Thread: Removing nicks from a blade

I have a shapton glass 500 that I use to get chipping like that out. I hone it out, draw it through some wood to rip off the foil and then go onto a 1k followed by the rest.

Originally Posted by eKretz

It isn't likely that you'll get the same closeness with one pass using a single edge razor of any type as that which is achieved with a multi-blade cartridge razor. Basically because with every pass, the cartridge razor is really making the equivalent number of passes as it has blades.

Some guys with extremely soft or fine hair might get closer than those with tougher thicker beards. I need basically two passes (first WTG, then ATG) and a little touch-up to get BBS with a straight. With a very keen edge I can get a DFS with one pass WTG and a few touch-ups.

My point was, can most people without some rare talent hone their Straight razors to at least be equivalent to a single blade on a cartridge razor?
I hope the answer is yes

Originally Posted by kcb5150

I have a shapton glass 500 that I use to get chipping like that out. I hone it out, draw it through some wood to rip off the foil and then go onto a 1k followed by the rest.

Naniwa Combination Stone, CS-101/510, grit: 120/1000 | knivesandtools.co.uk

What do you think of this one? It's Naniwa so quality's gonna be fine, price is also reasonable.
Is 120 grit really different than 500? I'm given to understand that coarser grits are tougher so they remove materials faster, so I can hone remove nicks with 120 somehow faster than the time it would take me to hone with 500?

Originally Posted by heyjude

My point was, can most people without some rare talent hone their Straight razors to at least be equivalent to a single blade on a cartridge razor?
I hope the answer is yes

Yes.

I am a more-or-less ham-handed talentless dolt and, thank you very much SRP, I am honing my own razors and getting the smoothest, longest-lasting and irritation free shaves ever in 50 years. Granted it took 250 shaves and a lot of frustration honing blades needing more than minor touch ups.

I read all I could read, watched all the videos I could watch and asked all I could ask. Altogether it wasn't worth nearly as much as a Saturday and Sunday learning hands-on from experienced honers, who, I might add, were willing to teach, answer questions and demonstrate. It also helped that there were many microscopes on site to examine results in real time. Nothing beats this to get you where you want to go in my opinion.

Originally Posted by heyjude

Naniwa Combination Stone, CS-101/510, grit: 120/1000 | knivesandtools.co.uk

What do you think of this one? It's Naniwa so quality's gonna be fine, price is also reasonable.
Is 120 grit really different than 500? I'm given to understand that coarser grits are tougher so they remove materials faster, so I can hone remove nicks with 120 somehow faster than the time it would take me to hone with 500?

Yes you will get the nicks out quicker but leave very deep striations from a 120 stone that you then have to hone all the way out. It wouldn't take that long to just remove the nicks with a 1k and at least when you're done you can move on. When learning it is a better idea to go slowly and less aggressive as you can easily botch it with something aggressive. A 1k stone used properly can be quite quick.

Originally Posted by heyjude

What exactly do you mean by treatment on a strop? You mean using a paste or something like that? In that case, I don't really use anything on it.yes, that is exactly what i meant, i wasn't sure if one or more of the sides may have been treated with a paste/ honing compound

1) I have decided to add one more stone to my current 3000/10000 Naniwa.
Do you think 1000 grit would be enough? I'm thinking of buying a combination stone with 1000/something.
What do you recommend for a complete hone?not that i am in any way an authority on this but i was told that 3k-10k is a workable jump, though it is quite large. i have a chosera 1k and 3,8,10 and 12k naniwas, the 12k is a well regarded hone, but whether the difference between 10 and 12k is that significant is another matter, i only bought the 12 because i was offered it reasonably cheaply from another member. I will reiterate i am no authority, i do very little honing.
2) Can YOU get your razor to shave as smooth as a brand new disposable razor? In a lot of videos where people shave using a straight razor, you can hear a satisfying "crunchy" sound the razor makes when it gets in contact with the beard and a result is a near perfect shave.
That is one of the reasons why I decided to switch to str8s that and the possibility of using it forever
i can get a much smoother shave than with a disposable but not in one pass, the benefit is that the shave lasts longer and i find that the stubble grows through less scratchy. the sound is partly a function of the grind, heavier grinds tend to produce less noise. I have recently acquired a GEM single edge razor which gives very nice shaves, but thats probably getting a bit off topic.

Thanks to ALL of you for your advice again (y)

see comments in red above

Originally Posted by eddy79

Yes you will get the nicks out quicker but leave very deep striations from a 120 stone that you then have to hone all the way out. It wouldn't take that long to just remove the nicks with a 1k and at least when you're done you can move on. When learning it is a better idea to go slowly and less aggressive as you can easily botch it with something aggressive. A 1k stone used properly can be quite quick.

In that case, I do not really have to use 120 grit just 1000 right?
From my limited experience 3000 grit is not rough enough to get the job done, I hope 1000 will do the job

Originally Posted by edhewitt

see comments in red above

Treatment is optional on strops right?
Ever since I got used to stropping, I could feel the difference between unstropped and stropped blade, so without any treatment I get a desirable sharpness on a blade just stropping by itself

Well, 3000 grit happened to be very weak, I could hone for minutes, using slight equal pressure, keeping the spine on the stone, but the nick was sitting just there!
I have decided to get this stone: Naniwa Combination Stone, CS-101/510, grit: 120/1000 | knivesandtools.co.uk
It is 120/1000 grit but I am buying it primarily for the 1000 grit side

Then I will work from 1000 to 3000 to 10000 hoping to get rid of those cursed nicks

Daily stropping is done on a strop without treatment and pasted strops used for touching up edges that are starting to lag. An edge will improve after shaving with just your plain strop. Check out Gssixgun on YouTube and his breadknifing video. It is not true breadknifing and just a raised spine till the nicks are very nearly oit then work back to razor flat on the stone to finish on the 1k. Helps make it quicker. Good luck with your honing

Thanks a lot to all of you, I will see what will happen in the upcoming months and post my experiences