Thread: fed up

Rupert87,

Here's what I understand of the process. You need an abrasive harder and flatter than the stone you wish to lap. Ideally you need a lapping plate that is really flat, something where the runout is measured in parts of thousandths of an inch. For the hard abrasive part wet or dry abrasive paper works well. For the flat part, a piece of plate glass works well. Wet the paper and glass, stick the two together, and rub the stone on the paper on the glass. Many recommend drawing grid work lines on the surface of the stone to be lapped with a pencil so you can see the progress of the lapping. Keep the surfaces wet to get rid of the material worn off the stone. When the grid lines disappear, you should be there. Now turn the stone up about 45 degrees and rub the sharp corners of the stone on the paper to chamfer those edges.

Norton sells a lapping stone for their line of waterstones and it may be easier to use than the paper and plate method. I believe also that Norton recommends grit sizes for the abrasive paper to be used on specific stones, and I think I know what they are, but memory being a fleeting asset, I'll refrain misquoting the manufacturer.

The whole theory here is to create as flat a surface as possible on the hone as it removes a variable from the process. Lapping can also remove any glazing that may have occured if razor or hone parts have clogged the micro recesses in the face of the hone.

Bruce

Thanks Bruce, I'm still searching for a honing stone. The idea being that I've managed to get a nasty burr in my cheapy razor that won't strop out. I'd rather use this one to practice honing on now it needs it, rather than sending it off to be honed like the other one!

[quote=nickyspaghetti;121218]....had the same experience when learning, and the key for me was to forget about the disposable blade straight as you will never get your razor that sharp.....quote]


the honed razor I got from Mr. Abrams was very sharp--i guess i have to admit that it was not as sharp as a disposable straight but it did a better job--i can not really explain because i have never really shaved with a regular straight before only the disposable ones

i guess i am worried because i am not sure what you are saying--are you saying that i can not get a razor "disposable razor sharp" (dont worry i take no offense ) but are you saying that no razor can ever be as sharp as a feather or disposable straight??

if the latter is the case then i think i am wasting my time because i want to have a blade that is as sharp as a feather or disposable straight

I'm not saying it isn't possible, I'm not good enough at honing to even try but I think that disposable blades are coated with something to create a sharper edge(correct me if I'm wrong) which just isn't possible with a straight.
I got used to extremely close shaves when using a disposable, but I suffered from the unforgiving nature of the edge with razor burn and ingrowns all the time. When I switched to straight I lost the burn and ingrowns but developed a complex that my honing wasn't good enough as the edge just didn't feel sharp enough to do the job.
It turned out to be a few things, one of which is that I can't shave straight off the Norton, once I learnt to use pastes it helped enormously.
I believe on one of the other forums someone claimed to get a razor 'feather sharp' using the shapton glass stone. At 30k its not as fine as pastes and one hell of a lot more expensive. I haven't heard any other reports on this though.
My experience is that when you give on on chasing the unattainable and focus on controlling the other factors that are much more influential to your shave you will be much happier.
I gave up on getting a disposable sharp edge and realised that impeccable technique, experimentation with razors/creams/soap/prep gave me the most enjoyable and close shave ever. I still wish I was better at honing, but now I don't believe ti is the most important aspect of my shave, just one of many variables that affect it.
Obviously, whilst this is what happened to me, everybodies face is different and there are members on some forums that cannot seem to get a straight sharp enough for their beard. I thought I was one of them, but I stuck with it and found that I wasn't. I hope you have the same luck that I did, as using a real straight, honed from scratch is such a great rewarding experience.

Originally Posted by raZor

the honed razor I got from Mr. Abrams was very sharp--i guess i have to admit that it was not as sharp as a disposable straight but it did a better job--i can not really explain because i have never really shaved with a regular straight before only the disposable ones

i guess i am worried because i am not sure what you are saying--are you saying that i can not get a razor "disposable razor sharp" (dont worry i take no offense ) but are you saying that no razor can ever be as sharp as a feather or disposable straight??

if the latter is the case then i think i am wasting my time because i want to have a blade that is as sharp as a feather or disposable straight

http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=13336

James.