Thread: Setting the bevel?

So I have the 4k 8k norton stone. I thought I set the bevel good with another coarser stone. Then I moved on the and have tried all sorts of stuff such as pyramid honing and doing lots of passes very delicately then stropping and trying to shave, but it is still not sharp and it cuts my face and pulls my hair. From everyone else I've heard with this stone they can pretty much be eating a bag of chips and get a sharper edge than me. So it's like what the hell! I'm wondering since I've pretty much tried every type of combination on the 4k and then 8k, should I go try to reset the bevel on say a 1k and then start all over again because it doesn't seem like to much is happening at the moment. Any advice much appreciated. Thanks

Originally Posted by fiveten73

So I have the 4k 8k norton stone. I thought I set the bevel good with another coarser stone. Then I moved on the and have tried all sorts of stuff such as pyramid honing and doing lots of passes very delicately then stropping and trying to shave, but it is still not sharp and it cuts my face and pulls my hair. From everyone else I've heard with this stone they can pretty much be eating a bag of chips and get a sharper edge than me. So it's like what the hell! I'm wondering since I've pretty much tried every type of combination on the 4k and then 8k, should I go try to reset the bevel on say a 1k and then start all over again because it doesn't seem like to much is happening at the moment. Any advice much appreciated. Thanks

If you have any kind of magnification that would be helpful in seeing how your bevel is looking. One way or the other try the TNT , thumbnail test. If the razor passes that don't use that test anymore on that razor. Go to the TPT, thumbpad test. Use that until it feels sticky to the touch and then you might see if it will pop hair just lightly brushing the hair without touching the skin.

If the razor passes the TNT you might be better off sticking with the 4k. If it doesn't maybe the 1k is in order until it does. As Randydance told me a long time ago setting the bevel is the hardest part and takes patience and persistence.

You CAN set a bevel with a 4K--it just takes a long time--like maybe three bags' worth of chips.

You don't have to get a 1K if you don't want to because, like I said, you can set the bevel with the 4k. The difference is time, which really only matters if you are going to hone a lot of razors. That is, if you are only going to buy a couple of razors and want to maintain them, you really don't need to spend the money on the 4k unless you time is quite valuable. Remember, once you set the bevel, it's a cinch to subsequently maintain the razor for years. Thus, it might take you a couple hours per razor to set the bevel on the 4k but then you are done except for a few minutes of maintenance strokes maybe once every month or so.

One the other hand, if you plan on buying a lot of razors, and trust me, we all have a different opinion on what that constitutes, you might want to buy a 1k to really speed along the setting of the bevel.

I set my bevels on the 1k side of my 220/1000 norton stone. I never needed to use the 220. The 1000 is really good for setting bevels, and the TNT can tell you a lot about the bevel after the 1000. I'm always afraid of dulling the edge with the TNT off of the 1000 (I NEVER use the TNT after the 1000), so I always do it very lightly. My girlfriend hates it, as it looks like I'm trying to slice into my thumb!

+1 on what Ron and Dave said about the 1k. All I would add is that if it is a new razor or one that hasn't been abused the 4k is fine for setting the bevel. If it is an ebay special with micro or even worse chipping and dull as a butter knife the 1k might be nice to have.

What tests would indicate whether or not it is done on the 4k? Also can you overhone on the 4k if say its not passing one of these tests?

I have never had a problem setting the bevel using the 4k side of my Norton. In fact, I am not sure I have ever really had to set a bevel in the fullest sense. All of the razors I have honed (six vintage and two new Wapis) went quite quickly, maybe 10 minutes on the 4K and 10 on the 8K, strop and go. The only one that gave me any problems at all was a vintage Genco; I had to do about 100 passes on a pasted strop on that one.