Thread: smooth vs sharp - how to

“What do you do to get the edge more comfortable? id love to hear everyones process, try them all, and see what works best for me.”



I take an edge to 20k, after 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12k. I do strop after 8k and 12k and remove almost all stria, then hone on the SG20, or a Natural finish stone, Slate, Jnat, Coticule or Hard Ark.

Yes, it is over kill, but...

Depending on the finish stone, post SG20, I strop on leather, then .50um and .125um CBN. The razor is then shave ready and can be maintained at a very high level of keenness and comfort, with .50 and or .125 um CBN on a paper strop. This is how I hone customer razors unless, a specific finish stone is asked for.

For Jnat, Arks, Coticule and some Slates, I strop on linen and leather only for maintenance. As those are special edges and stropping on CBN would leave a CBN edge and not the stone edge, which are unique and the reason for using them, for me.

From a 12k super stone edge, which should be almost stria free, (make sure your 12k is free of loaded up swarf, for your final laps & that you are using light pressure), strop on razor quality Chrome Oxide (very important) on a canvas or nylon strop, leather works, (but not as well IMO), or .50um CBN.

I have been using a hard ark, an old Lilly White, to refresh stones, works great on Super Stones and SG20 and remove less stone material than a Diamond plate.

You can strop on leather, (20X) then Chrome Oxide or .50um CBN daily, (40-50X) with no ill effects to the edge, in fact, eventually, a week or two, all stria will be removed from the bevel and the edge will be super straight and very smooth. The edge can last indefinitely and can be easily refreshed on a high grit stone in just a few laps if needed.

The trick for most new Straight Razor users is stropping, as one errant stroke can wipe out all your work. If you are lucky a jointing and a few laps will bring it back.

Find a system that works for you, then perfect it, learn to max out each stone in your progression. If you change something, change only one thing at a time.

And lastly the absolute final, definitive test, is the shave test, that is how you judge progress. You will know when you hit the sweet spot.

Enjoy.