Thread: Let me add my woes to the list

G'day gents,

I have made the progression from the Mach3 to the Merkur DE and am now the owner of a TI 4/8" straight razor. I had this blade sharpened by Lynn and have watched his video several times.

Apparently I have messed up the blade when I stropped it the first time although I don't quite know how I did that. So I thought no problem, I have the Norton 4000/8000 stone, a Dovo strop (linen/leather) and TI strop paste.

I made three passes on the 4000 trying to keep the blade as flat as possible and with no downward pressure following the x-pattern. Followed by 3 passes on 8000, 1 on 4000, 3 on 8000, 1 on 4000 and five on 8000. I then strop the blade 30 strokes on the linen side and 30 on the leather. The blade is still not sharp enough to shave with. It hangs up and will not pass the cut a hair test.

So what am I doing wrong??? Is there a step I'm missing? At this rate I'll ruin a good blade and my face as well.

Thanks,

Rich

Welcome aboard!

I'd contact Lynn and see if he'll touch it up for you before you do any more damage.

Get another razor to practice honing in the meantime.

Don't stress too much, lots of guys dulled their Lynn-honed edge the first time (*walks away whistling, looking around...)

From reading other posts here I am starting to get the impression that I am doing everything correctly but a missing a final step, honing on a belgian corticule. I've seen them in Lynn's video but not seen them advertised anywhere.

Welcome Cabo Sailor. Also keep in mind that it simply takes time for the proper mechanics to kick in. Even with a sharp blade, your first few shaves may be rough. Practice, practice and more practice. Honing also takes a lot of practice to get right. Good luck and be patient.

Jordan

Cabo,

You don't need a Belgian coticule, although a lot of us like them. Your Norton will allow you to get a shaving sharp edge with some practice. The coticule just puts some final polish on the edge to make it more comfortable.

You're on the right track with your honing. The razor should be very close to the correct sharpness level, even if you did dull it a bit with stropping. Try doing a few repetitions of 1 pass on the 4K and 3 on the 8K side. Conservative is good when you're this close. (I wouldn't worry too much about ruining your razor. You won't hurt anything by working with the Norton, as long as you don't start grinding away with lots of pressure.)

I'd suggest working on it a little more yourself, but if you start to get frustrated definitely contact Lynn about a touch-up.

Josh

with himself an acute edge and I shave one to grain and against grain, but the difference with a DE is enormous. I am tired of the Norton, I must much more use time in the stone that in sharpening “traslaping, sandpaper, etc “I am looking for an alternative” because I have a great aversion to this stone. hatred this stone…

Greetings from Barcelona

Estroncio