Thread: Dumb question guy here

I have sharpened my own hunting knifes and kitchen knifes my entire life. How similar/dissimilar are razors to hone and sharpen? I typically use my arm hair to check for sharpness on of my knifes(if it is sharp enough to cut the hair of my arm fairly easy it is sharp enough ). Would my sharpening technique for knifes transfer to razor. The reason I ask is I only go to a 1000k stone for my knifes, but I see a lot about 4k and 8k stones. Just wondering if I should just use same technique just higher grit on stones? Thanks.

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~Richard

Knives vs Razors

I was a meat cutter for several years and I will tell you straight out that the difference between 'sharpening a knife' and 'honing' a razor is as different as black and white!!

IT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT WORLD!!!

Please take your time, go slow! Every Thing about this 'Art' involves Patience!!!

Honing can wait! Get the 'Basics' Down Pat!!! Just ask pinklather/a Mentor/why he chose that 'handle'!!!!!

We start setting a Bevel at the 1000 grit level, that same level is what many who sharpen knives finish with.

Cudarunner,

Ok, so basically start as if I never sharpened anything before. That helps a lot by giving me a starting point. Thanks for the background info because that gives me a great point of reference, I was a meat cutter for a few years as well and still do my own butchering of wild game(why pay someone to do something I learned in my 20's, right)That was my only reference for honing. I have ordered a couple of very cheap razors to practice on. Thank you.

Geezer, Thanks for the link.

In principal all sharpening involves the same base principles. It start with the establishment of a perfect apex. That apex is then refined to a finer and finer edge, if it gets too far refined it becomes too delicate and starts to break down or fold. The process of how we achieve that is different with almost every different type of object we sharpen. A straight razor is put to our face every time we shave. That refined edge has to be quite specific. There is thread after thread on this forum about specifics for refining edges and the variation of the techniques used. Most are very close with subtle changes and variations of the progression of hones. It is the best approach to figure out the shaving aspect and then focus on the honing. Not everyone needs to learn to hone and there are a lot of professionals that will take care of that. That is a great place to begin, with a professionally sharpened edge. There is a little bit of learning and a development that gets you to the great shave we are all seeking. I hope you enjoy the shaves and suspect you will hone in the end too.

Originally Posted by Batsmurf

Cudarunner,

Ok, so basically start as if I never sharpened anything before. That helps a lot by giving me a starting point. Thanks for the background info because that gives me a great point of reference, I was a meat cutter for a few years as well and still do my own butchering of wild game(why pay someone to do something I learned in my 20's, right)That was my only reference for honing. I have ordered a couple of very cheap razors to practice on. Thank you.

You will find that you will have to re-learn muscle memory and techniques (especially 'pressure'. It's an entirely different thing. It's hard to write about, but once you 'try' to hone, you will find the differences.

If the 'cheap' practice razors have problems, then you are going to be banging your head against the wall trying to hone them!!!!!!

I Highly Recommend that you send your razor/razors out to a pro or someone who has experience for honing. Then once you give it a go, you will have something to judge your honing by.

With that said, PM me and we can talk further about honing.

I will have to differ, a little. I grew up with a butcher shop in our front yard. Learned to sharpen knives at a young age. My pocket knives were like scalpels!

Started shaving with a straight when I started shaving many years ago and although different, the general idea is the same. Make the two bevels meet cleanly then polish them up.

Once you try to shave with what you think is d@mn sharp, you will learn edge refinement LOL.

And if you don't get one honed right the for your first shave how will you know if it's shave ready? Take up Roy's generous offer , he'll get you going in the right direction , or if your over Memphis way some time , I'll let you try a razor to see what you will be going for as far as sharp and smooth ,, lots of guys can get them sharp ,, but smooth and sharp is what your going for. Tc

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

And if you don't get one honed right the for your first shave how will you know if it's shave ready?

Oh, you will know! First pass down the cheek will provide excellent feedback.

Again, I'm not saying that it's easy or quick but it's also not some voodoo black arts thing if you already know how to sharpen a blade. Having one professionally honed by a razor pro as a baseline is a very good idea but what many folks selling razors call shave-ready does not meet my (skins) standard of sharp.