Thread: My razor won't get sharp..

Welcome Thomas!

I suggest having a razor to practice honing with, and another (at least one) that is your everyday shaver. Have the everyday shaver honed by a honemaster. I'm sure you can find one in the forums.

Quite a few Scandinavian members in SRP. My mom was born in Norway. My wife and I go back every year. My family is a couple hours south of the arctic circle.

Originally Posted by sicboater

First off Welcome to SRP! Now quickly to your question.

It can be a pretty difficult thing to get a razor shave ready on a hone. That being said, it is not impossible for someone to learn but it is MUCH easier if they know what they are trying to achieve. I would suggest getting in touch with a honemeister near you and getting them to put a shave ready edge on your blade. That way, you will have an Idea of what a sharp razor should feel like when you go to hone yourself. This also allows you to concentrate on building a good shaving technique.

Some folks would rather learn everything right off the bat. If that sounds like you, then I would suggest reading all the stickies in the honing section and learning about setting the bevel. Then check out this great set of videos: http://straightrazorpalace.com/videos/21876-progressive-straight-razor-honing-clinic-9-part-video-series.html

No matter what, it will be much easier to learn with a shave ready blade from a honemeister to compare it to.

Good Luck!

-Rob

Absolutely agree!

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Thomas : I just am going to hit the reset button and try and take each question for you....
BTW where are you in Norge, I lived outside Oslo for 3 years

I live in the south of Norway, about 3-4 hours drive from Oslo



My problem seems to be the sharpness of the razor. When i do my first pass, there are typically quite a lot of hair left, it also drags on my face and isn't all that comfortable. Yep a dull razor, how dull is the question???? Does it pop arm hairs???? easily????
-Arm hairs doesn't pop easy at all..

I use a Norton 4000/8000 grit stone. As I just got my hands on Lynn's DVD, I now know I have been using to much pressure when honing. But still my edge isn't keen, even after trying Lynn's pyramid honing. I don't have any finer stones or diamond paste.. Which pyramid did you use and how many times did you use it?????
-I started of with 5/5-3/3-1/3-1/5, and after that did'nt work, i tried some bigger numbers. Without success...

The strop I'm using was something i got off ebay, not the best i presume. But atleast genuine leather. Just so long as it is smooth and in good shape it will do.... In a pinch just regular old folded newspaper can help after the leather strop....
-Not the smoothes I have come across, but a buddy has a DOVO strop and that didn't make any difference. (he's also a newbie).


The razor is supposed to be a NOS, I suspect it's a OS. It spells SOLINGEN on the shaft, and 41 Albert Dörner Haan-Solingen on one side of the blade. On the other it spells Made From Kayser Ellison&co's Best Sheffield Silver Steel. That makes me believe that it might have had the original factory bevel on there (not good) which would make me think that the aggressive pyramid is in order maybe twice....
-I will try doing a couple of aggressive pyramids and post my results on it

The blade is quite small, I think 4/8. Sometimes the small blades are actually harder to hone just because they are harder to keep flat on the hone...
-So I noticed...

Anybody got an idea of what to do?
Those pyramids are designed to sneak up on a shaving edge, and to keep Norton users from over-honing the razor... That 4k/8k Norton is more than adequate to get you a nice sharp shaving edge, It justs takes some patience.... One of the things that I would warn against, DON"T rush it, take yer time just like any learned skill you have to work at it..
Try doing an arm hair test after each pyramid, it is one of the easiest tests there is, if it is popping arm hairs you are in the ball park, if not you are not even close... Once you get it popping arm hairs easily, on the whole edge, then go 10 more very light laps on just the 8k, strop, and test shave...
-Thanks




Thanks for the help everybody, didn't expect this much fuzz over a new guy not doing his honing right

Today i tried a very aggressive pyramid.
40/40-30/30-20/20-10/10-5/5-1/3-1/5

And to my surprise, it actually does take hair my armhair!
Not quite there yet, but I will do some more less aggressive pyramids and see what happens.

One more question though; Am i supposed to flatten the Norton stone even when new?

Thanks again,
Thomas

Lap? yes probably so.

Did you strop after all that?

If I were you I wouldn't go back to the 4.

I must admit the logic of the pyramid scheme totally escapes me.

Yes, i stropped after all that.

Don't ask me about the logic, I just follow Lynn's advice...

Originally Posted by Legatia

Today i tried a very aggressive pyramid.
40/40-30/30-20/20-10/10-5/5-1/3-1/5

And to my surprise, it actually does take hair my armhair!
Not quite there yet, but I will do some more less aggressive pyramids and see what happens.

One more question though; Am i supposed to flatten the Norton stone even when new?

Thanks again,
Thomas

Yes, a new Norton is not flat. You should really lap your Norton before each use. You will be surprised at how much more effective your hone will be. You will notice that your pencil marks disappear rather quickly when you lap before each session but you will also notice that your hone is not flat. Soak your hone before applying the pencil marks and lapping.