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Thread: What now?

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    Default What now?

    So tried my first hand at honing. I have a 4k/8k Norton combo stone. Did the pyramid thingie but only started at 10 and worked down then went with 30 laps on the strop. The reason I started at 10 is that it was proffessionally honed so I don't think it needs a new bevel. Tried to test shave and it was tugging and pulling so much that I couldn't finish.

    So two questions....in honing wiki pyramid is "1 pass" considered back and forth like stropping or just once up (or down).

    Second...what now....do I go back to the stones and this time start at 25 or start lower at say 10 or do I do more passes on the strop. I have the filly strop so it has some sort of green paste on the back....do I try some laps on that?

    Anybody help a newb out?

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    Senior Member LawsonStone's Avatar
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    Why did you so fully re-hone a professionally honed blade? At most I would think all it needs is a few strokes on a barber hone and stropping. My pro-honed blades, bought in April, are still great and have only seen the high-grit finish hones or touch-ups on barber hones.

    Did something happen to the razor? A good honing ought to last for months of shaving.

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    Quote Originally Posted by LawsonStone View Post
    Why did you so fully re-hone a professionally honed blade? At most I would think all it needs is a few strokes on a barber hone and stropping. My pro-honed blades, bought in April, are still great and have only seen the high-grit finish hones or touch-ups on barber hones.

    Did something happen to the razor? A good honing ought to last for months of shaving.
    It started tugging

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    illegitimum non carborundum Utopian's Avatar
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    When it starts tugging, that's the time to go to pasted strops (not my preference but many use it) or a few strokes on a high grit hone. Dropping to the 4k was overkill. If you are new to this, it's possible that your honing did more harm than good. You can either keep going on the pyramids or you can have someone get it back to snuff for you. If you can't get it sorted out on your hone, you can PM me and I'll fix it for you for the cost of return postage.

    One pass is one up and down round trip on the hone.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Utopian View Post
    When it starts tugging, that's the time to go to pasted strops (not my preference but many use it) or a few strokes on a high grit hone. Dropping to the 4k was overkill. If you are new to this, it's possible that your honing did more harm than good. You can either keep going on the pyramids or you can have someone get it back to snuff for you. If you can't get it sorted out on your hone, you can PM me and I'll fix it for you for the cost of return postage.

    One pass is one up and down round trip on the hone.
    Thanks a ton that is a generous offer(on a side note it amazes me how generous the people on this forum are).

    I'll try the pyramid again as I have another that I can keep shaving with but eventually I'll need to learn this so I might as well keep at it.

    Is the pasted strop the same as the reverse on my philly that has green stuff on it? And how many passes should I do?

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    illegitimum non carborundum Utopian's Avatar
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    If it's green and it's on a strop, then hopefully it's chromium oxide. I'm not the expert on paste touch ups, since I don't do them, but I guess I'd suggest you try 10-15 laps, then strop normally, and then shave again. If it shaves well, then you're done. If not try more. The key for most of keeping razors sharp is to sneak up on it. Doing a little over a few days will keep you from doing too much. Eventually as you gain more experience you will have a better sense of what is needed. Of course, you will also get better about touching up the razor before it gets very bad because you will be much more attuned to the ability of the razor to shave.

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    zib
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    Utopian is correct. Try 15 passes (1 pass is back and forth) Then test shave with it, See how it does...Depending on the condition of the blade, you may need more....If you do, do sets of 10. If it doesn't shave well after say, 3 trips to the pasted strop, you need to hit the rocks for sure.

    Also, you can get a razor shave ready off an 8k, don't use too much pressure when honing, as this can trash the edge. Blade weight is all you need.

    I'd also recommend you getting a 12k hone, or a barber hone, something like that. Barber hones are great for touch ups. I use one before I shave, and my razors last forever between honings....Seriously, Half the time I wish I had something to hone...they really work....3-5 lapps is all you need to do before you shave...
    Last edited by zib; 10-01-2010 at 10:10 PM.
    We have assumed control !

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    Zib is correct that I am correct! Actually, I mean he is correct that a barber hone is all you need to maintain a razor indefinitely. Until last month, I had a rotation of 7 razors in a leather roll in my gym locker that I have maintained for over 8 years with nothing but a barber hone. Of course, until I encountered SRP, that was all I had, but the point is that a barber hone is all you need to maintain a sharp razor. Whenever you feel any diminishment in the quality of the shave, a few strokes on a barber hone will restore the edge.

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    Well, if you wanted to start from scratch and reset the bevel on the 4k, then you should have done just that. Set the bevel first, not just count strokes.

    Perhaps you could have just touched up with paste, or the 8k, or whatever, but you decided to start over. No problem with that really, but follow the procedure.

    Once you have your bevel set, then polish the edge using your pyramid or whatever...

    Light strokes only on the polish steps, and make sure you lapped the hone. Keep flat on the hone and not the edge of the hone. The most important thing these guys have taught me is light pressure in the polishing stages, the razor edge is a fragile thing and pressure will ruin it.

    Check after each stage shaving arm or leg hair to monitor your progress.

    .
    Last edited by jeffegg2; 10-02-2010 at 12:26 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jeffegg2 View Post
    Well, if you wanted to start from scratch and reset the bevel on the 4k, then you should have done just that. Set the bevel first, not just count strokes.

    Perhaps you could have just touched up with paste, or the 8k, or whatever, but you decided to start over. No problem with that really, but follow the procedure.

    Once you have your bevel set, then polish the edge using your pyramid or whatever...
    I don't understand this. Assuming that the razor already was properly honed, his doing some pyramid honing should not have significantly altered the bevel, so there is no need to "reset the bevel."

    Try the pyramid again. Make sure you use light strokes keeping the razor flat on the hone. Watch the water in front of the blade and make sure that the water is being pushed along the entire length of the edge. If it isn't, then you're not making proper contact with the hone. It wouldn't hurt to follow the pyramid with 10-15 strokes with the chrome ox and then follow that with 50 to 100 laps on the strop.

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