Thread: Intro & Hello, also working to fix a big mistake!

Hello there! I've been lurking for a few weeks now, pretty much since getting a new straight razor as a Christmas gift. It's an "art of shaving" model made the T-I - the one with stainless scales (but carbon-steel blade -- go figure!). Anyway, I shaved with it for a few times when I first got it, and found that I really enjoy the "experience". But I noticed that I was getting some razor burn. Once I stropped it, it was worse. I suspect related to not being "shave ready" when I got it. I foolishly honed it on an extra fine stone I have, and stropped it, and was still able to shave, but was using a lot of pressure and a pretty steep angle.

At that point, I hadn't totally given up, but was considering buying a second razor -shave ready, and would send this one off to a hone-meister to be done right. That's when I messed up...

The razor slid out of the leather pouch, and hit my bathroom floor. When I looked down, I saw it had partially opened. When I picked it up, there was a slice mark in the side of the stainless scales, and a pretty good nick in the blade -- although I was surprized the nick wasn't more severe, considering how bad the slice in the scale looked. What was also odd -- I would have had to put a LOT of side pressure on the blade to get it to deflect enough to go anywhere near the sliced-spot on the scales!

Anyway, I ordered up a King japanese water stone -- the 1k-6k combo -- and lapped it along with my other sharpening stones. I used the bread-knife method to slowly take the chip out of the blade. This blade was not totally straight but has a slight smile to it -- which I maintained during the process.

Now I have re-set the bevel, and have been taking my time to hone on the 6k side of the King waterstone, with several re-lappings of the stone. I am using the rolling x technique to maintain the bevel along the entire smiling edge. But I am becoming frustrated at one thing ---- the blade is sharp enough to pop hairs easily at the toe and heel, and maybe 15mm or so along the blade edge from the tip and from the heel. But the middle part of the blade doesn't seem to want to get keen. I don't have a microscope or any way to look more closely at the edge, but the bevel looks nice by eye. I am not using any tape and did not use any during the bevel setting, either. I am trying to use light pressure since blade is 5/8 and full hollow, I don't think deflection is the issue. Can anyone give me some pointers? I can't seem to find much about how to get past this when I search these forums, and I have read the Wiki a few times over.

My feeling is that I need to get the entire length of blade sharp enough to at least shave some arm/hand hairs before stepping to a finer grit than the 6k. Also, I have not overhoned and have not created a "wire edge".

Is the middle or belly of the blade where the chip was? Anyway, it's possible that the belly of the blade is over honed rather than under honed. you might want to bring it all back to an even footing with a few laps on the 1k and then as you rolling x on the 6k don't spend too much time in the belly. I know this is frequently a challenge for me.

Welcome to SRP, Lou. Sorry to hear about your mishap. If it were me, I'd send it out to get it fixed. Check the classifieds for honemeisters. I'm a newbie, too, and the biggest problem I had was trying to get my razor shave ready when I didn't really know what a shave ready razor was. I got a shave ready Dovo for Christmas and the difference was unbelievable. I am getting another of my str8s honed now, so I'll have a rotation of two. I have five str8s I picked up in antique shops that I am cleaning up now. I'll get a couple of those professionally honed, then, in the next few months, I'll get some hones and practice on one of my $10 finds.

Dave

I don't think I've overhoned, and I have tried to go back to the 1k a few times as part of a bracketed honing approach, also have checked keenness periodically during the process. SO not thinking I have overhoned the belly,. but I can see that I should try to check.

Also, thinking the approach of multiple razors makes sense so that I can send one out and still have some to shave with... But no luck finding any locally, will probably keep checking the classifieds here for shave ready...

The bummer is, I would really like to get this honing down - I think being able to maintain my own razors is a key part of the whole straight edge razor experience.

Right now I'm just ready to shave with a straight - I've been using my Gillette DE safety razor and it just isn't as satisfying, simply put.

G'day & welcome LouT
Magnification will take a lot of the guesswork out of the equation. You can get cheap loupes or microscopes on eBay. 30X is good. Sitting here without a crystal ball is impossible to say if you've over or under honed the problem area but it's likely under honed.
You could determine underhoning by seeing if there is a glint off the edge under a bright light looking square to the edge but again magnification helps.

yeah, sounds like it's underhoned.
you need to stay with a coarse stone until the full edge is sharp
moving up to 4-6k grit stones is no good if the edge is dull.
as a start you need to get the middle of the blade to the same sharpness as the tip and heel.
use your thumbpad to check.