Thread: 12K Stone Thoughts

I’ve never tried this, though I do have the glass cut for it. I mentioned gluing glass to a Kuromaku, and my friend Mike did it - he posts as Southbound here I believe but only comes by once in a while. Maybe this could cure the N12k warping? Turn it into a Glass Stone. The glass is cheap. I offered him one of mine, but the postage was a deal killer.

Wow, that looks really nice. Far and away above my skill level, though. But, if anyone stumbles along this thread there are plenty of options for all sorts of materials people may be able to work with. You guys are awesome, as always.

Santa brought the stone yesterday and miraculously have not played with it yet with any of the seven razors I need to hone.

Lowes and Home Depot have 3x12 x 3/8 in glass tiles that could be used to bond to a stone for about $4.

I use them for honing with lapping film. I flatten them with some 220 for a super flat face and a satin finish that makes wet lapping film stick to them like glue.

I just lay them on a Steelex Rubber holder for honing.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Lowes and Home Depot have 3x12 x 3/8 in glass tiles that could be used to bond to a stone for about $4.

I use them for honing with lapping film. I flatten them with some 220 for a super flat face and a satin finish that makes wet lapping film stick to them like glue.

I just lay them on a Steelex Rubber holder for honing.

Oh, that is probably within my skill set. Thank you sir.

So, Santa brought me the stone and I finally got around to flattening and finished off three razors. So, I want to thank yall again for all the suggestions and tips.

I still have a lot to figure out about the feeling of the stone and learn the metric of when they are done (1K shave, 4K start topping, 8K really topping, 12K really really topping?). Also played around with the thurningian on one of them. Talk about a learning curve, though. Anyway, both shaves seemed better than my old edges, which is a win for a first time, I'd say.

I'm sure others have already said this, or else you have found some of the old threads on edge tests at the various stages etc. With the edge tests you need to work on calibration - that is usually an iterative process developed over either many years or many razors, or both.

Yes, there are general guidelines and possibly even standard "minimums" below which you can be assured your edge is not there, but the finer points of edge assessment have an element of subjectivity to them that you can only learn through consistency, detailed investigation and, perhaps most importantly, experience and time.

Keeping a honing and shaving diary could help. I used to take notes when I honed (like a workout), not only recording hones used and strokes on each etc, but also the results of the edge tests (thumbnail off the 1 and 4K, arm hair wafting tests off the rest, sometimes the thumbpad test too) - noting the feeling, speed, sound etc. Then I would compare that to the test shave. Rinse and repeat.

Hard to say whether it sped up my learning process or not. But it definitely helped me develop consistency and structure.

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I'm sure others have already said this, or else you have found some of the old threads on edge tests at the various stages etc. With the edge tests you need to work on calibration - that is usually an iterative process developed over either many years or many razors, or both.

Yes, there are general guidelines and possibly even standard "minimums" below which you can be assured your edge is not there, but the finer points of edge assessment have an element of subjectivity to them that you can only learn through consistency, detailed investigation and, perhaps most importantly, experience and time.

Keeping a honing and shaving diary could help. I used to take notes when I honed (like a workout), not only recording hones used and strokes on each etc, but also the results of the edge tests (thumbnail off the 1 and 4K, arm hair wafting tests off the rest, sometimes the thumbpad test too) - noting the feeling, speed, sound etc. Then I would compare that to the test shave. Rinse and repeat.

Hard to say whether it sped up my learning process or not. But it definitely helped me develop consistency and structure.

James.

Yeah, I'm working on it. The diary is a good idea. I have a similar metric full of feelings and sounds that I go through. But, it's going to take me a minute to figure out the feeling and sound from my old 8k edge to a 12k edge. How much faster will it be? How much quieter? And yeah, that is just repatition and practice.

Problem is, I'm changing too many variables now. I went from one round nose 5/8" hollow ground. Then added a couple of square point 5/8" hollow ground. Sounds and feeling seemed the same there. But when I have moved to 6/8 half hollow I convinced myself that the sounds and feelings will probably be different and "it's surely good enough, now" and it isn't . Not even close.

If I were smart, I'd just spend a few weeks with the first razor that I know so well to learn the 12k stone. Then spend a few weeks with one of the different grinds and learn those. But I'm not that smart. I have all these razors to play with and I'm supposed to just leave them there while I wait for my whiskers grow for shave test. Sure thing.

But, I'll get there. It's just a matter of doing the work and not letting myself get frustrated.

Oh, and it doesn't help that I think I messed up my 8k stone, but that's a whole nother thing. I've got a few more things to try before I get into that one. But it does sort of put a hindrance on everything else (like stopping it in its tracks).

In my humble opinion nothing you do is wasted effort as long as there's a purpose and goal to it. Doing things efficiently is another story but let's face it - this is possibly one of the most involved, convoluted, and time-consuming ways to remove hair from your general face area. And let's not forget fun and rewarding. Take your time and enjoy the ride. Sometimes I forget how much fun I had learning stuff - you do your thing planeden - I think you'll do fine. Definitely got the right attitude.

James.

Thanks Jimbo.

As far as the efficiency, if you consider the amount of time spent maintaining and compare to the amount of time spent working to afford all those cartridges . Way more fun, too.

Originally Posted by planeden

Oh, and it doesn't help that I think I messed up my 8k stone, but that's a whole nother thing. I've got a few more things to try before I get into that one. But it does sort of put a hindrance on everything else (like stopping it in its tracks).

Aha! So, my 4k/8k stone took weeks to dry out so I just started keeping it in water. The 8k side never really felt quite right, though. It stopped working well, as in it would get duller on the 8k side. So, I flattened it. Still no good. I pulled it out of the water a couple of days ago and it is so bad it rocks on the counter. I'm not sure if it was too soft or I just did that bad of a job.

Either way, I figure I'll let it dry out a few more days then flatten it again and see if it works. Then I'll make sure not to leave it soaking. Soaking may not have caused it, but why risk it?