Thread: New hone needs flattening

Oh, thanks Mick, that makes sense!

No worries Carl, I did the process or re-drawing the lines about four times just to make sure it was the best it could be. I would also recommend starting at a heavier grit (400 perhaps) to flatten then go through a quick progression of something like 600, 800 and then the finest grade on hand to make the surface as smooth as possible. I got my instructions off the wiki if I remember correctly. Don't forget to round your edges a little when your finished.

Got my stones this afternoon. Went though the process and got them pretty flat I think. Will check each time before I use them, though. Gave the Platypus a run over the hones with a gently does it attitude the whole time and stuff me I can manage the HHT after the 8k! I don't know how well it will shave just yet so I don't know what the HHT signifies in my case with the hair I used, but I'll find out soon enough. Then I can work out if I can calibrate the test into something repeatable I can use.

woot! Flat stones!

Thanks MickR, I'll follow that process. Sounds like you've got it all worked out MickRussell!

Yeah ... worked out ... I'll be a honemeister by the weekend at this rate!


(in case anyone was wondering)

Originally Posted by MickRussell

Yeah ... worked out ... I'll be a honemeister by the weekend at this rate!

Oh, I'm ALREADY a honemeister, inside, I just need to bring it OUT..., nurture it...

I touched my Packwood to the hone this morning. Took about two passes and looked at what 'n where, then cleaned it down and packed it back away. I won't be honing that any time soon. That one needs skills I don't have and won't for quite some time, if ever. It may just stay a display piece, for that matter. Pity, I really wanted to use it at least a couple of times. Maybe the next one will be better.

Originally Posted by MickRussell

I touched my Packwood to the hone this morning. Took about two passes and looked at what 'n where, then cleaned it down and packed it back away. I won't be honing that any time soon. That one needs skills I don't have and won't for quite some time, if ever. It may just stay a display piece, for that matter. Pity, I really wanted to use it at least a couple of times. Maybe the next one will be better.

Hi Mick, can I ask what you mean by this (so I can gather some knowledge of when I get my hone?). What did you see when you looked at it? Did you see an uneven edge or something? Anything someone new to honing (and of course someone who ISN'T) will really help when I start soon. I really just want to refresh the edges, I really don't want to be sending my razors hither and thither for honing, I Do want to at least touch them up, even if I have to send them out one or twice a year. My one and only razor (so far, post seems slow from the US lately) is telling me he feels a little dull....

My Packwood Old English (or is that an Old English made for Packwood ... still have no definite on that), besides wanting some time with the emery and buffs has both a smile and a frown on it's edge. A couple of passes over the hone showed that there are odd high spots and the blade is probably not quite straight, as well as having a smile to the spine and some very small chips near the heel. I think it's possible to get it back into shaving condition but I know for sure I'm not the one to do it and it will probably cost a bit as well.
In your case, with a razor that just needs a little refreshing, the info in the wiki here should get you on the right path, although first practising on a blade that isn't your "one and only" would be a good idea.

Great, thanks for the reply. Sounds like a difficult job. The 'one and only' will become my most humble (and cheapest) but nevertheless treasured, soon (as soon as the US postal system get off its bott bott, maybe they're not paying postal workers now:-) and will be joined by two brothers. It's then I intend to attempt to refresh the edge on a 12k Naniwa.
Generally, I stuff up EVERYTHING, I'm NO tradesman; I use a 5 kilo door stop as a hammer, and my tool kit consists of some screwdrivers, a mallet, a hammer and a file. When I cut a piece of wood and invariably get it the wrong length I make it the RIGHT length by rubbing the edge on the back step. I use a block splitter as an axe. When I replaced the light globes in my house a few years ago I ended up breaking almost ALL the light globe holders, we went without lights in some rooms for months. The hole in my bathroom ceiling was taped up with masking tape and held there with gyp-rock glue. Last year the dog fell through the floorboards (seriously) the hole's still there; it's got a cupboard neatly positioned over it. My wife always says we should 'get the little man from the village round' to mow the lawns (my lawn mowers generally last a season, dieing a horrible death due to be used as mulchers and fed with a weird assortment of fuel and oils). My sons have learnt the trade from me. When I asked my young son the other day to bring me a hammer (I do have one, without a grip), he brought a screwdriver. I said, no, a hammer, he said that'll do, just use the handle. I insisted on a hammer. He bought a rubber mallet. We went with that. This should be VERY interesting...