Thread: Tough time getting started...

Hey guys.

Just getting started here. Went to a local antique shop and found what i thought to be a good looking blade to get started with. I have a King 1000/6000 grit stone, a strop(without paste) and some of ken's nanocloth with .050 polydiamond. I know the 6000 - poly is a big jump, but i thought i'd see how it went. Well, not as good as i expected.
I have a good deal of experience sharpening my japanese blue steel knives. So, i read a huge amount of stuff and watched lynn's video's on youtube on honing, cause i want to be able to hone on my own. Not sure what kind of steel this is, but it seems to take forever to get it to get the stone to cut well on the blade(took a while to start seeing dark on the stone)...in fact, it seemed like i honed for a good two hours or more?...and 'finally i could start to see the bevel setting a 'bit. Problem is, i'm not sure what kind of bevel i want? I honed till i could see what looked like a clean edge, stropped it for a bit and then moved to light cutting on the nanocloth/poly spray. After a while of that, had look at the edge...looked a heck of alot better..smoothing out, etc. Didn't pass the HHT as i did it...but thought i'd try shaving anyway. Did the usual, hot towel, lather, etc....then went to shave and it pulled quite a bit? So stopped and went back to my normal cheap bik's. I'm expecting my straight razor to perform at least as good as a $1 bik...

What am i missing here? Does it need more/steeper bevel? A better hone? Any suggestions for a newb? Thanks!

I've included a few shots with the 400x scope.

I know the 6000 - poly is a big jump, but i thought i'd see how it went. Well, not as good as i expected.

It may be that you've answered your own question. .5 (unless it really is .05) I've seen rated anywhere from 30K-60K grit equivalent. That's a huge jump from 6k and likely results in you trying to shave with a 6k edge.

You shouldn't need a steeper bevel, just use the built in geometry of your blade by keeping the spine on the hone.

Just getting started here.

Problem is, i'm not sure what kind of bevel i want?

This two lines actually answers your questions, you are just starting out and have quite a bit of learning ahead of you.

You don't yet know how to actually shave with a straight which is the first thing you should focus on learning, you need to learn about what angles that works best, pressure and so on.

The best advice I can give is to send your razor out to someone for honing, that way you will for sure know that the razor is honed properly and you can focus on the shaving part, when you got the grips on that you can consider to start honing.

To be able to hone a razor correctly you need to know how it should be when it is honed correctly, until you have mastered the use of one you simoply won't be able to tell whether it is or not.

When you have a professionally honed razor you can also use it as a benchmark of what to strive for when you start honing.


Good luck and have fun!

You need to lie the razor flat on the hone. That sets the bevel angle. A layer of tape increases the angle by a vey small amount.

No matter the steel type, a 1k stone will cut a bevel in less than two hours. You won't see as much swarf as with a knife but the stone should cut right away.

After 1k the razor should cut hair effortlessly. It's generally accepted on this forum that shaving starts at 8k. People usually reccommend finishing with a higher grit. I use a 12k then .5 diamond to finish.

The straight razor, properly used should shave better than the 1$ bic but don't expect instant results.

Michael

Thanks for the response guys. I think i'll have a look around the site and see if there is anyone here in Calgary that can help with honing it first time around. Then i'll probably pickup one of the naniwa super's...or a similar higher grit combo stone, so i can learn to refresh it/set it myself.

Thanks for your help!

You can learn to shave, strop, and hone from bevel set to shave ready. I did it but I am only now geting consistant BBS (baby butt smoth) shaves. I developed several bad habits that had to be corrected.

If you want stay in the deep end, I would recomend you get one or two shave ready razor(s) from one of the trusted venders. Learn to shave with one, store the second for later comparison, and keep at honing your non shave ready razor.

Don't move off the 1k hone till you can shave with the razor, it won't be smooth but it must be sharp at 1k.

Have fun on the learning curves.

Jonathan

Thanks Jonathon. I was farr from being able to shave off the 1k...