Things to look out for before I touch up my first razor?

Hi everyone,

I went ahead and purchased my first hone, a c12k from poland on ebay. I've read a bit about honing and understand that beginners may ruin their shave ready edge if they're not careful. I've had some experience in knife sharpening, but when it comes to razors extra care is demanded from what I gathered.

So, if I may address this to any experienced honemeisters around here, are there any particular things to keep in mind when touching up for the first time?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Some other questions if anybody would care to comment:

1. The hone feels pretty flat to me (I put a ruler on it and lay flat), will I need to sand it down before I use it? If so, what grits?
2. When should the slurry stone that came included be applied, and how?
3. Should I sand off the edges? On one surface of the stone, the edges seem to be beveled 45 degrees already.

Thanks.

lets hope this will work now

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Originally Posted by drgreen

Hi everyone,

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1. The hone feels pretty flat to me (I put a ruler on it and lay flat), will I need to sand it down before I use it? If so, what grits?

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Most likely yes. i have never seen flat stone yet.

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2. When should the slurry stone that came included be applied, and how?

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i am not sure what type slurry stone you have but you can use small dmt plate to make slurry if you need to do so.

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[3. Should I sand off the edges? On one surface of the stone, the edges seem to be beveled 45 degrees already.

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personal preferences you may or may not.
What i like to add is this. A lot knife people have strong hand( i don't know this is exact term or not) . Razor honing different then knife honing please don't use pressure. Razor is very fragile and you don't have too much metal remove.
hope this helps. gl

Thanks.

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Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

lets hope this will work now

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Thanks, it definitely helps.

The slurry stone that came included seems to be the exact same material as the hone itself.

Can you recommend what grits sandpaper I need to buy to lapp the hone?

I've been practicing with a ruler on the hone, trying to build a delicate and consistent muscle memory with motions in the air.

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Originally Posted by drgreen

Thanks, it definitely helps.

The slurry stone that came included seems to be the exact same material as the hone itself.

Can you recommend what grits sandpaper I need to buy to lapp the hone?

I've been practicing with a ruler on the hone, trying to build a delicate and consistent muscle memory with motions in the air.

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we usually use 325 then move forward max it 1k . i never went behind 1k.
Very rare you may need to go more if your finishing stone is escher or fine Japanese stone.
slurry stone you have is small chinese stone you should be fine.
remember your stone is very slow cutting stone. will take good amount of strokes to get something out of it.
gl

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Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

we usually use 325 then move forward max it 1k . i never went behind 1k.
Very rare you may need to go more if your finishing stone is escher or fine Japanese stone.
slurry stone you have is small chinese stone you should be fine.
remember your stone is very slow cutting stone. will take good amount of strokes to get something out of it.
gl

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That is mainly why I bought it, I didn't want a powerful cutter to ruin my edge if I wasn't careful. Also, its the only hone that I could afford.

That's also why I asked about the slurry stone and how to use it, since I thought it could speed up the process if the c12k is really that slow. Would 10 x strokes be a good start? At these high grit levels, how do you confirm what you have been doing is right?

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Originally Posted by drgreen

That is mainly why I bought it, I didn't want a powerful cutter to ruin my edge if I wasn't careful. Also, its the only hone that I could afford.

That's also why I asked about the slurry stone and how to use it, since I thought it could speed up the process if the c12k is really that slow. Would 10 x strokes be a good start? At these high grit levels, how do you confirm what you have been doing is right?

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Number or strokes is relative.
There is no way someone could say do 10 or 20 etc strokes . your stone is not barber hone which usually needs 2-5 strokes to refresh the edge.
Depends of early condition of your razor edge you may end up making more then 60 or 80 strokes.
stone kinda will tell you stop now i cannot do any more.
Sign is blade sucks in to the stone gets very hard to make strokes anymore specially when you make strokes without slurry.
hope this helps.

drgreen,

I have the same stone,most likely from the same vendor, and I enjoy it. Your slurry stone is of the same material, but may I suggest to begin with water only.

I believe that your edges are already chamfered, mine were. I cannot speak to lapping your stone.

Try this if you like: Get up in the morning, strop your razor, lather up half your face and shave it, or just a cheek. Spritz your stone with water, do 10 strokes. Strop. Shave the other half of your face.

Did the edge improve? Did it stay the same? Did it get any worse?

The answers to these questions will let you know if you need to spend some more time on your hone. If your shave improved after ten strokes, do ten more. Repeat the questions. Stop honing when no noticeable improvement has been made. This is the starting point for setting benchmarks with that stone.

+1 for hi_bud_gl's point about the razor being "sucked" into the stone too.

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Originally Posted by Maxi

drgreen,

I have the same stone,most likely from the same vendor, and I enjoy it. Your slurry stone is of the same material, but may I suggest to begin with water only.

I believe that your edges are already chamfered, mine were. I cannot speak to lapping your stone.

Try this if you like: Get up in the morning, strop your razor, lather up half your face and shave it, or just a cheek. Spritz your stone with water, do 10 strokes. Strop. Shave the other half of your face.

Did the edge improve? Did it stay the same? Did it get any worse?

The answers to these questions will let you know if you need to spend some more time on your hone. If your shave improved after ten strokes, do ten more. Repeat the questions. Stop honing when no noticeable improvement has been made. This is the starting point for setting benchmarks with that stone.

+1 for hi_bud_gl's point about the razor being "sucked" into the stone too.

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Good idea, that sounds like a good approach thanks. I'm not exactly sure what you guys mean by being 'sucked' into the stone? Maybe when I do it, I'll understand, but I prefer to understand before I do it lol. Hopefully I can use it as a gauge to know when enough is the first time.

Let me see....this may not come out correctly, but I'll try.

When you begin, and the razor is flat on the hone, the water will be pushed forward of the razors edge, much like a wave heading to shore.

When the edge begins to dial in on that stone, and becomes refined, the water will literally be "cut" by the razors edge. Some of the water will be pushed in front, some will travel up and onto the blade. At this point, the feeling of honing can change. Which is what is being referred to as "being sucked into the stone". Like a mini vaccuum.

I find that it's less about how many strokes you end up doing, and more about "what the water looks like" "what the stone feels like" and "what the honing sounds like". IME it's a very cool multisensory task. Which is partly why I enjoy it.

You may end up getting frustrated, and that's perfectly fine. Put the stuff down, take a break, and go back later. It's probably going to take some practice.

Let us know how you make out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maxi

Let me see....this may not come out correctly, but I'll try.

When you begin, and the razor is flat on the hone, the water will be pushed forward of the razors edge, much like a wave heading to shore.

When the edge begins to dial in on that stone, and becomes refined, the water will literally be "cut" by the razors edge. Some of the water will be pushed in front, some will travel up and onto the blade. At this point, the feeling of honing can change. Which is what is being referred to as "being sucked into the stone". Like a mini vaccuum.

I find that it's less about how many strokes you end up doing, and more about "what the water looks like" "what the stone feels like" and "what the honing sounds like". IME it's a very cool multisensory task. Which is partly why I enjoy it.

You may end up getting frustrated, and that's perfectly fine. Put the stuff down, take a break, and go back later. It's probably going to take some practice.

Let us know how you make out.

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Yep thanks everyone! I guess there ain't nothin' to it but to do it. Hopefully I can share my personal experience and bring something to the table some time soon. I know things like honing are much better understood just by doing, no amount of words can really explain it compared to actually doing it yourself.

Maxi, I rather like honing, it's strangely relaxing for me so I don't think I'd get frustrated. But I'm going to try your trial and error process you described and take it slow, a few strokes at a time. I'd rather learn from others mistakes than my own. Cheers :)

I have a good idea of what you're talking about, thanks, so your attempt at describing wasn't in vain.

I hear ya.

When I was a chef, I loved to sit in the restaurant after service with a beer and sharpen my knives. There were three or four of us from two restaurants that would get together on a weeknite after close and sharpen together. It was a great way to relax and let the adrenaline flow out.

I don't have to sharpen them nearly as much now, having changed careers, but honing and stropping have slipped in and taken their place. It's zen-like.
:)

Keep us posted.