Thread: Been shaving two weeks, need help

So I have been using my striaght razor for two weeks now and need some help.

1 I have notice that it doesn't shave very closely. Any suggestions? I have 4/8k and 220/1k hones and leather linen strop. I have watched most if not all of the youtube viseos associated with shaving and honing. I am familar and trained in sharpening knifes and blades, but not high precision razors.

2 Is it just me, or does the linen side actually dull the blade? The leather side seems to dull the blade as well, but not as bad. I only see this effect when I come right off the hone. Using the strop before a shave or halfway through a shave seems to help. Comments?

3. I have lines off grey on my hones. I think it is metal fragments that have worked there way into the cracks of the stone. Do I need to do anything about this?

4. Everyone, please list any key steps you know of or suggestions for getting a super sharp blade with similar tools to the ones stated above.

5. It seems that, perhaps, the hairs are getting cut in a strange way, almost like they are being sliced long ways result in 1 of 2 split hairs. Comments?

Is your razor passing tests? thumb nail, thumb pad, or hanging hair?

Maybe it is your stropping technique that needs work -- Stropping does nothing but bring blades to life for me.

Taught strop + light pressure strokes + rolling on the spine...

for me, 20-30 on the canvas and then 50 on the leather after coming off the hones does absolute wonders.

Originally Posted by Undream

Is your razor passing tests? thumb nail, thumb pad, or hanging hair?
Not positive. I rub the edge along the tip of the finger nail to look for dings. There is one, but It doesn't effect me much as I worked most of it out on the initial hone. The edges of the spine have been flatted a bit from the initial hone. Rubbing the blade along the top of a fingernail doesn't seem to tell me anying. Rubbing it along the thumb seems to be a good way to test for sharpness, but I gotta be carfeul not to cut myself.

Maybe it is your stropping technique that needs work -- Stropping does nothing but bring blades to life for me.
What do you mean "brings the blade to life"?

Taught strop + light pressure strokes + rolling on the spine...
Okay, so correct me if I am wrong. The strop should remain 100% flat as if it were laying on the table. Pressure should not exceed the weight of the blade. DOES THIS INCLUDE THE WEIGHT OF THE HANDLE? I think that the rolling spine technique has been mastered, Just not 100% positive about the correct pressure.

for me, 20-30 on the canvas and then 50 on the leather after coming off the hones does absolute wonders.

I don't think I strop that much. Probably 20 on the linen and 30 on the leather, but when I started noticing that the blade appears to get duller when stroping, I would do 4 on the linen just to remove any microscopic burs and 30 on the leather. I also found that stroping halfway through a shave on the leather seems to help, perhaps it is removing dead tissue from the microscope contours of the blade?

I don't know if this would be relevent to your problem. But when I started I blamed the razor for not getting a close shave, getting stuck in my beard and tugging, etc. I am beginning to find out (on my second week) that these issues are due to my lack of technique and stropping knowledge. I had heavy stubble and a lot of burn after my shaves and I thought I needed to get it rehoned by someone else.

I got near BBS yesterday after something clicked during my first WTG pass.


Sometimes, there's nothing wrong with your equipment.

i have your same setup and i will say that at first i thought i was getting the blade sharp, until i read that the blade should be popping hairs off the 4k hone, for me i was at the time popping hairs off teh 8k and it wasn't easy, and made a ping noise slightly. this was because i hadn't been patient and spent more time on the 4k. i use the hanging hair test but many don't like it. for me if the blade passes hht off the 4k without effort then about 100 laps on the 8k and some serious stropping (i always strop more when the blade is fresh off the hone). i have a 12k chinese also which seems to make a little bit of a difference but there is no reason you NEED one. from the 4k on the pressure is a big factor so pay attention to it. this is just me , but i would tape the spine to reduce hone wear.

so here is my suggestion, lap the stones, tape the spine, go back to the 4k until it pops the hairs on your arm with the edge and a spine width above the surface of your skin, hit the 8k (again light pressure on both hones) for about 100 laps (i know guys will say there is no set number, but 100 seems to work for me) strop with a taught strop and light pressure (i do about 50 on the linen and anywhere from 100-200 on the leather) and shave test.

this is just what i do and it seems to work, i am NOT a honemeister and am certainly still learning all the time. everyone develops their own technique, but you have to start somewhere right.

good luck
Wes

The closest honemeister to you is your mail box. If you send it out be sure to protect it well. The best I have heard is to wrap in bubble wrap, put into a small PVC pipe and tape the ends. This will prevent crushing from other heavy packages while in the post.

If you want to continue honing your own blade be aware of over honing and the wire edge that results from it. If you use the pyramid method (See wiki) or back hone (spine first for a couple of strokes) the wire edge will not be an issue. It make take a while for the full length of the blade to get sharp and different spots may arrive before others. Continued honing will develop a wire edge in the spots that are already sharp. Back honing will break the wire edge, then do several strokes edge first to restore the edge. Honing a razor is a bit more fussy than other edges like knives. Good luck.

Everyone is telling me to tap the spine. Are you sure? I thought the spine is specifically designed for the blade and that the spine is supposed to wear down with the edge evenly as a result of honing/stropping to maintain the right angle of the bevel? i.e. If you tap the spine for 40 years your spine will be the original thickness but the blade could be 2/8" shorter than when new resulting in a more obtuse angle between the blade edges than originally.

Originally Posted by Joed

The closest honemeister to you is your mail box. If you send it out be sure to protect it well. The best I have heard is to wrap in bubble wrap, put into a small PVC pipe and tape the ends. This will prevent crushing from other heavy packages while in the post.

If you want to continue honing your own blade be aware of over honing and the wire edge that results from it. If you use the pyramid method (See wiki) or back hone (spine first for a couple of strokes) the wire edge will not be an issue. It make take a while for the full length of the blade to get sharp and different spots may arrive before others. Continued honing will develop a wire edge in the spots that are already sharp. Back honing will break the wire edge, then do several strokes edge first to restore the edge. Honing a razor is a bit more fussy than other edges like knives. Good luck.

Which mailbox? I looked in my private messages and my email but didn't see anything.

Originally Posted by gunslingor

So I have been using my striaght razor for two weeks now and need some help.

1 I have notice that it doesn't shave very closely. Any suggestions? I have 4/8k and 220/1k hones and leather linen strop. I have watched most if not all of the youtube viseos associated with shaving and honing. I am familar and trained in sharpening knifes and blades, but not high precision razors.

Razors are just a little different, although the principle is the same the actual outcome varies greatly, what kind of razor are you working on??? and was it honed by a reputable honemiester to start with???

2 Is it just me, or does the linen side actually dull the blade? The leather side seems to dull the blade as well, but not as bad. I only see this effect when I come right off the hone. Using the strop before a shave or halfway through a shave seems to help. Comments?

The linen and leather should absolutely not seem like they are dulling the blade , just the opposite in fact, Just from what I am reading it sounds to me as though you are lifting the spine... When you strop if you only pay attention to the spine and keeping it flat and smooth the blade will follow along correctly...

3. I have lines off grey on my hones. I think it is metal fragments that have worked there way into the cracks of the stone. Do I need to do anything about this?

This is like sharpening anything else on a stone, the swarf (metal particles) clog up the stone it needs to be kept clean so it cuts evenly and smoothly... Did you get the lapping stone also, and have you lapped yer hones already???

4. Everyone, please list any key steps you know of or suggestions for getting a super sharp blade with similar tools to the ones stated above.

The Norton Pyramid is a great starting place, but that is why I asked the question about who honed it originally to find out if the bevel had been set correctly...

5. It seems that, perhaps, the hairs are getting cut in a strange way, almost like they are being sliced long ways result in 1 of 2 split hairs. Comments?

Sounds as if there are some rough spots on the edge or slightly toothy spots there that are splitting the hairs...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Originally Posted by gunslingor
So I have been using my striaght razor for two weeks now and need some help.

1 I have notice that it doesn't shave very closely. Any suggestions? I have 4/8k and 220/1k hones and leather linen strop. I have watched most if not all of the youtube viseos associated with shaving and honing. I am familar and trained in sharpening knifes and blades, but not high precision razors.

Razors are just a little different, although the principle is the same the actual outcome varies greatly, what kind of razor are you working on??? and was it honed by a reputable honemiester to start with???

2 Is it just me, or does the linen side actually dull the blade? The leather side seems to dull the blade as well, but not as bad. I only see this effect when I come right off the hone. Using the strop before a shave or halfway through a shave seems to help. Comments?

The linen and leather should absolutely not seem like they are dulling the blade , just the opposite in fact, Just from what I am reading it sounds to me as though you are lifting the spine... When you strop if you only pay attention to the spine and keeping it flat and smooth the blade will follow along correctly...

3. I have lines off grey on my hones. I think it is metal fragments that have worked there way into the cracks of the stone. Do I need to do anything about this?

This is like sharpening anything else on a stone, the swarf (metal particles) clog up the stone it needs to be kept clean so it cuts evenly and smoothly... Did you get the lapping stone also, and have you lapped yer hones already???

4. Everyone, please list any key steps you know of or suggestions for getting a super sharp blade with similar tools to the ones stated above.

The Norton Pyramid is a great starting place, but that is why I asked the question about who honed it originally to find out if the bevel had been set correctly...

5. It seems that, perhaps, the hairs are getting cut in a strange way, almost like they are being sliced long ways result in 1 of 2 split hairs. Comments?

1. I am the only one who has honed it. I wanted to learn how. Sending it off to somewhere wouldn't be teaching me anything, unless I get to watch somehow. The blade is the Dovo with the ebony handle. You can find it on most of the sites.

2. I am paying close attention to not lifting the spine. Perhaps I am applying to much pressure or letting the strop bend to much. Is it "the lighter the better"?

3. I do have the lapping stone. How often should one lap? Whenever one sees the metal buildup? Perhaps this is why the blade doesn't appear to be that sharp. I did an initial lap out of the box because the stones seems a little not flat. It was more noticable on the corser stones. How often should I hone the blade I have. 1 every month, 1 every 2 months, on average?