Thread: Can't get the toe to shave

Hi all,

I am relatively new at this and just recently my razor started to feel dull. I live in Brazil right now and all I have is a very rough carborundum hone (probably 600-800grit) a barber's hone, which most have been saying is ~6000 and a piece of Brazilian grey slate that I lapped a bunch with 1200 wet-dry, which feels quite a bit smoother than the barber's hone. I know, definitely not an ideal honing set, but that's all I got right now.

Anyways, all that to say, I've watched several of Lynn's videos as well as others on honing, but of course I'm still doubting my technique. I feel like I was able to get the back half of the blade to where it shaves decently, a little better than before, but the toe to about the middle is terrible. It shaves arm hair but skips over on my face. Note:I've mostly been honing on the piece of slate, which I know is probably not a true hone, but it has made a difference, even thought it is extremely slow.


I would love to send it to a honemeister, but I'm afraid I'm stuck until I visit the US in Sept. Mailing from here isn't very reliable, and buying a hone to have mailed here is also a bad idea, as it may not arrive. Also, I only have one razor, so I wanna get it done soon, so I don't have to grow out my beard, or go back to cartridges.

Can anyone give me some tips on getting that front half shave ready? I know there is a little more hone wear as you go from the heel to toe, but I see the water moving evenly and I even used both hands to make sure the toe was contacting the stone. Does the bevel need to be set again? It passes the TPT.

Any help would be appreciated!

Welcome laranginha . You will get a better response if you post in the honing forum and pics of your blade would be helpful. That being said , if your bevel is not set correctly no amount of honing on finer stones will give you a satisfactory edge. Try inking your edge with a magic marker and making a few x strokes on your barbers hone, then examine your edge. If ink still remains on portions of the bevel you will know it needs additional time on your bevel setter before going to your barbers hone.If you have a smiling blade use a rolling x stroke. Good luck and report back to us.

Thanks you Wirm, I'll try the magic marker trick. It might be awhile before I report back, as I'm leaving on a long bus trip today, but will reply when I can. Again, thanks for the welcome and tips!