Thread: Shout out to all the SRP gurus

Originally Posted by Steve1150

Tru Dat! It's been so much fun so far that I'm already keeping an eye out for my next purchase. I still wish I had not broken the original scales, but that's spilled milk at this point I suppose.

As soon as I get the nerve up to touch this steal to grit I'll be embarking on my honing journey. Most likely be back on here just so gssixgun can deliver a big helping of "I told you so" and "they never listen". wish me luck.

Har..!!! We all have to start somewhere.
Watch lots of video's . and pay attention to the types of razors being honed, and how their honed. (Wedge, Smiler's, straight spines.). Usually a x stroke will work for most, but some like a swooping x stroke, as others require a rolling x stroke. Learning the different grinds, and how to hone them is a big deal. Once you figure it out.....ohhhh boy!!!.
Its not easy... But you'll figure it out with practice.

Best of luck
Mike

PS. Get your self some good magnification. 30 power luepe, or 60 power microscope. Their fairly cheap too. And a nice set of Naniwa stones as Glenn said. Their the best for beginners.
Check (Imperial Shave, Medina, Oh.)
They've got a whole set in a bundle, for a damn good price. And you'll want a holder for the stones as well.

If you want... send me a PM with your address, and I can send you a 20 power loupe if you can't find one.

Originally Posted by outback

Har..!!! We all have to start somewhere.
Watch lots of video's . and pay attention to the types of razors being honed, and how their honed. (Wedge, Smiler's, straight spines.). Usually a x stroke will work for most, but some like a swooping x stroke, as others require a rolling x stroke. Learning the different grinds, and how to hone them is a big deal. Once you figure it out.....ohhhh boy!!!.
Its not easy... But you'll figure it out with practice.

Best of luck
Mike

PS. Get your self some good magnification. 30 power luepe, or 60 power microscope. Their fairly cheap too. And a nice set of Naniwa stones as Glenn said. Their the best for beginners.
Check (Imperial Shave, Medina, Oh.)
They've got a whole set in a bundle, for a damn good price. And you'll want a holder for the stones as well.

If you want... send me a PM with your address, and I can send you a 20 power loupe if you can't find one.

Thanks for the friendly offer. I already picked up a 60x loop and found it immeasurably valuable when I actually started honing practice. Turns out this razor had a great deal of microchips on the edge that I couldn't see without the loop. But after much bevel setting and and a lot of newb mistakes, I finally got this sucker to pass the hht! I moved on to some pasted stropping, and then took my first shave on it today! I was pretty stoked about that! Now, it wasn't a great shave, but I have my baseline established, and don't have to worry about crashing out in miserable failure with a strange shaped pocket knife to show for it.

When the money is back in the coffers I hope to improve my setup with some of those finishing stones you guys are raving about bout. But in the mean time I'll be playing with some combinations of lapping film and pasts to see if I can't get a little more for less. Any suggestions?

Something I see is going on is your thought about sharpness. One time I thought I knew what sharp was, I was about the best knife sharpener in the tri-county area. People would bring me knives from up a ways off. I got into razors and thought I could hang with the knowledge of these guys here on SRP, remember: I was a knife sharp guru. What I came to learn, a "dull" razor to a pro who has been at this a while was as good and probably better than my "perfect" knife edge.

Diamonds are for repair of razors, flattening stones, and ladies...that is it. DMT is good 325, Atoma 400 is better, I have seen them both under the microscope.

A minimalist set of stones would be a set of Naniwa 1, 3, 8 or a Norton 1, 4, 8. If you must have a finisher, Naniwa 12K is the most affordable finisher there is. Stay away from natural stones. They have their place, but they are not for beginners who have no honing foundation.

Learn to shave first. You don't know what a shave ready razor is. Learn to touch up that razor, then learn to hone. Patience is something you really need to get into this sport, speed hurts...literally.

I don't recall you mentioning having a strop. Stropping is paramount, if you don't have one you must get one. No way around that one.

Send the razor to me, I will hone it and return it to you. The only cost to you will be return postage via USPS flat rate box. This way you can learn to shave and have no question if the razor is "shave ready" or not.

Originally Posted by ScottGoodman

Something I see is going on is your thought about sharpness. One time I thought I knew what sharp was, I was about the best knife sharpener in the tri-county area. People would bring me knives from up a ways off. I got into razors and thought I could hang with the knowledge of these guys here on SRP, remember: I was a knife sharp guru. What I came to learn, a "dull" razor to a pro who has been at this a while was as good and probably better than my "perfect" knife edge.

Diamonds are for repair of razors, flattening stones, and ladies...that is it. DMT is good 325, Atoma 400 is better, I have seen them both under the microscope.

A minimalist set of stones would be a set of Naniwa 1, 3, 8 or a Norton 1, 4, 8. If you must have a finisher, Naniwa 12K is the most affordable finisher there is. Stay away from natural stones. They have their place, but they are not for beginners who have no honing foundation.

Learn to shave first. You don't know what a shave ready razor is. Learn to touch up that razor, then learn to hone. Patience is something you really need to get into this sport, speed hurts...literally.

I don't recall you mentioning having a strop. Stropping is paramount, if you don't have one you must get one. No way around that one.

Send the razor to me, I will hone it and return it to you. The only cost to you will be return postage via USPS flat rate box. This way you can learn to shave and have no question if the razor is "shave ready" or not.

Thank you for the friendly offer to hone for me. Is it possible that having it honed would just trigger discontent? Here is where I was able to get it. I was able to get it cutting hair 1/2 inch away from the skin. I also managed to get thicker hairs to split down the side like whittling a stick. My current challenge is getting that performance along the entire blade. It's not that sharp in all spots. Any advice would be appreciated. But at the moment I'm pretty happy with the shave I'm getting. Totally afraid that if I experience a truly shave ready razor, I might become spoiled on it, destroying my current state of self satisfaction.

Oh I made a strop out of old denim jeans. I haven't seen much discussion on this forum about using denim. It's doing something but I can only guess that leather would be better. If anyone sees a discussion where someone has tested them both I'd like to read it.

PS
"sharp" to me is passing the leaf on water test. I challenge any of the pros here to post a video of one of their razors passing that test.

Newspaper is also a good substitute for a strop

Originally Posted by dinnermint

Newspaper is also a good substitute for a strop

I've been playing with newspaper, it either does not seem to do anything for me, or it just takes a lot of strokes to do what it does, or my razors aren't yet at the point where they are ready for that. not sure what to think.

As far as I see it, the strop is the unsung king of straights. It polishes, maintains and aligns the edge, can smooth out honing. It's not going to be like going from an 8k stone to a finishing stone. On my leather strop, I tend to shoot for 80-100 strokes, because I may have a lighter hand (ironically, not usually the problem) and everything takes more strokes to do. Or I'm just crazy and like over doing things. I personally have not used the newspaper method. I do believe that it also was referenced to use text sections, not the front page 5x5 photo or the comics section (please correct me if I am wrong).

Also, you want even sharpness the entire length of the blade. This indicates to me more hone wear in one section to the others. I can have the same issue and have to compensate with "hone-yoga". This especially evident in blades that are not completely straight. Technically, none of them are, the production methods are not meant to produces a razor straight to the micron.

Denim is a pretty common substitute for cloth sections of strops. Tutorials for denim strop
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...nim-strop.html
Making a linen strop out of denim - Straight Razor Place Library

You can also use cardboard (like the inside of a cereal box), good media for CrOx or use the graphite from pencil lead. Just make sure it is smooth, don't dig into the cardboard and create burrs in it or chucks of pencil lead.

Originally Posted by dinnermint

As far as I see it, the strop is the unsung king of straights. It polishes, maintains and aligns the edge, can smooth out honing. It's not going to be like going from an 8k stone to a finishing stone. On my leather strop, I tend to shoot for 80-100 strokes, because I may have a lighter hand (ironically, not usually the problem) and everything takes more strokes to do. Or I'm just crazy and like over doing things. I personally have not used the newspaper method. I do believe that it also was referenced to use text sections, not the front page 5x5 photo or the comics section (please correct me if I am wrong).

Also, you want even sharpness the entire length of the blade. This indicates to me more hone wear in one section to the others. I can have the same issue and have to compensate with "hone-yoga". This especially evident in blades that are not completely straight. Technically, none of them are, the production methods are not meant to produces a razor straight to the micron.

Denim is a pretty common substitute for cloth sections of strops. Tutorials for denim strop
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...nim-strop.html
Making a linen strop out of denim - Straight Razor Place Library

You can also use cardboard (like the inside of a cereal box), good media for CrOx or use the graphite from pencil lead. Just make sure it is smooth, don't dig into the cardboard and create burrs in it or chucks of pencil lead.

Thanks for the links, good info. I wonder if there is a reason he used contact cement instead of just stitching the strop. Anyone know if the stitches interfere in some way? Or is cement just the shortcut way to avoid stitching 3 feet of denim?

Question about stropping. I'm getting a decent mirror finished bevel off of my last stone. when I strop it turns the mirror foggy. Does that indicate a problem with my stropping or is that the desired outcome of the stropping session? At the moment I'm using .5 micron diamond oil paste on the denim strop.

Originally Posted by Steve1150

Thanks for the links, good info. I wonder if there is a reason he used contact cement instead of just stitching the strop. Anyone know if the stitches interfere in some way? Or is cement just the shortcut way to avoid stitching 3 feet of denim?

Question about stropping. I'm getting a decent mirror finished bevel off of my last stone. when I strop it turns the mirror foggy. Does that indicate a problem with my stropping or is that the desired outcome of the stropping session? At the moment I'm using .5 micron diamond oil paste on the denim strop.

The way that one was made, the stitching may interfere.

I have very limited experience with pastes. Try searching for diamond paste microscope pictures in the search bar, someone must have done a close up in the past...

Glen, Now I understand why you were ignoring my question about the sharpness of disposable edges. The irony to me is the well-established anti-micro-bevel sentiment in the community. So where can I go or who can I talk to in pursuit of the next level?

Silent HHT? I'm currently ready to progress beyond popping HHT but where is the corner for the forum where this is discussed?