Scratches left after final polishing

Hi all, still getting started in the world of straight razors after purchasing a double arrow razor from eBay. So far I have managed to set a nice even bevel on it and get a decent but fairly uncomfortable shave from it. The problem I am having with honing is that after I set the bevel with my 1k stone I can't remove the visible scratches although I can get the bevel to be very shiny albeit with scratches on it. I am using a 1k, 3k, 8k, 12k stone and 0.5 micron chromium oxide on balsa strop. The stones have been lapped with 1000 grit wet and dry on a plate of glass. I followed the video on youtube of lynn honing from start to finish but I am still left with visible scratches even after the 12k. Have also ordered a shave ready dovo so I can compare. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Are these scratches close to the toe or heel? Are they all along the bevel? Are the right next to the cutting edge, or does the cutting edge appear shiny, and then you see visible scratches just before you get to the bevel shoulder before the hollows start??

Practice practice practice

It takes quite a bit of work on 4K to get rid of residual 1K scratches. I have plenty of blades that shave very nicely yet have minimal visible scratches even after 4K-8K-16K and 30K. I don't think it's a problem.

It sounds like your either your moving on to the next stone too quick, that's if your stroke is good. an uneven stroke can leave scratches. if thats the case your better dulling the edge and going back to the 1k to reset the bevel.

a 12k shouldn't leave any scratches or if there is, they're tiny scratches. See how it shaves and if it doesn't, you know you need to reset the bevel again.

good luck

Polishing really doesn't get rid of scratches. it just refines them and makes them smaller and lighter and harder to see. If you looked at some of the most precision mirrors ground for astronomical use and you use enough mag you will see scratches.

The whole bevel from heel to toe is evenly covered in scratches visible to the naked eye which look like they are from the 1k and I can't seem to remove them.

You'll have scratches. Once the bevel is set the higher grits begin to hone away the depth of the scratches and eliminate them as much as posssible on the edge. That's polishing, but you're not going to totally eliminate all the scratches from the bevel to basically have a mirror finish free of any scratch. Trying will bring you to over honing, wire edges, edge breakdown etc.. Here's a link to a thread with some closeups showing different stages and different grits. http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...sses-pics.html
Hope it helps.

Regards,

Howard

If I may, What is a double arrow razor? It would seem you need to do more strokes in your upper pyramid if the scratches are from the 1000. If you use high magnification, there will be tons of scratching! After 12k the bevel should look like glass to the naked eye or 5X magnification, What hones are they? are you soaking them? Are they flat? It helps to know these things! Keep Working!

You will not remove the scratches completely so do not worry about that. As long as the honing and stropping are done properly you should get good shaves.
Practice will improve your skill.

Visible scratches aren't a big deal as long as everything else is done right.
If you really want to get rid of them, spend a lot more time at the 4K level, or get a stone in the neighborhood of 2k. Even then, you will still probably have some visible scratches. What's interesting is when you look under a microscope, as you go up in grits and especially with stropping - they become softer with a rounded profile even though they are still visible. IME visible scratches don't affect the shave quality.

Thanks for the replies, think I might just be worrying too much about the scratches and need to just stick at it so I can get that next level of sharpness and a more comfortable shave. Sharptonn, a double arrow is a chinese carbon steel razor and I think it may be the equivalent of a gold dollar. All my stones are flat and the ones that require soaking are being soaked. The stones are a 1k/3k tojiro, 8k naniwa superstone and a 12k chinese natrual. My process is to do 40 circles on the 1k, then 10 light strokes, 40 circles on the 3k, then 10 light strokes, 10 light strokes on 8k, 10 light strokes on 12k and then 10 light laps on 0.5 chromium oxide.

I'm probably in the minority here on this, but I don't much believe in looking through loupes and examining scratch marks. Initially I did it, but then decided it wasn't helping me much. It told me that my edge wasn't good but it couldn't improve my technique which is the only thing that will improve edges. Spending time constantly examining scratch patterns can actually be a distraction. Now I tend more towards simply relaxing and refining my technique and not worrying about anything else. That keeps me focused on little details of angle and pressure which is the foundation of good technique.

When I finish honing a razor, I pull a few hairs off my hair brush and see if the razor will pop them off cleanly and regularly. If one hair doesn't work, select a 2nd and 3rd hair. If none of them are cut cleanly, then it is back to honing with even more concentration on proper honing technique. Pretty simple really, but it always works for me and my technique just keeps getting better and better with practice. I've been working at my razor honing for lots of years now, and the more concentrated time I spend with my hone, the better my honing becomes.

Think I got the hang of it now, just had an awesome bbs shave on the sides of my face. This time I honed using extremely light pressure, less strokes on each hone and didn't worry about if there were scratches or not. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AnthonyD

Think I got the hang of it now, just had an awesome bbs shave on the sides of my face. This time I honed using extremely light pressure, less strokes on each hone and didn't worry about if there were scratches or not. :)

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superb, I used to look at the scratches left after each stage but now I listen to the feedback from the hone and how it travels over the surface and what it sounds like to know when to move on.

If your using heavy pressure your more likely to mess up your stroke especially if your using a narrower hone.

congrats on the edge