Thread: Today's experiment. An annoyance and a revelation.

Today I decided to experiment a little with my new dremel toys so I brought out a razor I've been putting off dealing with. I played with a magnet I acquired from an old hard drive to secure the thing but it grabbed the blade much harder than expected. MUCH harder. In trying to get the blade off the thing I accidentally cracked a scale right through at the pivot. The scales are stuffed. While very annoyed with myself the scales in question were sun damaged and brittle so it was probably going to happen at some point anyway. I'm now resigned to getting a set of generic black scales to replace them, since that's all that was on this razor anyway.
Since I'd already done some damage I figured "stuff it" and took the blade to the hones. I've also been watching a number of Glen's videos and since this blade had some bad pitting on the very edge I thought I'd bread knife it as an experiment (if I had a coarser starting stone than a 1200 I probably wouldn't have, but as I said this was an experiment anyway). I got the blade nice and even quite easily and without losing a lot of metal so I was pleased with that and proceeded to hone it up from scratch.
It took ages! (thanks to the bread knifing I expect) I spent the whole morning resetting the bevel and working up through my modest hone set to finish with my 8K (don't have a PHIG ... YET). After checking with my loupe to make sure I'd gotten all the 4K marks out and popping hairs off my now bald left forearm (ok, almost bald inner left forearm) I stropped it and gave it a whirl.
First few strokes and I'm thinking "dammit! This isn't cutting at all!" I'm accustomed to the sound of my Playtpus (classic scraping toast sound and LOUD) and this barely made a murmur even though it's also a hollow. Then I checked the suds and felt my face O_O smoooooooth! AND shaving better than the Platypus! The difference between the feel of this "experiment", a Sheffield made item, and the Magnetic Platypus, an all German one, is like night and day! The German razor must be WAY more hollow in the grind or something but the difference was a real revelation.
Now I'm determined to replace the scales and get the Sheffield better honed. I think I'm falling in love with Sheffield steel! <3

Success is always cool. Is this the forum you wanted to post in?

Isn't it great when you think it's still at the bread knife stage 'cause it's so smooth but it's cutting!

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Success is always cool. Is this the forum you wanted to post in?

Yep. As a beginner shaver and begginer honer I wanted to share the experience and revelation I had as an encouragement to other beginners.

One of my surprises as I became more experienced was that different blades, once honed properly, cut differently--with different sounds and apparently different resistance. Some are very light, some require more finesse. It's almost impossible to become bored with any of this. :-)

Nice work, Mick. Sounds like you have mastered the 8k hone. Are you waiting on delivery of a C12k? If not, I'd recommend a Naniwa instead. It's startlingly fast, where I've heard the PHIG is extremely slow. Coming off the 8k, the Naniwa's work is done in 20 more laps, tops.

I'm glad you didn't crack the blade when that magnet snapped it up.

Not nearly as glad as I am I can tell you! This is (was) an almost mint Jospeh Allen & Sons item. No hone marks that I could see at all but significant fading of the scales from being left in a shop window (I think). Unfortunately there was pitting on the edge that looked like fine (for a kitchen knife) serrations so I had to do somthing about that.
I'd hardley consider myself a "master of the 8k". In fact "novice" would be closer to my own estimate ... if that. I still can't move the blade over the 8k evenly with one hand or get as even a bevel width along the balde as I think I should be. Maybe I expect too much and maybe I didn't get the stones as flat as I thought or I'm getting the pressure distribution wrong or ... stuffed if I know, but I DO know I have a lot to learn. I'll be trying to get to the next meet within travelling range of me to see things done right first hand.

Do you mean a Naniwa 12k or 16k?

Naniwa 12k. I've heard that the Shapton 16k is as fast as the Naniwa12, but also that Shaptons play best with other Shaptons and not so well with other stones. The Naniwa12 welcomes diversity.

Well, if you're getting that nice smooth shave off the 8k you're doing it mostly right. Minimal pressure is the key to a narrow bevel, and some flexibility in your x-stroke keeps it even on smiley blades. Have you seen the rolling x-stroke in the Wiki?

I find that stropping with compound does a great job to finish the edge and very cheaply!!! and its a great stropping exercise!!!
I took a 5 dollars Wade & butcher with a somewhat big chip out of it, breadknife on a dmt diamond plate, set the bevel, then went to 4k and 8k then to the barber hone, then stropped with chromium oxide and was totally impressed with the results i got !
That razor shaved with great ease, and maintains the edge easilly. Personally i really enjoy stropping and feel that my technique
works for me just my 2 cents!!!!

Originally Posted by roughkype

Naniwa 12k. I've heard that the Shapton 16k is as fast as the Naniwa12, but also that Shaptons play best with other Shaptons and not so well with other stones. The Naniwa12 welcomes diversity.

Well, if you're getting that nice smooth shave off the 8k you're doing it mostly right. Minimal pressure is the key to a narrow bevel, and some flexibility in your x-stroke keeps it even on smiley blades. Have you seen the rolling x-stroke in the Wiki?

Yeah, I've seen it. Watched Glen's videos that mention it as well. I'm figuring more and more that honing is an exercise in subtlety and that's takes time to learn.
For all I know there could be a tiny amount of warp in the balde. I can't see it, but then I have no way of accurately measuring such a thing. Regardless, I have more to learn and will do for some time.