Thread: I think I'm close but...

Alright so the next time I try this I'll use the stropping holder.

The stropper essentially slips onto the back of the spine which allows you to hold the blade similar to a straight razor in order to strop it. While the portion of the stropper which makes contact with the spine is flat, it bulges out towards the handle which makes it difficult to do anything other than single directional strokes if I'm using it to hone.

I spent 1 hour on the 1k. At this point I don't know what else I could possibly do on the 1k to get it to cut hair. I'm assuming more strokes won't do much...

While conceptually I get the whole "look straight down on the edge" thing, I honestly don't see anything when I do this, it just looks like an edge. I've seen pictures of what it's supposed to look like, but those were taken from a microscope, not sure if it looks different through a loupe.

If you are honing freehand, the angle is constantly changing and you may not be honing to the edge or completely across the edge with each stroke.

What you should see is the same thing, reflection of light , shinny spots. In strong light you can see that with the naked eye. Pick up a $10 Carson 60-100x, Micro Max and you will see a lot more of what is going on at the edge.

Also strop the edge to remove any flashing , then look at it. Holding the blade in the proper angle is critical.

Hmmm, I am lost.

Compared to the rest of the steel of the blade, the bevel is all shiny which can be seen from the pictures. Is that not how it's supposed to be?

Shiny spots on the edge, not the bevels. Look straight down on the edge, roll the blade a few degrees each way.

How much magnification are you using?

The first two pics are a bevel not fully set. The last one is fully set, notice no shiny reflections at the edge. You will see 4 tiny white dots in the last photo. One near the left side and 3 clustered near the right side about a third of the way down the picture. That is dust near the edge.

The edge is at a slight upward angle from left to right. The bevels are now meeting and no longer reflecting light. The edge is the straight line,the bottom of the shiny band.

If you load your last pic into a photo editor, and enlarge to its max, it looks like you have a double bevel on the left side. Most probably from freehanding.

In another thread I was recommended the Belomo 10x Triplet Loupe so that's what I picked up. Whether or not that is sufficient magnification, I do not know.

Your photos make sense. I'll have to look at the edge when I get home to see if I can spot the shiny spots right at the edge, although I don't know if 10x magnification is enough.

Shouldn't I have a double bevel?

I don’t know why some folks insist on recommending new honers use a 10x loupe.

Use as much magnification as it takes for you to see what you need to, so you understand what is happening at the edge and where you need to go to get the bevels to meet.

I know “they” say it works for them, but “they” already know what to look for.

Where there may be an issue with magnification is if you become obsessed with removing every flaw seen at 200x, in order to perfect an edge, to the point where you are chasing your tail.

But then a lot of folks say we are all chasing our tails… It’s your time and your tail, where is the harm.

Years ago, I went down that rabbit hole, where I was producing edges that were stria free at 400X, with laser straight edges, and they shaved well, very well. The problem is, few razors can support that kind of edge.

And really, you don’t need that level of bevel polish and edge straightness to get a great shave.

“What on earth is a double bevel”

A second bevel on top of the original bevel at a different angle. I this case the secondary bevel is not across the whole edge or bevel. And apparently not meeting fully.
A micro bevel is a secondary bevel, but across the whole edge and is a micro, very thin bevel at a steeper angle than the main bevel.

This is the best of the Carson scopes to buy, (there are several versions of this scope using different batteries) this one uses AA batteries and most important an easy to operate on and off switch. For $10, you can’t go wrong.