.

I watched the video and I found it very instructive. Having a beginner hone and then correct him is a smart idea :-)

Thank you all. I'll get back to you once I have honed. That will most likely happen on the weekend.

F.

Use wet and dry not sandpaper for lapping your stone. Still check at the end though

Yes. That's what I bought. Sorry for getting it wrong in my last post.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SirStropalot

Welcome to the forum, glad you've signed on!! :)



Yes, since you're new to honing and will be on the hone longer for that nick. Tape the spine. If you put uneven hone wear on the spine, that nick will seem as a flea bite. Also you're not just concentrating on the toe. You're honing the whole blade, like normal, until that nick is gone. If you concentrate on just the nick, or put extra pressure on just that part, you'll get an uneven edge. Hone the whole edge, the nick will go away as you hone the blade even.

Here's a link to Glen's videos. http://m.youtube.com/results?desktop...l=1&sa=X&gl=US

:gl:

Regards,

Howard :)

This should help also....

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vxrs5kF...%3Dvxrs5kFkmJg

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Just followed as exactly as I could what they did in this video and I can't wait to try the shave test tomorrow!!!!! This looks and feels like the best I've ever done at honing a blade! It was on a Lee's radium gold I picked up off eBay. I'll report back post shave!

Hey, I'm glad it helped. Kudos to Glen and Spdster for making it. It's a classic because it really mirrors what each one of us experience in our introduction to honing.

I think it's an excellent video!! :tu

Howard :)

Well it was a few days before I could take the time to shave, but WOW!!!!!! I actually got this to shave and it was my best, smoothest shave to date!!! That's what it is supposed to feel like! My first blade was bought from SRD so I know it was probably this sharp but my lack of technique I'm sure ruined it. I'll be sending it back to them for my rehone to have an accurate comparison now. Thanks so much to Glen and Spdster for making that video and to SirStropalot for reposting it!