Thread: Moving on from strop and paste to honing

I've been shaving with a straight razor for several years now. I've come to the point in this process where I want to better develop my honing skills. Here's the situation I want to tackle:

The razors I'm wanting to deal with right now I either bought new or had honed by an expert. I either got them shave-ready myself by using a paddle strop with 1.0 and .5 diamond paste, or maintained them with the same technique. This worked great for a couple of years. However, several months ago I was longer able to maintain the edge I want solely with that technique. Parenthetically, I'll add that this point that I followed this course because it allowed me to develop my skills in shaving first. This has paid off in that am able to get good shaves with a straight. But now, I realize I need to get on with honing on a stone, or send them out to be done. I have chosen the former. I bought the Lynn's DVD and picked up the majority of the proper tools (I hope).

I've followed the pyramid technique using the norton 4000/8000. Then Finished on the Shapton 16,000, then followed that with the flat-bed hone (Hand American) with chromium oxide. I'm happy with the results with two of my razors, but not all.

I'm thinking that the repeated times I used the stop and paste has compromised the bevel on several razors. I base this on the reading I've been doing on the website FAQ. Also, I can see that the wear on the spine is uneven (probably due to my early attempts at honing).

Should I try to reset the bevel and even the spines of these razors on the norton 4000? Or should I pick up a 1000 naniwa or the like? The razors shave without noticeable pulling, but I can sense some slight unevenness in the keenness of the blade, and I know that overall they can be sharper. Should I use the "circles" Lynn demonstrated on the youtube video or another technique?

There so much info now on the website, which is outstanding. It's just taking me a while to digest it. In the meantime, I'm looking some targeted advice might help me along. Thanks!
Adam

I had a razor not long ago that I had gotten real sharp from the heel up to two thirds of the way to the point. I was afraid that if I continued to hone on it until all of it was sharp I would over hone on the part that was already 'there'.

I called Lynn and he told me to do 80 circles one each side on the 1k naniwa and then do the pyramid on my higher grits. I did that and it worked like a charm. You might take one of them and give that a try on your 4k. I tape the spine with one layer of electrical tape but that is optional. I would think the 1k Naniwa would be a good thing for you to have if your going to be resetting bevels.

If the bevel has been rounded due to the paste/strop, it needs to be reset-- you'll need something closer to the 1000-1500 grit to do that. If you are able to hone your other razors with the 4K/8K, then you should have no problem resetting the bevel with the 1k. You *must* have a perfectly formed, flat bevel before the 4K/8K with standard strokes will do any good... I make sure the razor shaves arm hair before moving up (I use coticules, but same principle applies....).

Happy honing,
Chief

Originally Posted by Pescado

I've been shaving with a straight razor for several years now. I've come to the point in this process where I want to better develop my honing skills. Here's the situation I want to tackle:

The razors I'm wanting to deal with right now I either bought new or had honed by an expert. I either got them shave-ready myself by using a paddle strop with 1.0 and .5 diamond paste, or maintained them with the same technique.

You can as you see it is temporary. this is helpful you have noticed yourself.

This worked great for a couple of years. However, several months ago I was longer able to maintain the edge I want solely with that technique. Parenthetically, I'll add that this point that I followed this course because it allowed me to develop my skills in shaving first. This has paid off in that am able to get good shaves with a straight. But now, I realize I need to get on with honing on a stone, or send them out to be done. I have chosen the former.

Great choose be patient very very important

I bought the Lynn's DVD and picked up the majority of the proper tools (I hope).

excellent start

I've followed the pyramid technique using the norton 4000/8000. Then Finished on the Shapton 16,000, then followed that with the flat-bed hone (Hand American) with chromium oxide. I'm happy with the results with two of my razors, but not all.

be patient after honing 5 years i am still getting in trouble with some blades

I'm thinking that the repeated times I used the stop and paste has compromised the bevel on several razors. I base this on the reading I've been doing on the website FAQ. Also, I can see that the wear on the spine is uneven (probably due to my early attempts at honing).

Should I try to reset the bevel and even the spines of these razors on the norton 4000? Or should I pick up a 1000 naniwa or the like?

1k is better choose

The razors shave without noticeable pulling, but I can sense some slight unevenness in the keenness of the blade,

bingo My Advise Please don't use circles.you will get more in to trouble

and I know that overall they can be sharper. Should I use the "circles" Lynn demonstrated on the youtube video or another technique?

There so much info now on the website, which is outstanding. It's just taking me a while to digest it. In the meantime, I'm looking some targeted advice might help me along. Thanks!
Adam

try to make x pattern strokes. when you set bevel it should be from heel to the tip. when you go 4k make sure your edge pops up hairs from heel to tip again. and so on. in this case your blades sharpness s will be even. There is some issues could come up. warped blade,smiling blade, and wedge you have to handle a little differently.

hope this helps. GL

Thanks for the responses. I'll get a 1000 grit stone and use it on the razors I suspect might need the bevel reset.

In the meantime, I will do some honing on the razors I have that are shaving adequately, but I suspect might just need some fine-tuning. I have not honed many razors, but I can tell that my skills on the hone improved during the time I was not actually using a hone--if that makes any sense! My guess is that the time I spent using the pasted paddle strops improved my ability to pass the razor lightly and evenly across the sharpening surface, and this has translated into better honing on the stone. Anyone else have the same experience?

Adam

It is called reflex . your hands gets used to now. the best way to learn anything in life to do actual job. Example if you want to be a swimmer you need to swim everyday.
if you want to your stroke be perfect you need to hone more. in this case your hand muscle gets used to movement and you do it without thinking. i don't know this makes sense.
while you use pastes you make back strokes and you will get great on that motion.
hope this helps.

If you can get your hands on a cheap practice razor that you don't care about trashing, then you can intentionally dull it and try a bunch of things.

-Chief