Thread: First shave with a razor I honed

Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

Here's a case where a _third_ razor -- a not-shave-ready vintage blade -- would settle the question.

You'll know, after honing _that_ razor, whether your honing technique is OK, or not. And that will tell you whether the new Timor is a decent blade, or not.

See how easy it is to get started with razor acquisition disorder?

. Charles

Eek! Another razor?

Good point though.

Originally Posted by Weaselsrippedmyflesh

As I said in my first post, after the 1K the razor easily passed the magic marker test so I think the bevel is pretty good. I also looked at it through a loupe and it looked OK to my admittedly inexperienced eyes.

"When I stopped with the 4K/8K pyramid the edge would cut hair but not really that easily. I'll try to describe that more fully. If I made a stroke on my arm the blade would end up with some hairs on it but I didn't end up with a bald spot in the area I'd made the stroke."

Again, I'm not the guy with the most experience here but I've never used the MMT to determine if my bevel was set. I've used it to see if the razor is making good contact with the hone. But you can make good contact with the hone and stop short of a complete bevel. When your bevel is set, you should be able to cut hair with it off of the 1k stone. If you weren't able to do so after the 1k, you were probably not there yet. Before I move on from the 1K, I ensure that I've checked off a few things. First, it should shave arm hair. Second, it should pass the thumb nail test. Third, I try to get at least a few standing hairs on my arm to cut above the skin surface. And finally, a visual inspection of the edge. If I can clearly see the line that is the edge, I know I'm not there. Once I get to that point, I can begin the sharpening and polishing. When you're finished with your pyramid from the 4/8k, not only should your razor easily manage arm/leg hair, it should be cutting down standing hairs with ease. Bevel setting was my biggest challenge. If you continue to have problems, my best suggestion is to befriend someone with a great deal of experience and mail them your razor for inspection. They will be able to tell you if you're on the mark or not. One last question for you, were you using slurry as you honed? I personally only prefer to use slurry in the first half of my 1k honing. I use it to grind away quickly but will then rinse my hone and get as much refinement as possible from a 1k stone. I do circles with the slurry and then rinse. Then I do x strokes on just a wet stone going lighter and lighter as I go to get as much from it as I can. When I move on to the next stones, I only use water.

Thanks! All good suggestions and I'll try them. After re-honing last night the razor would cut hair off the 1K. I wouldn't say it did it "easily" but it did. I could also see a clear line on both sides of the edge that and when I looked at it through the loupe it looked like a nice straight bevel (not a lot of micro-bevels). After going through the 4K/8K I compared the ability of the razor to cut hair to a professionally honed one. It was better than my previous attempt but not as good as the pro-honed one. I should point out that the pro-honed razor is a much better razor so ultimately it might be that the Timor just won't develop as sharp an edge so this is leading me to believe a better quality vintage razor to practice on might be a good idea.

Finally, I didn't make slurry with my 1K (with a slurry stone) but did otherwise follow what you said (circles, rinse then do X strokes).

Thanks for recounting your process and suggestions.

I too have a new Timor that was a %&#*to hone. I set the bevel on my Naniwa 1k, but it took FOREVER before I could move onto the Norton 4k. I was finally able to get a good edge on it, but it was not nearly as easy as some of my other razors.

Just thought I'd share my similar experience FWIW...

Originally Posted by jpcwon

I too have a new Timor that was a %&#*to hone. I set the bevel on my Naniwa 1k, but it took FOREVER before I could move onto the Norton 4k. I was finally able to get a good edge on it, but it was not nearly as easy as some of my other razors.

Just thought I'd share my similar experience FWIW...

Thanks! Great to know that it can be done! If nothing else I'm getting a lot of practice working on my honing stroke and technique but it'd be nice if I can eventually get it shave ready.

I'm going to keep plugging away at it!