Thread: Newbie honing fail

The best advice i can give is to watch tons of videos and watch them again while u are actually honing. Thats what i did and am finally getting good edges. Lynn and gssixgun have great ones on Nortons.

The first question I have is, what Kind of Paper are you using to flatten the hones? If its anything other than a wet/dry type, (and I always use it wet) it may be leaving bits of grit embeded in the hone.
I would also be very suspect of your technique. you might be lifting the spine, or putting too much pressure. If you can get us that vid of you honing, it would go a long way to us figuring it out. Dont Give Up!

Originally Posted by MTLian

with a straight stroke since my 5/8 Simmons (Germany) fits just right over the hone.

Thanks in advance for your help.

maybe this is where the issue lies, it is constantly reccomended to use an "X" shaped honing stroke
however +1 on needing to be able to cut arm hair with little effort coming off the 4K

Originally Posted by ccase39

The best advice i can give is to watch tons of videos and watch them again while u are actually honing. Thats what i did and am finally getting good edges. Lynn and gssixgun have great ones on Nortons.

I agree with this, I watched hours and hours worth of honing videos and reading on honing technique and then my first attempt (on naniwa's) at honing was a success. Second attempt (on a coti) wasn't so good but then the third attempt (naniwa's again) I improved a little from the first attempt so i must be getting somewhere =]

Originally Posted by unit

I would stray from the pyramids and counting strokes. The blade has no inclination to cooperate with any set procedure...every blade will require a different number of passes on a hone before it releases its "inner sharp"

Really???

I guess I must not have the experience that you do, but I would disagree with this as a blanket statement.

I would be more interested to know the condition of the blade before starting to at least try to determine where a good starting place would be or go with the circles as someone else recommended.

Having a regiment that can get you pretty close all the time is a lot easier for a new person to learn than finding a razors inner sharp out of the blocks.

Respectfully........

Originally Posted by Lynn

Really???

I guess I must not have the experience that you do, but I would disagree with this as a blanket statement.

I would be more interested to know the condition of the blade before starting to at least try to determine where a good starting place would be or go with the circles as someone else recommended.

Having a regiment that can get you pretty close all the time is a lot easier for a new person to learn than finding a razors inner sharp out of the blocks.

Respectfully........

I hear what you are saying. I only mean to imply that a blade may need more or less that the pyramid or stroke count you read about.

Knives and razor are similar but different...I recall years ago watching a video that came with a knife sharpening system. It said to use a this for 20 strokes, then use that for 20, then finish on this for 20 and voila your knife is now screaming sharp. Errr....not always! And this is a VERY respected system and the video was produced by a giant in the knife community.

All I'm trying to say is...understand the process and goals for each step. Do not hold too rigorously to a certain count of circles or strokes.

If you use 20 and that works, great. But understand the goal and make sure you achieve it before you move on to the next step...otherwise you are polishing a dull set of bevels

We both know you have a wealth of experience, and I understand that there is little harm in doing 20 circles (or whatever a honer's chosen procedure is) when less would do the job. But you will never get away with performing LESS than is needed to get the bevels set.

try this (Straight Razor Sharpening Service) The Classic Edge Shaving Store Your Straight Razor Specialists.
they are from Ontario i think its $23.00

I'm the last one who should be imparting wisdom here (or trying to do so) as I'm a wet behind the ears FNG, but it sounds to me that for the price of Norton 4k/8k, you can go get a new Dovo Best Quality from Lynn at SRD that is not only honed to perfection, but comes with another free hone. Those two hones should cover you for 3-6 months depending for well you take to stroping, which I hope should be enough time to get at least the basics of honing.
That's my 2 cents and the experts will straighten me out if I'm mistaken.
Cheers,
Milan

I have good news and bad news.
The bad news is that you will always encounter some razors that are "challenging" to hone. As time goes by, they will be less frequent, but it will always happen. There are many reasons why; 1. the razor: qualities of the steel, grind, and defects (i.e. not straight), 2. the properties of the hones, and 3. the experience of the hands doing the work.
The good news is that if your razor is hard to hone, it may also mean it is a great piece of steel.
In the meantime, working on your wet shave technique with a vintage Gillette is a great idea. Shavettes can be a bit difficult to use.

I sympathize with your frustration. Allow me to offer to sharpen your razor at no charge. Do not give up on the pleasure of a straight razor shave.
Send it to me - in a box, not a padded envelope - insured - and I will hone it for free and I will even pay the return shipping to you.
I will contact the forum moderator to pass my contact information to you.