Thread: First shave after honing- didn't go very well

Hi there KP4...

Some Honing Facts:

Once the Bevel is well and truely set you can shave..

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...-1k-shave.html


There are NO straight up and down the hone strokes, if you go straight up and down the hone you will create a Frown..

The hones you have are more the good enough to hone a Dovo

Everything between the 1k and the Welsh slate (which color ????) is just there to make your life easier, one can hone with just the 1k and the Slate if you know how

http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...lynn-glen.html

There are many more videos from Lynn and myself showing that technique now.. I haven't done one using the Welsh slate but I know it can be done, use the Thuringen vids it will be about the same, depending on if you have the Purple or the Green..

The King 6k will just make that transition easier

Use a New DE blade to test your tests TNT TPT HHT etc: etc: that is the best you can do since you dont have another SR.

You are doing this the hardest way possible your climb is going to take much longer.. Watch the new shave Test vid I just posted, that is what you are after until you can do that there is no sense in abusing your face.. It is hard to know whether the fault is the Shaving or the Honing since you are learning both at the same time

http://straightrazorpalace.com/video...-test-vid.html


There are a ton of Vids on Lynn's Channel and on mine .. You have given yourself a huge mountain to climb, it can be done but it is going to take practice and time...

http://www.youtube.com/user/LynnSAbrams/videos?view=0

http://www.youtube.com/user/gssixgun/videos?view=0

PS: If you want to cover the shipping I will hone the razor for free to get you started, I am trying to think if we have guys that hone on your side of the world maybe one will match my offer and save you some shipping $$$

Just tell your wife you will be saving money in the long run, and buy her flowers and soju, good luck:-)

King,

I'm also new to honing, and have learned through trial and error. I only have about 7 really successful honing sessions under my belt on 7 different razors. I have a Norton 220/1000, 4000/8000, and a Naniwha 12000 as a finisher. I use a DMT325 to lap my hones. (I also have a Japanese stone of unknown grit and an Arkansas Translucent that is so hard I could drive nails with it. At my experience level I have no idea if they have helped much or not.)

My first sharpening experience was on my new Dovo that needed a touch up. I went straight to the 4000 and 8000, applied pressure to the blade and ended up wiping out the bevel. It felt like I was using tweezers to shave with. I went back and tried to fix it on the 8000 and 12000 and it didn't help. After getting over the frustration and disappointment I went to the library tab above on the menu bar and read all about bevels and printed out the pyramid charts. I learned a few crucial lessons. The first was that if I keep my right elbow (I'm right handed) lifted to where my arm was level with the stone surface I didn't have any issue with keeping the blade flat and level. The second was that by using the pyramid with the 4000/8000 and following up with the 12000 I got an excellent shave. The third was to be patient and let the stones do the cutting. Light strokes produced the keenest edge for me.

I had to reset the bevel that I messed up. I used the 1000 lightly with X strokes and a magnifying glass looking at the edge every few stroke sets. I stayed on the 1000 until it popped arm hairs and moved to the pyramid. I haven't had to touch it for a while now and I have a pretty tough beard (it rotates in about every third day).

Patience and utilizing the wealth of knowledge in the library have helped me to refine my technique and learn to use my tools correctly. Although...I'm working on a warped Joseph Rogers that I would have already cut my wrists with if I could get it sharp enough!

As far as saving money...

Dovo's are my work horse razors. I think they are a great value and they hone and shave very consistently. What I hope is that you refine your honing skills and develop good results and confidence ASAP. This will provide you with the swagger you need to explain these investments to the wife. Also, it is very satisfying to have a BBS shave with a razor that you bevel set, honed and stropped yourself. I agree with the advice given about buying a pre-honed truly shave ready razor or having a honemeister keen up one of your existing razors. He/she may also be able to assess what you were doing wrong with your honing when they first receive your razor- which would be valuable feedback. This will provide you with a great benchmark when learning to hone. This coupled with several excellent videos will make your learning curve less frustrating. Eventually you will find that while you may not have the ideal hone grit number setup you can still work with what you've got and get your razors wicked keen because you understand what you are doing to the edge.

Kingplaya4
It will all come to you at once, with just one blade all of a sudden everything will just click. I am going to suggest that you spend an extra few minutes with really hot water getting your skin and beard ready for shaving.
Alx