Journey to the hall of the honing king

[Stubear]

Hi folks,

I recently got a new Wacker razor and I absolutely love it. But the shave was just not quite there for me, as I have a beard that seems to grow like a rhododendrun bush and I really like those scary sharp edges.

A couple of shaves later I decided I would tweak the edge slightly, just to really get the edge just where I like it.

So out came my trusty side kicks, my Shapton hones. Cirlces on the 4k, cirlces on the 8k, X strokes to finish on each. Then some diamond spray and a stropping after the 16k stone.

Test shave; Hmm... Better than before but still not quite there. I also found that the razor was very slightly narrower at the heel than at the toe, something I had not encountered on my other razors., meaning that the toe was sharper than the heel.

I figured I'd give the razor a few shaves to settle down and re-evaluate. A couple of days later, still not there. And I wasnt happy about the uneven sharpness either.

So, onto the SRP wiki and found out that a 45 degree angle with the heel leading can help. Just cant get over how much useful info there is in there, its really a great resource...!

I figured I'd go back down to the 4k level again and get a uniform sharpness, but this time I didnt do any circles, just the toe leading X pattern. 20 or 30 laps on the 4k, then onto the 8k and 16k had the razor knocking over arm hairs like they werent there.

Then just 5 laps on 0.5 diamond, 5 laps on CrOx, then a good stropping. This was late one evening so I left the razor until today, when I got home from work.

I must admit the anticipation had been killing me all day and I really couldnt wait to take it for a test run.

I wasnt sure how my skin would cope as I had already shaved that morning with my DE, but I had a good load of stubble coming through and I figured what better test than shaving twice in a day? If theres no irritation after that, then I know I have a good edge.

I stropped the razor, lathered up some Tabac soap and went to work.

I dont usually like the term "OMG", but in this case it was rather appropriate. The razor glided over my skin like a summer breeze, taking the days growth with it. It even gave me a couple of weepers, which I didnt feel at all, thats how sharp it was.

I now have a totally BBS face, no irritation and a Wacker that you could cleave atoms with!

Things I've learnt:

- The Wiki is your friend. Use it. So is the search function.
- Different approaches on the hones can make all the difference between success and failure. Assess your edge, think about your attack and only
then put razor to stone.
- Keep your touch light, and then lighter still when honing. On the high grit stones, this can really give you a killer edge. I really made a conscious effort to do this this time round, and I definately noticed the difference in the end result.
- Less strokes is better.
- CrOx after diamond works really well.

So I guess my journey to the hall of the honing king was really a journey of discovery, but it was well worth the time and effort!

I know all of this stuff has been said before elsewhere, but I'm just very stoked that a little research and thought has paid off so well! I spent far longer reading up posts on SRP and with my nose in the Wiki than I did with the razor on the hones, and it really has paid off.

Plus I have a killer shaver to use now!

I'm a happy bunny, and I just wanted to share!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

[crushnbugs]

GREAT post,

I'm goingto go pull out the stones and get honing now...

I feel inspired

[MWS]

+1 excellent post, academic and a fun read. Thanks!

[holli4pirating]

I'm glad to hear about your success. A few things that occured to me as I read your first post:
I typically do circles only up through whatever hone immediately follows my 1k, and only after coming off the 1k. This is because the point of the circles is to remove the scratches from the 1k quickly and without creating a wire edge. I do X strokes after the circles to create a uniform scratch pattern, and then do not do circles on any other hones. So, for example, I do circles followed by X's on my 1k to set the bevel. I do circles followed by X's on my 5k. I do only X's from thereon in.

The next part isn't clear to me, but did you use the diamond spray before or after the 16k. I've only heard of spray being used after, and I'm not sure how it would work if used before.

I'm glad you were able to sort out the razor and get a great shave. I know it's great when you finally beat a problem razor into submission.

[Stubear]

Hi Holli,

Thanks for the info!

I started just doing the circles on the 4k, but it was working so well that I started experimenting on the higher grits as well. It seems to work pretty well, and I'm very happy with the edges I've been getting. I always do X patterns after the circles though.

I use the diamond spray after the 16k. My progression is 1k, 4k, 8k, 16k, 0.5 diamond spray on denim and maybe CrOx after if the edge is still a little harsh.