Thread: Another Beginner: When stropping isn't enough? Hones/honing?

Wow, that's quite interesting!

How about today?

Nowadays a lot, but not all, of the inks are different, usually dye based, so it depends.

crud.
I noticed a black spot on the middle of the razor today. I've been oiling my blade with mineral oil, but i must have forgotten last night. is there any way to repair it?

Crap, there used to be a member in sacramento that honed for a decent price, but it looks like he took his ad down.

I know as an experienced sharpener that its hard to send something out for someone else to sharpen, but this first time it really is worth it. Shaving with a straight and sharpening a straight both take awhile to learn, (even for the experienced sharpener). For a beginner, there are so many aspects of technique that influence the quality of shave, you don't want to have the possibility that maybe the razor isn't sharp. You really want a razor you know is shave ready, so that your focus can be entirely on technique. By the time your razor will need its first honing, your technique will be solid and you will be able to judge the quality of your honing work.

I called the store i bought it from, and the gentleman said he touches up the dovos he sells on a 8000 waterstone (but nothing further) before he sells them. He told me that mine might have been on the shelf for quite a while and handled, so it might need a few laps on the canvas.

I decided to give it a shot on news paper over a block of wood. Holy cow! that sure worked! it's popping my mother's thinner hairs close to what i've seen in hanging hair test videos. newspaper actually works.

is working because it's abrasive, or because stropping on a hard surface is straightening out the burr?

The main effect of stropping is straightening the slightly dented edge the razor gets when shaving. The edge starts like this: | and after shaving gets a little like this: J. Stropping gets it back to the |.

My understanding is the carbon in the newspaper ink does act as a slight abrasive, which helps as well. Some people buy carbon powder lubricant (used for locks) and lightly coat their regular strop with it to achieve the same effect.

So i'm still looking at hones.

I'm thinking about buying a DMT progression for my knives, and a finishing hone for both my knives and my razor.

Would the spyderco UF be a terrible choice then? i know the perferred method is using water stones, but i like to work at my desk, and soaking and wetting stones seems on my desk doesn't seem ideal.
Thing is, of all the dozens of threads i've read regarding the UF Stone, there are some who rave about how surprised they are by it's performance, some who rave about it after lapping, and many who say it is a good hone, that is bad for beginners. I have the UF rods, which i used to use for my knives, so i know how fantastic the results are. however, it seems flatness is the main issue. is it worth the gamble to see if i get a flat UF stone?

Also, Right now i'm not looking for the "ultimate" edge or hone. i know that it can be an obsession (i've been there), but for razors i'd like to keep it as simple as possible.

Well done. I really appreciate your enthusiasm and willingness to try things.

Ultimately, I find myself "edge" tinkering all the time.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Well done. I really appreciate your enthusiasm and willingness to try things.

Ultimately, I find myself "edge" tinkering all the time.

I am a tinkerer

I figure, knowing me i'll eventually end up with a whole bunch of hones. however i've been contemplating the large UF stone for a while now, before razors as a finishing stone for my knives. since i'm going to be buying a whole new sharpening setup for kitchen knives, pocket knives, tools, and stuff with my christmas money, i thought i'd pick up a finishing stone. i just don't know what to think about the UF stone. If all the reviews said the same thing; that it needs lapping (which voids warranty), or that they are terrible for razors, it would effect my decision. However there are so many darned people who have had good experiences getting comfortable shaves right off the UF stone.

the only reason i am not just buying the norton 8k and to hell with it, is because of the points out saying that they wear, and many posts recommend lapping at every use, something i can't imagine doing when i want to touch up my pocket knives or occasionally my razor.

I've mentally separated "comfortable shave" from "perfect edge", it's hard to draw the line in the literature on the various hones.

THe norton 4k/8k combo is a beautiful hone for razors. Yes they need lapping, but any hone you get you will want to lap. I don't think you need to lap them every use either, that is a bit overboard.