Thread: Devil stainless

So, first real post. (Intro over in the intro sub-forum). Not really an inquiry as much as an exhausted and frustrated rant:

I've been using the Pyramid technique described by Mr. Thomas in the Wiki for a few months now on the Norton starter set stones (220/1k 4k/8k). I have my own additions to it, and my own preferred polishing/finishing routine, but for the most part, I follow it rather religiously, and it always does a great job on my carbons. I only own 9 straights as it is now (10 once my Prima Klang arrives at the Messermeister's), so I'm comfortable honing, but I don't have a TON of experience. All of my pals and coworkers opt for the speed of cartridge razors, given the constraints of our line of work, so I can really only practice on my own steel/face (often much to my face's chagrin).

I only own one Stainless blade, an "Art of Shaving" branded Dovo Meister's. The shoulderless design really gave me the confidence to take a whack at it today (been tugging a bit the last few weeks). Now, full disclosure, I am a slow, methodical honer. It's as much meditation as it is anything else for me, so I am used to a single blade taking a half hour. I got cocky this evening and thought I'd reset the bevel and really put a nice wicked edge on my only stainless blade.

Two hours, half an arm's worth of hair, and an irritated jaw-line later, I FINALLY got the thing HHT-4 sharp. I've read most of the comments about stainless only requiring a few extra steps (in the pyramid process at least), but that was a bit on the ridiculous side. Did anyone else find your CS technique was so inadequate when you first started honing stainless? I am admittedly an amateur at best, but honing ain't rocket surgery, and I never expected it to be that difficult to get the thing to take an edge.

I don't think I have ever modified my routine for a stainless razor. I've always found they took a few minutes more but that's about it. In general I've more modified my routine for certain specific razors and whether they were CS or Stainless had nothing to do with it.

Like I've said in the past, I've spent way more time with some CS razors than any stainless.

I have several Friodur razors that hone up well. I use the following progression:
King 1K
King 6 K
Norton 8K
TM 4 sided strop, 3u,1u, and 0.5u diamonds
TM 30 linen, 60 latigo unpasted hanging strop

Once dialed in, friodur stainless razors hold their edge well and strop up well.

I was sold on diamonds years ago as a way to get stainless knives sharp that I could not get sharp on Arkansas stones. I used a DMT followed by stropping my knives on pasted leather. My stones were originally purchased for use on Japanese knives and I am using what I have on razors.

I use only water stone hones for razors, but still use a DMT fine 8 inch to set bevels on stainless knives.

While this works for me, it is likely that other methods I have not tried may work as well or better.

Thanks for the feedback gents. Since all I normally do is touch ups wih great success on my CS blades, its possible I just got in over my head a bit. Once you've completely dulled a 280$ razor, though, there's no turning back until its sharp. It would have been too embarrassed to take the thing in to hone it after my first attempt failed so spectacularly. Once I took the time and cut a new bevel, it took an edge with only about ten more 8k laps than a CS blade and my normal .5 diamond pasted strop/chrom oxy linen polishing routine. I'll do a full shave with it on the morrow, for the real test, but for now it seems like the sharpest razor in the rotation.


FINAL REPORT: Holy crap. The time was worth it. Even with the already irritated strong side jawline, I did a complete two pass shave (I do WTG and XTG on the jawline and chin and ATG on sideburns/cheeks), and I got a beautiful shave out of it this morning. I think for future SS honing missions I'm going to pick up a 4-sided paddle and grab up a more extensive progression of diamond pastes. The Norton hones and the .5 diamond leather hanger and chrom oxy linen will remain my main staple for CS, but I'd definitely like to cut the time down a bit on SS (though, hopefully it'll hold the edge longer anyhow, so it won't be a chore I have to repeat regularly).