Thread: Second Shave...and a disaster!

Well, got to my second straight razor shave today in a round-about way. I went to Lee Valley this morning to get my Norton 4k/8k and lapping stone and came back eager to hone my Wapi to shave-ready shape. Thanks to HeavyDuty, I truly knew what shave ready meant (thanks again David!), so with my benchmark sharpness known, I set out to replicate it (or at least come close, because I don't have a coticule or pasted strop to finish off the razor).

So, I lapped my norton (fairly out of true, but that was no great surprize). I re-watched Lynn's honing section of the DVD, and set out to hone my wapi.

(Now, I must warn you that two of the following honing observations will probably smack of being wrong - so please feel free to correct me - I need to learn somehow!).

Firstly, I did a "normal" pyramid - I noticed that not much was being done, and that the spine seemed to be getting a lot of wear. I was also having a helluva time keeping the razor flat when honing away from my body. After the first pyramid of being very careful to keep the razor flat, the razor was just as dull as it was before. I decided to do another pyramid, but this time adjusted with a slight wee bit of presure towards the edge, which really seemed to work. I know everyone says "no pressure besides the weight of the blade" but I just couldn't get the edge to sharpen at all.

Secondly, I was still having a bear of a time keeping the razor flat, so against the advice of most, I opted to go with a two handed approach, with as close to zero pressure as possible on the "off" hand and have it there just for a little added stability. That seemed to work really well, although I'm going to have to revisit that at a later date.

Well, after two more pyramids, I got the razor to a point where I could shave with it (after 60 laps on the linen and another 60 on the leather).

I showered, and got my beared prepped - got out my self-honed wapi and had a really good second shave...no pulling, but not quite as sharp as David's honing. For a first honing attempt, I was pretty pleased.

It was just at this point that I lost concentration and banged my razor agains the faucet! I put a very small nick into the blade, about a 1/128th of an inch. So, back to the Norton it was! I taped the spine, and ended up doing close to 150-200 laps on the 4k before the nick was gone. It took me another 2 full pyramids to get the razor back to where I had it before my stupidity.

Moral of the story - keep the pressure light, keep your concentration, and even a newbie can hone a razor good enough to shave with (although not nearly as polished as a honemeister).

Sorry for another long post - it's all new, so there's just so much to tell! I also hope that other newbies can learn from my mistakes and successes.

Mark

Good work. I think razors slam themselves into the faucet just get more attention on the hone, they love it.

The faucet/sink edge is the thing I've actually been most careful to avoid!! Who needs skin on their face anyway!! Concentrate on the important stuff I say!

Seriously, I've been extra careful thus far in that area. Hopefully I won't knock it against there too awful soon.

Congratulations, my first honing attempt yielded a far from
shaveable razor!

- Scott

yes,
it sounds like you did a great job for your first go at it. I was pulling the hair out of my face with my first attempt. It's nice to be excited to shave now though, isen't it? :0)

Good news about the 2nd shave there Mark. In time you will be able to hone as good as the honemeisters here.

Shame about the faucet eh, that seems to be the number 1 enemy of straights.

I had the same problem with mine! maybe whacking it against the tap or sink is a subconscious action because you really just want to hone more...I think that's why I did it

erik

I honestly think wapi's are somehow attracted to faucets and sink edges. Mine just attracts problems I think. Must be from being commie

Thanks for the encouragement guys - it's good to know that I'm not alone in moments of...ummm...how should I put this....lack of concentration.

Anyhow, shaved again with the Wapi this morning, and it did an admirable job...not quite as nice as a professionally honed razor, but at least as sharp as my cartridge razor blades, and that's all I'm trying to beat for now anyhow.

I'll keep you posted on how things progress.

Thanks again for the kind words.

Mark

Mark,

Originally Posted by Milton Man

Moral of the story - keep the pressure light, keep your concentration, and even a newbie can hone a razor good enough to shave with (although not nearly as polished as a honemeister).

Congratulations on your first, and second, honing experience!!! And, thank you for a post that's very inspirational for a fellow newbie. One of these days I'm going to have to get a hone and start learning. Sometimes I look forward to that day with great anticipation, other times with a feeling on uneasyness. I think your advice about pressure is spot on. I know with my first few attempts at stropping I was trying to be so careful not to use too much pressure I think I was actually lifting the razor up off of the strop. After some advice here I tried using a slight hint of pressure and things improved greatly.

I'm sorry to hear about your faucit experience. I wonder, since we're already going "old school" with shaving using a straight, a brush and soaps/creams should we ditch the sink and go back to a water pitcher/bowl setup like shavers of days gone by? After reading some posts here I've ready switched from rensing my razor under running water between strokes to just wiping the blade with a towel.