Thread: My Secret Shame

Best advice I've heard yet.

this is a very interesting thread, I like it when people honestly say:
So I have this magical item but can´t use it. What´s the problem.

I am one of the guys that can learn alot from this, so thanks.


To add something to the discussion:
You could try to hone your razor up to the standart sharpness without j-nat
and add two more layers of tape and make a doublebevel on the j-nat
(without slurry -keep it basic)

otherwise I would talk to the barber again, and bring two razors to him;
the one you managed to be good and the one that didn´t work.
Maybe he can tell what went wrong

These are the variables (mostly mentioned already), so the answer must be hidden here somewhere:

The amount of water.
The amount of slurry.
The initial flatness of the hone surface.
The initial texture of the hone surface. (Nagura?)
The force of the blade against the hone surface.
The number of honing strokes.
The style of honing strokes (i.e., x-strokes, rolling strokes, edge leading, edge trailing)
The initial starting condition of the blade edge left by the previous hone.

If all else fails there may be the possibility that this hone works best for certain blades and is less suited for others just as you have observed. (I think you mentioned your barber said you would someday need many different hones.)

It is interesting that you found that it seemed to actually dull some razors. Here are some mechanisms that might do this:

1. Too much slurry so that it rounds the edge.

2. The starting edge only seemed sharp because it was "toothy" or burred. So as the edge was polished it only revealed the true dullness that was there all along.

3. Maybe as you hone the edge improves for a while and then degrades for a while in a cycle. So you would need to test as you go and stop at the right time.

....Just some humble thoughts from an interested bystander in the peanut gallery.

Originally Posted by Lesslemming

this is a very interesting thread, I like it when people honestly say:
So I have this magical item but can´t use it. What´s the problem.

I am one of the guys that can learn alot from this, so thanks.


To add something to the discussion:
You could try to hone your razor up to the standart sharpness without j-nat
and add two more layers of tape and make a doublebevel on the j-nat
(without slurry -keep it basic)

otherwise I would talk to the barber again, and bring two razors to him;
the one you managed to be good and the one that didn´t work.
Maybe he can tell what went wrong

Using tape as he suggested would be a way to negate any dubious bevel stuff. I would try this before "giving up" and taking it to your barber.

This has been a fantastic thread, - for me!

Many of the thoughts, suggestions, and questions in this thread I have, also, pondered myself. It leads me to believe that there are some steels, depending upon the condition of your bevel(of course), that require different stones and techniques to get that edge you're looking for. This, to me, is one of the biggest challenges in regard to learning to be good at honing.

...and to add to that statement: I have learned it is important to never move on to your finer stones until your bevel is absolutely set correctly. - that's a big one!

* Good luck, Jim, perhaps we can all learn together as you evolve in your honing skills.

Steve

Originally Posted by joke1176

Using tape as he suggested would be a way to negate any dubious bevel stuff. I would try this before "giving up" and taking it to your barber.

Actually that might cause more problems, since this will cause the edge to dig into the stone a bit more. It's not usually a problem but it introduces another (unnecessary) complication. I'd make sure that the tape was introduced at least one hone before going to the nakayama, at the very least.

And IIRC the challenge correctly, this might disqualify him- I'm pretty sure a traditional barber wouldn't use tape. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Just going out on a limb. It would be interesting to see if someone could solve this without tape (unless the barber was using tape before...)

OK, here's how I'm going to approach this...

I've taken three of my favorite razors that have been dulled on the Nakayama. My genco Fluid steel, my Herder "square" and my Dovo Fritz Bracht.
I gave each of them 10 laps on 5K to take any possible rounding of the bevel--at that point they all popped arm hairs easily.

Then I went to the 8K for sets of 5 laps until the arm hairs fell smoothly. The Genco took 20 laps, the Herder 15 and the Dovo 25.

I did 4 laps on linen with each to clean the residual water/slurry of the bevel, then 25 laps on smooth cordovan.

Then I shaved with those three razors. Each razor was used to shave a portion of the toughest areas on my face--the upper-lip/chin area, and the jawline/neck.

Each of these razors was very, very keen and smooth. I got a fantastic shave last night, with three different razors....I'm almost tempted to call the experiment off and just keep these edges...No s**t, they felt awesome.

BUT...we must progress! So tonight, I'm going to start with the DOVO. I'll shave, and during the shave I'll do 3-lap passes on the nakayama. No slurry, feather-light pressure, straight x-strokes. I'll try this until I feel some improvement in the edge, take note of the laps, then continue until I feel the edge is satisfactory. If I succeed with this tonight, then I'll do the same thing tomorrow with the Genco.

If I DON'T succeed, then I'm going to try something else...but I'm not sure what yet. What do you think?

I think this is a very practical aproach, I like it and would love to hear results!

I also think that is a good approach