Thread: Zulu grey...first hone

Originally Posted by Laurens

Is this the first time you do honing of any kind? If so, I would recommend using a junk razor until you get the feeling, otherwise you might spoil the edge on your (only) razor. It's very easy to slip up, guess how I know...

This is my first time I'd be honing, but not a first razor...up to eight now! I've been straight shaving for a bit over a year and maintained them with pastes throughout that time and just recently had to send them out for honing...so now I'm looking for a way to maintain better myself aside from the pastes.

Natural hones take a while to figure out, so be prepared to get sub-par results in the beginning and walk away rather than spending hours on end on a single razor. Maybe tape the spine to reduce wear. But who knows, maybe you get lucky and have fabulous results at your first try

Good luck and let us know!

The Zulu Grey was my first natural and I was impress with the results and on how easy it was to use (experience with synthetics only). MicheaC is giving you great advice. If you can tell as soon as a razor it's loosing its sharpness, you could get away with water only like Michael say. However, if you let the razor go a little, you can build a slurry and dilute like Micheal explains, with good results also. It definitely improve on sharpness and smoothness over an 8k synt. stone. Just expect like they said before, any were from 70 to 150 laps (that's with an 8X3, expect to do more if smaller stone) to see improveness. Also the 20 laps and check progress is what I use with this stone. All good advice!

I order a second smaller stone for extended travel. It's a very good value with the 35% off on the holly days. I think you will be happy with it. Just give yourself time to learn it. If you mess a razor you can always send it to be fixed. I was lucky and got a free life time honing from Straight Razor Design when they offered it for the holly days two years ago (with the purchase of a razor). So I always had something to compare my honing with, and that's what I recommend you do also. Keep a well pro hone razor around to compare and re calibrate your shaving edge. Keep trying to maintain the keenness and smoothness of that edge as close to the pro as posible, you could get lucky and make it better than the pro hone! And when you consistently can bring the edge back to the pro standards, then you are ready for the full progression! Just pace yourself because is a long and deep rabbit hole! Believe me, most of us started with "just want to maintain my razors" and ended up with 15 stones (7synthetics and 8naturals) so far and counting!

Good luck! Double O

So it sounds like there's re two ways to use it. As it arrives as a finisher, or to use a slurry on a slightly degraded edge. I see where Michael says that you can use a slurry and bring it back to a finisher with 1500 grit sandpaper, but would using it for both be unwise? Should it be better to use it as one or the other. Just wondering if it would damage the stone to go back and forth between slurry use and polished finisher usage.

Originally Posted by Wxman2000

So it sounds like there's re two ways to use it. As it arrives as a finisher, or to use a slurry on a slightly degraded edge. I see where Michael says that you can use a slurry and bring it back to a finisher with 1500 grit sandpaper, but would using it for both be unwise? Should it be better to use it as one or the other. Just wondering if it would damage the stone to go back and forth between slurry use and polished finisher usage.

No, it would not damage the stone, I just did it the other day. It just a little more work, but not that much either. I would start using it as a finisher and if that doesn't work, then you can use it with slury. Eventually you could end up with an Atoma 400 and a 1200, that would make the transition a walk on the park! Double O

+1 to the DMT credit card. I tried like crazy to get a slurry with the slurry stone with mediocre results. With the DMT, the slurry is quick and as others have said, it takes away some of the mirror-like finish. I have found this hone works SO much better after you break down the surface a little. All in all, I like this stone. Just be patient...I didn't have very good results with it at first. Now its a joy to use and my edges have been wicked nice

Chris

Originally Posted by Double0757

No, it would not damage the stone, I just did it the other day. It just a little more work, but not that much either. I would start using it as a finisher and if that doesn't work, then you can use it with slury. Eventually you could end up with an Atoma 400 and a 1200, that would make the transition a walk on the park! Double O

Or give the top and bottom a different finish, saves changing it!

Originally Posted by Laurens

Or give the top and bottom a different finish, saves changing it!

I went ahead and did this and it took quit a while to lap straight (20 min) the unused side. Maybe I thank you later! LOL! Then I went and finish the side like Micheal recommends with the 1500 grit sand paper on a dry stone.

Edit: this next quote is from MichealC, not from Laurens (iPad multiple quote error)

Originally Posted by MichaelC

If you are not going to need slurry or if you simply want to use the Zulu Grey as a true finisher with only water etc. Then you can also thoroughly dry the hone and use a small square of 1500 grit wet/dry paper (use it completely dry) to essentially polish the hone surface back to what it was when received. The hone is so hard that with a square of 1500 grit paper you practically aren't changing the flatness of the hone at all - just keep the polishing action light and consistent across the surface. This will give a nice mirror surface good for final finishing with light strokes using water only. I also like to use the hone dry for a few very light x-strokes just prior to clean stropping.

Cheers,
- Mike

I used it after relaping with the 1200 Atoma then dressing the Zulu with a 3k grit stone follow by the turi, let dry and sand with the 1500 paper. Maybe an overkill. The surface is a little smoother than the other side, only noticeable when wet (how the water makes the surface look) or dry only by doing the tongue test on the dry stone, you can feel the smoothness, but just slightly smoother (yes, I have become intimate with the Zulu), but is not noticeable by the touch or by the look on a dry stone. Maybe now I need to roughen the other side more (only take it to the 400 Atoma) and use the slury on that side. Something to experiment now!

Any way, I took the razor I did before on my regular routine and went back to the newly polished side (thank you Laurence) and shaved.

This razor was shaving good after the 8k Shapton glass and CrOx. It was a smooth 3 pass razor for a DFS. The razor was shaving better after my first honing with the Zulu. My progression from an 8k edge has been to raise a slury with the Atoma 1200 (milk white but not pasty), diluting and checking every 20 or so strokes for sharpness (leg/arm hair test) finishing with almost water but not 100% clear. My regular progression for best results, is to come off the 16k Shapton glass then go to the Zulu with a slight turi slury for finishing. However, after the Zulu progression. With its own slury, I shaved twice with it, first without paste, then with paste (CrOx only, no CBN on this one). The shave was smooth on the first and a little smoother on the second with good sharpness to make it a two pass razor + touchups for a complete BBS and hardly any alum burn.

Went back to the new polished side and water only for another 60-70 laps. The shaved improved in sharpness and the smoothness was comparable with the first attempted with CrOx, but without the CrOx. So it did something, don't know if it was for the extra laps or the new surface. I think a little of both. If the surface would have been as before (1200 Atoma then dressed with a turi), I think it would only improved in sharpness for the extra laps, but not for smoothness, or maybe it was the increase sharpness that made it smoother. Hard to say. The shave was two pass + touchups for complete BBS. The only difference was the touchup patches where smaller than on the two shaves before (that's how I know it was sharper).

Next shave would be with same razor after CrOx paste (5-6 pases).

Either way I'm going to keep both surface and use it as such from now on (can't waste the 20min. of lapping!)

Aaron (wxman2000), as you start with your honing, there are going to be lots of variables that can affect you honing, from too much pressure to uneven pressure along the edge, condition of the edge, thickness of slury, dilution of slury and stokes, stone preparation, steel of the razor. The only thing that is going to improve your honing is practice with observation. This is the best advice I can give you and don't be afraid to experiment (another good advice I was given by Jimmy Had). We all give you advice but ultimately is you doing the honing and you have to see for yourself what's working and what's not. Honing is like fishing. You can read about it and learn, but until you do it, it's the only way you going to find out what works for you and what's not. And the more you do it, the more successful you be at it! It's good to talk and interchange ideas for you to experiment with. Let us know of your progress, failures and success! We love to read and learn from each other. Double O

So if I were to use it two sided, or just change between the two methods on one side, I'm curious what role this can fill for me. Obviously it sounds like a great finishing stone, but does it replace something like a 10-12k?

Through the last year, I've relied on pastes for the most part. I have the thiers issard paste (somewhere around 10k grit?), crox, and IrOx. I also have an old swaty hone that I've fiddled with on occasion, but I've not messed with it a whole lot. The times I've tried it, I didn't notice that it did anything (good/bad) for my edges...maybe there's something wrong with it?

So would this stone replace those things, or is it closer to a finisher than something that can bring back an edge that's dropping off?

Again, when it comes to the honing stuff, I've got lots of questions...

Thanks again for all the help you've been so far.

I find each razor different. Some, after being set, can be maintained only with paste for a long time. Others with a 'dry' barber hone. Others with a finisher.
The razor will tell you.