First Hone!

SUCCESSSSS!!! It's not perfect, but it SHAVES! I've been collecting razors for a while, but none of them were shave-ready. I finally bit the bullet and picked up a DMT 325, DMT 1200, & Norton 4k/8k. I figured it was just a cheap as sending all my razors out anyways...sorry to all you honemeisters, I think you just lost my business for good :).

Now, this might all be beginners luck. I still have 8 more to hone, so we'll see if the rest go as well as the first.

One question: I put tape on the spine to set the bevel on the 1200, but then left it on throughout the entire honing process. Was I supposed to do that, or are you supposed to take the tape off after setting the bevel? Also, will that affect any ability to touch it up on a barbers hone every 10 shaves or so? After I had honed it I realized that the tape might have affected the angle of the bevel such that any touch-ups on a barbers hone might not be very effective. Thoughts?

Oh, I guess I should probably say something about the method I used, razor, etc...

I honed my "Gremania" (I think it was supposed to be "Germania" but got misstamped? found here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ore-finds.html) and I used the pyramid method.

Confession: I used two hands. I know a lot of guys say not to, but I couldn't seem keep the blade perfectly flat against the hone. I guess that comes with a little more practice :).

You leave the tape on. You might want to re-tape after the bevel set.
Think of the tape as an angle guide. If you take it off you change the angle.

You re-tape regularly, sometimes I will do it twice just in the bevel set, always between bevel set and 4K & most of the time after 4K. Tape is cheap. Lastly, most all will tell you that a 1200 diamond stone is not so good for razors...pick up a waterstone in the 1K range as soon as you can. Diamonds are great for edge corrections (chips and so on), knives, and of course the ladies...not so good for honing.

Getting a razor shave ready for the first time is always a great feeling, but you always have to be honest with yourself by keeping a pro honed razor to compare to or by sending one off to a veteran honer to try out.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shooter74743

You re-tape regularly, sometimes I will do it twice just in the bevel set, always between bevel set....Tape is cheap.
Getting a razor shave ready for the first time is always a great feeling, but you always have to be honest with yourself by keeping a pro honed razor to compare to or by sending one off to a veteran honer to try out.

---

Ditto to what Scott said. I retape between every step of honing and sometimes twice during bevel set. I just make sure to use the same tape every time.

Also, I have a pro-honed razor that doesn't get used. It's my holy grail to which I compare my beginner honing progress.

I've been told by a reputable honemeister on here that it wouldn't affect using a barbers hone bc the change in angle is so minimal.....so I tested the theory. It worked just fine. I'm no pro but I trust this guy and think everyone else would so I can confidently say that it will not affect the use of a barbers hone bc they're so aggressive and 8-10 strokes will bring the bevel back in line quickly. I concluded that you DO NOT need to tape a spine when using a BH. I'm sure someone will be along to argue this point but try it for yourself- you'll see! If it worked for me it should work for you...shrug.

anthony,

I'm obviously new to honing, but doesn't that all depend on how the bevel was set? Tape on, tape off??

Kind Regards,

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Siguy

anthony,

I'm obviously new to honing, but doesn't that all depend on how the bevel was set? Tape on, tape off??

Kind Regards,

---

Hi siguy,
I'm new to honing also- bout a year and my spines were taped. I couldn't see the point of using a bh for a quick touch up by the sink if I had to go through the whole process of taping the spine. So I asked the honemeister and he said that there would be no appreciable difference. So I tried it. And there was no difference- my edge was brought back after about 6 strokes. It seems- at least this is the way I understood it- that bc the bh is so aggressive that it will cut the bevel down to size and put it back in line. Worked for me, you can test it and see what happens. Maybe I misunderstood but alls I know is that I didn't tape the spine using a bh on a razor that was previously taped and my edge was brought back nonetheless!
A

anthogia is right. All of my razors have been honed by a pro. I keep them in shape with periodic runs over the BH, crox and linen/leather, all without tape. Damn, just as sharp, just as close cutting and still the low level of irritation (sensitive skin). Yes, getting a good edge takes time and experience. But you can't beat a few minutes spent every other day to get a couple of razors back to keenness and a DFS or a BBS.

Be careful with that dmt. That stone can do some serious damage/wear on a razor. You should try to find a 1k stone for bevel setting. They are much more forgiving! Goodluck with the other 8 razors. Hope they go well.

I need to clarify something right now.

If your razors have been honed with tape, touching them up on a "stone" requires tape.

If your razors have been honed with tape, touching them up on a "pasted strop hanging strop" does not require tape.

You have to reset the bevel to go from tape to no tape, this is typically done on a 1K stone and then run through the honer's progression of stones to finisher. THEN, you don't have to use tape for a touchup.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shooter74743

I need to clarify something right now.

If your razors have been honed with tape, touching them up on a "stone" requires tape.

If your razors have been honed with tape, touching them up on a "pasted strop hanging strop" does not require tape.

You have to reset the bevel to go from tape to no tape, this is typically done on a 1K stone and then run through the honer's progression of stones to finisher. THEN, you don't have to use tape for a touchup.

---

Maybe Glenn can clarify this for us as this is not always true with a BH, as I believe he told me and is my experience. I definitely understand what you are saying but have not found this to be true with a BH and it's aggressiveness.

Really don't need Glen for this one, but you can get him involved with it if you wish. A barber hone is not more aggressive than a 1K stone. It takes more than 10 strokes to change/set a bevel on a 1K stone on a normal German razor. Seldom does anyone recommend using a barber hone for more than 10 strokes.

I will give you a PERFECT recent example. My SRP razor from Robert Williams lost it's comfort shaving, so I contacted him to see if it had been honed with tape and the answer was yes one layer of tape was used. I still tried to touch it up with my Shapton GS 16K. I tried touching it up three times back to back and put it in my "bevel set" cup that I keep in the bathroom.

A barber hone is not any more aggressive than a Shapton GS 16K (surely no more than a Shapton GS 8K) and I tried three times, the last time I went to the 8K and then back to the 16K. I looked at it under magnification...still needs a ways to get to the actual cutting edge & that requires bevel setting.

Something was lost in the interpretation. Maybe it was that you can touch up a non taped razor with a barber hone & if the edge is really bad you can add a layer of tape to create a double bevel.

Well, so far I have to agree with anthogia. I have touched up my taped razors on a BH untapped and brought it back to a keen edge. But then I may never know if there is a difference since I'm not planning on delving into full honing, just refreshing. I just might have to get a finishing stone and find out for myself before I can make an educated decision.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Really don't need Glen for this one, but you can get him involved with it if you wish. A barber hone is not more aggressive than a 1K stone. It takes more than 10 strokes to change/set a bevel on a 1K stone on a normal German razor. Seldom does anyone recommend using a barber hone for more than 10 strokes.

I will give you a PERFECT recent example. My SRP razor from Robert Williams lost it's comfort shaving, so I contacted him to see if it had been honed with tape and the answer was yes one layer of tape was used. I still tried to touch it up with my Shapton GS 16K. I tried touching it up three times back to back and put it in my "bevel set" cup that I keep in the bathroom.

A barber hone is not any more aggressive than a Shapton GS 16K (surely no more than a Shapton GS 8K) and I tried three times, the last time I went to the 8K and then back to the 16K. I looked at it under magnification...still needs a ways to get to the actual cutting edge & that requires bevel setting.

Something was lost in the interpretation. Maybe it was that you can touch up a non taped razor with a barber hone & if the edge is really bad you can add a layer of tape to create a double bevel.

---

Something def could've been lost in translation but im just going by what I've been told and what myself and others have experienced. Like I said im no expert but im willing to bet that others have experienced the same thing as razorfeld and I have experienced...shrug.

Who can argue with a good shave? I'm not going to, if you are truly getting better shaves...GREAT!

One thing you should answer for yourself is "why" is it working for you. Is it that you are stropping the crap out of the razor after the touch up? Is it that you are stropping with a pasted strop? Is it the barber hone? Is it that you want it to work so bad that you "think" it's shaving better (compared to your reference razor), when it may not be? Is it that the barber hone is actually improving the cutting edge?

Can't argue with physics :)