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Thread: Is the Belgium Blue Wetstone ample enough?

  1. #11
    Junior Member coopersock's Avatar
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    thanks you guys on some very informative idea's. really appreciate them and will try to adhere to some of the popular choices. will keep you posted. i should've mentioned the blade is actually an old Sheffield.

  2. #12
    At this point in time... gssixgun's Avatar
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    Gentlemen I have removed the Off topic remarks and the quotes of the Off topic remarks....

    Lets try and keep this to helping out a new guy here...

    He has posts from both sides of the fence now let him figure some stuff out from here....

    Please do not make the Mod team close this thread
    Last edited by gssixgun; 08-17-2009 at 09:29 PM.

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  4. #13
    Senior Member kevint's Avatar
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    The BBW is a stone I have, but never felt like working it enough to get used to how it works. I'm wishing to give it a try. Only BBW. I guess I will try on a dulled duck to share your hell.

  5. #14
    I shave with a spoon on a stick. Slartibartfast's Avatar
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    if used correctly. Is there really that much difference in going norton 8k -> paste and bbw -> paste?

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    I thought the BBW, hones or behaves like it is around 4K grit? Sorry if im wrong. :-(
    Anyhow, i think it would be cool, for those who have experience in this area, to post or teach us about some progressive paste honing...like coming off of a 4K or 8K. Any takers?

    Thanks,

    Mac

  7. #16
    Comfortably Numb Del1r1um's Avatar
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    Honestly my bbw seems like it's somewhere around 5 or 6k depending on the pressure I use. That's my experience anyhow

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  9. #17
    Coticule researcher
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slartibartfast View Post
    if used correctly. Is there really that much difference in going norton 8k -> paste and bbw -> paste?
    I have no experience with the Norton 8K. But my experience with pastes, is that the edge falls back a bit within very few shaves. Not everyone seems to observe this. I think it depends on how abrasive one's beard is. Pasted edge are sharpened with the edge trailing. Hones are used with the edge leading. All sharpening deposits bur-like steel at particular parts of the edge. Trailing edge sharpening does so at the very edge. As a result the very edge exist out of less sturdy steel. Controversial, but this might even explain why we have to restrop the edge so often, that most of us do it before every shave. How well such a weaker edge copes with the impact of whiskers, depends on the nature of the whiskers, how well you prep them, possibly even the used shaving angle. In my personal shaving practice the effect is pretty obvious, so I try to restrict edge trailing honing to the bare minimum, if at all.
    Others have testified to witness no adverse effects at all. I also suspect it depends on the actual abrasives in the paste. Diamond particles tend to offer a lot of abrasion and very little plastic deformation, while with Chromium Oxide (which is much more a typical polishing substance) this tends to be the opposite.
    Bottom line: if used to gain a small performance boost that adds some extra smoothness to the way the razor shaves, pasted stropping is highly effective. If you need to rely on a lot of pasted stropping to save a subpar edge coming of the hones, you'll have to wait and see what happens, in particular on the field of edge durability.

    Quote Originally Posted by McWolf1969 View Post
    I thought the BBW, hones or behaves like it is around 4K grit? Sorry if im wrong. :-(
    Anyhow, i think it would be cool, for those who have experience in this area, to post or teach us about some progressive paste honing...like coming off of a 4K or 8K. Any takers?
    In light of what I have written above, I'd opt for diamond compounds if I were to really sharpen razors on pastes. Starting with 3 micron, coming off a 4K. Refining on 1 micron. And finishing on 0.5 micron. Try to avoid doing more laps than needed.

    As far as rating the BBW. It certainly goes sharper than my Chosera 5K, but not as the Chosera 10K, which are the only synthetics I have available to compare to. It also easily outperformes a DMT 8K when it comes to smoothness and a pull free shave. BBW's are highly under-estimated and under-researched. They are not fast, but for the home-honer that can't be too much of a problem.

    Best regards,
    Bart.

  10. #18
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    Thanks Bart.
    I was paste-stropping a lot more, in my earlier shaving's, than i do now...this certainly explains why my edges were not lasting as long then.

    Mac

  11. #19
    At this point in time... gssixgun's Avatar
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    OK let's take this totally off topic for a sec but not really since if a BBW is the stone of choice this is a choice that "COULD" be used to get shaving.....

    Edge refinement as sharp as possible using the BBW with slurry and without slurry, getting the best edge possible from the stone...or any other middle grit stone....

    A Loom strop tightened just off taut with Dovo Green paste,
    the flip side of the same loom with Dovo Red paste...
    A separate Leather Hanger with Dovo Black paste...
    A linen / leather finishing strop...

    A sturdy 1/2 hollow razor Sheffield would be better...

    Now don't get yer panties all in a ruffle, before you try it....

    I am by NO means advising this, you all know how I hone my razors, BUT it works to get a shaving edge, and keep a shaving edge...

    Please do not take my word for it, try it yourself....

    BTW substituting in balsa and diamond etc: will not work the same...

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  13. #20
    Senior Member kevint's Avatar
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    After this evenings shave I would say that if this was the only stone available one could quickly adapt.

    I took a dd No.1 which was set with 8kshap and dulled it. First I tried 2 light strokes on a soft jnat which left it still able to take arm hair. Next I gave it a touch more pressure on 1k shapton which dulled it dead.

    So I spent the next 15 minutes; starting with back and forth strokes using some finger pressure 20 laps per side. 3-4 rounds.

    I continued with pressure through a long count(?) of X's. Once it started getting arm hair again I essentially repeated the process(approximately) with very little pressure and ended with light x's.

    25 laps on leather hanger

    I shaved with two passes after wetting my face for a minute and lathering up with mwf. It did not quite finish my mustache as clean as I like.

    I tried 25 more laps on the strop and tried to get the rest of the stubble but the edge just skipped over; so i finished off with a different blade.

    A clean shave, but not perfect. No irritation. It was a bit odd as it has been several months since I shaved with such a hollow. Noisy.

    I wish I had a wider stone, longer too. 1.25 x 6 inch-just a pocket stone. I think with a bit more finessing a finer edge could be coaxed but it works fairly well with a quick testing.

    good luck and happy shaving

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