Thread: Charnley Forest hone lapping question

Originally Posted by shooter74743

I haven't finishied on my CF in years...so this is off memory, but I don't use any voodoo magic.

I worked with my CF for quite a while before I figured it out, it was my first IIRC. I started out with mineral oil and felt that it was too thick. Someone mentioned sewing machine oil, I still felt it was too thick. I then started experimenting and found a 50/50 ratio of Kroil and mineral oil works well & then later found Smith's honing solution to be good & it's actually not a oil.

My CF is very fine & I hone on it as I do any other finisher of mine. I hone a razor on a progression of Shapton's to 16K. Then add a4-5 drops of the honing solution on a very clean stone. Then I hone, taking my time, slow strokes, and using a slight x stroke. I use only the blade weight and a high number of passes, say 100. Pay particular attention to how you flip the blade on the stone stone or you can damage the edge. You will notice when honing iwth oil, slow is good so you can feel the blade moving along the surface of your CF.

I'm not sure if a CF actually hones at a microscopic level or if it burnishes, but the end result of a properly honed razor will be a smooth, but very sharp feeling edge...I call it a crisp edge. It's an edge that I need to get back to when I hone up some razors...you made me think about it and like I said...I haven't honed a razor off mine in a long time.

Thanks a lot mate !!! I have Dan's honing oil which is a light one, I will try that one....