Thread: Novice Honing a Thiers-Issard

Hi Guys,

For the past 2 months, I have been using a 5/8 TI (the basic tortoise shell model) that I bought at classicshaving. I had bought some sharpening pastes (1 micron and .5 micron) and a couple of lower quality strops to put these pastes on. These seemed to be keeping my TI sharp enough for some decent shaves, but some pulling of the whiskers (along with the regular Dovo russian leather strop).

I had been getting decent shaves with 2 passes (1 with, 1 against), but I had to take so much time to shave in order to avoid the razor 'biting.' It was evident to me that this razor was not as sharp as it was meant to be. What clinched this for me is that I recently bought a Dovo Bergischer Lowe that cuts through my whiskers like butter, with just a bit of freshening up from my pasted strops.

So this week I received a Norton 4K/8K in the mail, as well as a Kitayama super polishing stone and Lynn's DVD. I wanted to see if I could take the Theirs-Issard to the hone myself and re-do the edge to make it perform like the Bergischer Lowe.

I went through the standard 3-3, 1-3, 1-5 progression that Lynn showed, then took my razor to the Kitayama for 10 strokes, and then stropped it up to test it.

Basically, I had completely taken away any semblance of sharpness that the thing ever had. It pulled my hair like mad.

I took it back to the hones and went through the same progression about 4 times, trying the hanging hair test each time. I never actually got it to pass the test from the 4K/8K hones, but after about 12 strokes on the Kitayama, I got it to *just* cut a hanging hair.

Then, I took it to the 1 micron and .5 micron pasted strops and then the regular linen and leather strop. I shaved with it using 2 passes. The first pass (with the grain) left me still looking unshaven, although there was stubble at the bottom of the sink. The second pass (against the grain) took forever (to avoid the razor biting) and left me with a bit of razor burn, although the look and feel of my face was acceptable.

I can't continue using the razor like this. It's going to kill my face. What am I doing wrong and how could I get this razor sharp enough to give me a decent shave??? I am determined to get this sharpening thing down.

Any help would be appreciated very much.

Cheers,

Matt.

Did you lap the norton and kitayama before you used them?

Actually no, I didn't. I thought they would come from the factory with level surfaces. Would this make a big difference?

You'd think so wouldn't you, but unfortunately they aren't always sufficiently flat -- keep in mind that most of these hones aren't intended for straight razors but for chisels, so they're probably flat enough for their intended use but not for what we're using them for.

I thrashed around for a month trying to get my first razor sharp before I decided it wasn't my technique but the stone. I lapped it and 30 mins later was popping hair with ease.

Lap them. Lap them all.

Great! I will do just that. I probably won't get around to it until tomorrow. However, as soon as I get the chance, I'll write about the results.

Btw mparker, thanks for the prompt help!

2nd what Parker said.
The tortoise 5/8 TI is the same razor I bought from classic and attempted to hone when it didnt shave out of the box. I couldnt get a new Norton to do much of anything with that TI until I lapped it, night and day difference after that.

Dave

I don't know. I think too many people make too much of lapping hones. certainly some come from the factory in poor condition and I will admit that lapping does improve things but to me its a matter of degree. The fact is you should be able to do a fine job on the hone as it came from the factory.

TI's because of their lead hardening take a bit more effort to hone than dovo's and most others. I think any novice should never start with a good razor. Bettter to buy an Eboy special and practice with that to improve your skills. If the lapping doesn't work do yourself a favor and send it out to one of the honemeisters until your skills improve.

I concur with what thebigspendur said...if you aren't yet skilled at honing a straight, then send it out. You will be happy that you did. I have a couple of eBay specials and can get them nice and sharp, but wasn't able to do so with my 5/8 TI. I sent it to Lynn and now it is doing just fine. The lead hardening allows the TI's to keep and very nice edge, but also makes it nore difficult to get it that way!!!

My $0.02 worth.

- Mike

Originally Posted by osiris

The second pass (against the grain) took forever (to avoid the razor biting) and left me with a bit of razor burn, although the look and feel of my face was acceptable.

I can't continue using the razor like this. It's going to kill my face. What am I doing wrong and how could I get this razor sharp enough to give me a decent shave??? I am determined to get this sharpening thing down.
.

No barber's user manual advices shaving against the grain with straight razor. In my opinion, straight razor is no tool for such job.

Nenad

hahaha, I do 4 passes on my face....I garantee that some of them are against the grain.

But then again I don't have to shave for 2 days after that.