Thread: Looking for advices on different topics (more info inside)

So, I have 2 straight razors which give quite comfortable shaves. I dared to say they gave me shaves as comfortable as the ones I get with a Derby blade. Last Saturday I shaved with my DE because it had been somewhere around 3 months since I last did it and I felt like doing it (I have always enjoyed it) and to my surprise, the shave was smoother than with my straight.

Why am I telling you this? Well, this made me wonder a couple of things that I think only experienced SR shavers can answer (No, I will not ask which one is sharper, don't worry)

1. I can't reach the mirror finish on my blades with my Chinese 12K stone. In fact (after looking with a 40x magnifier) the surface shows several micro scratches, all in the same direction and all diagonal. Does that mean the stone is not doing the work appropriately?
2. Is the mirror finish a "must have" ?
3. I flattened my 12K stone using a 2K sandpaper. Could it be that instead of only making it flat I made it coarser too?
4. I have a 10-12K slurry stone I bought from an UK seller on ebay. Should I rub the stone (water in the middle obviously) in order to make the 12K stone smoother?
5. .

I do feel the shave is very comfortable with minor tugging (no pain, no irritation and no pulling... just some tug that I manage to avoid with a guillotine stroke) but I can't stop wondering if maybe this micro scratches mean the blade is not optimal. I have a vague memory of reaching the mirror finish several years ago (tho the bade was unusable) so now I'm not sure if I messed the stone or not.

I haven't used a cnat, but have had razors honed on them that was mirroresque.

A mirror finish isn't required. It simply means that the abrasive qualities of the stone is too coarse to achieve that. I have had ugly bevels perform fantastically and beautiful bevels that shave terribly.

The directionality of the striations are based on the direction you move the blade across the stone.

I think you could burnish the stone to get a finer finish. However, this will be a double edged sword. It will slow down the stone.

If you were able to get a mirror finish before, you may be applying too much pressure.

Any chance of a picture?

Actually, yes.
The photos are not that good but you can see the phenomenon. It's interesting because depending on how the light hits the edge, it looks smooth or scratched.
That being said, today I shaved with it and the shave was good (as it has been for the past month) with the usual tugging at chin level. I shaved half my face with it and the other half with a Gold Dollar 100 I received from Anthony Esposito (Mirror finish on jnat stones and sharp as a wife's comeback) and my Invicta performed almost as well as the GD100.
I am pleased because it must mean I have learned a lot. Still have a lot to learn but hey, considering I hone with a 6K+12K stone and strop on an old belt I think I'm doing pretty good!

Gotta look into an 8K stone. Maybe the scratches shown in the blade are from the 6K that the 12K is unable to smooth.

The Cnat should be able to remove 6K scratches. I've used mine for everything down to 1K.

Try making a medium to thin slurry on the Cnat. Hone with the slurry on there, and dilute it down to almost pure water. That will expedite removal of and left over scratches. Once you're done with that, wash the stone and do a few laps with pure water until you're satisfied. Using the slurry stone will also burnish your stone and make it finer. So it's kind of a win/win.

Make sure the edges of the slurry stone are rounded - lessens the chance of rolling it and scratching up your nice flat hone. I tend to think that a smoother/more burnished stone creates a sharper edge. It also slows cutting speed, so there's a bit of a trade off.

Diagonal scratches are good, what you don't want to see is scratches running up and down the blade. The ones in the third picture look a bit deep though, more like 1K scratches that weren't quite removed by the 6K stone. You might also consider backing down to the 6K to do a little more work on it, then moving on to the Cnat.

Originally Posted by Marshal

The Cnat should be able to remove 6K scratches. I've used mine for everything down to 1K.

Try making a medium to thin slurry on the Cnat. Hone with the slurry on there, and dilute it down to almost pure water. That will expedite removal of and left over scratches. Once you're done with that, wash the stone and do a few laps with pure water until you're satisfied. Using the slurry stone will also burnish your stone and make it finer. So it's kind of a win/win.

Make sure the edges of the slurry stone are rounded - lessens the chance of rolling it and scratching up your nice flat hone. I tend to think that a smoother/more burnished stone creates a sharper edge. It also slows cutting speed, so there's a bit of a trade off.

Diagonal scratches are good, what you don't want to see is scratches running up and down the blade. The ones in the third picture look a bit deep though, more like 1K scratches that weren't quite removed by the 6K stone. You might also consider backing down to the 6K to do a little more work on it, then moving on to the Cnat.

1K scratches? Hmmm that's interesting and quite logical.
I will follow your advice and see if I can burnish the cnat with the slurry stone.
I will also go back to the 6K and see the effect on the blade but keeping in mind what dinnermint said: "A mirror finish isn't required. It simply means that the abrasive qualities of the stone is too coarse to achieve that. I have had ugly bevels perform fantastically and beautiful bevels that shave terribly."

Will keep you posted!