Thread: First big honing session!

Preface:

I started straight shaving a little over a year ago with a Whipped Dog sight unseen and poor mans strop. I caught the bug and soon had 3 eBay razors and 5 rescued from flee markets and thrift stores. I wanted to start restoring these blades and hone them so I went with the film and granit. I got a few edges that felt nothing like the original WD straight and could not get bevels set on the others.

A little time went past and I picked up a Norton 220/1k and was able to get a couple other razors bevels set (so I thought.). And then switched to film for polishing and finishing. I got a little closer to the edge on the WD but by this time the edge had diminished on that razor so I had no point of reference except memory and my face.

So with a busy year ahead and little time to work on them (I have a 2 yo and a 4yo girls) I went back to my smooth 37c and feathers.

i got a bright Idea on one of my trips and had seen a few posts by folks in the St. Paul region and thought I would see if I could set up a mentoring session with someone in the area. I was fortunate to spend 7 hours with Randydance and a little time with Rodb. I learned much and especially that I needed to add more stones to my setup. I enjoyed the feel of the Norton 4/8 that Randy let me use and a better 1k stone.

Well I watched and waited on forums while saving to buy the Norton and maybe a Chosera 1k when it happened that a fella was selling a 4/8 and king 1k. I jumped and received them yesterday which brings me to the story.

Hone session:

wife fey had night off and I cashed in some me time. Took stones outside and lapped them on WD 320 and then 600 on granite tile. They were close from the previous owner but needed some work. I got them flat and moved to my bar in the basement. Tuned into the World Series on the radio, poured a hearty glass of Old Forester and selected the razors I was going to work on.

I chose my favorite Waterville, Keen Cutter Blue, and my newest score Erik Anton Berg. I gave them a quick polish with 1um film and then Maas. I then taped all the spines and went to work on the King. What a difference from the Norton. I liked the feel and sound better and it was much faster than the Norton. Mind you I liked the Chosera much better but cannot afford one right now.

Anyway, in no time I had bevels set on all three. They were cutting hairs off my arm above the skin all the way across the edge. Went to the 4k and freshened the surface with WD 600 on granite. Not sure how many laps I did on each but I went by sound a feel. And moved up to the 8k working off the feel and sound once again. I know I did about 30 to 40 laps on each.

I could now just remove hairs on my arm with just a touch, and I mean just a touch. Much like the razors Randy and Rod honed for me in our session. I doubt my edges will be as smooth as theirs because of experience and I do not have an Escher finisher. But, I am proud of my edges and now have three with 8k edges and pasted CrOx leather strop that Randy was kind enough to give me.

i want to feel these edges on some shaves and see what I can do with the 8k. That is until my vintage coticule combo gets here tomorrow. I have a Shumate and a couple others that are going to get that treatment and added to the rotation.

It was enlightening to finally apply all the information learned from Randy and Rod.

I did learn one other thing. Torey almost wedge razors are hard as hell. I took this thing down to the 220 Norton and still have a ways to go. But I am thinking that I need to do some work on the spine to straighten out the hone wear. I am not sure how to go about that and do not thing I am tooled up for that yet.

All in time.

I want to thank everyone for posting their experiences so that others could learn. I will post some pictures soon I hope.

Chris

Shaved with the Waterville tonight, and while not the sharpest razor, I got a smooth shave. I think that tomorrow or Thursday I will try the Erik Berg to compare.

Or should I hone the Waterville a bit more on the 8k using lighter laps and see how far I can push the 8k? Or should I hone on 1um lapping film or .3um?

I'm not sure which would be the better path. What would you all recommend?

Thanks,

Chris

Ditch the films, if you can't get a good shaving edge off an 8K you need more work just as the razors do. Do you ever hear a honing veteran using them? If you do, it's VERY seldom & most likely an experiment.

Repeat, ditch the films.

A razor fresh off the stones really needs stropped well. I personally will only strop about 20x on a freshly honed razor so that I feel just how the edge feels. Some might need a tweak here or there. Answering a question like you are asking is near impossible to answer as I am not the one shaving with the razor. Trial and error helps to calibrate your face, hands, and mind. This is why it takes many hours at the stones and in front of the mirror to get everything to come together & that's AFTER you have learned to shave properly. Thank goodness you have knowing to shave properly down. When I am dialing in a razor for personal preference I keep my last two stones in the bathroom and will touch them up on the fly until they are where I want them. Remember, each and every razor has it's own personality due to steel type & grind. Take your time, learn, and your failure rate will grow smaller and smaller as your knowledge base grows.

Ditch the film. (you getting the point yet?)

Try 5 circles, 10x normal pressure, followed by very light 10x on 8K. Strop 100x and shave again. If it's there, great. If it's not, repeat.

Oh ya, ditch the film.

One last thing:

DITCH THE FILM

So, what your saying is... Ditch the film?

Ok! Film is now for polishing for restoration only.

Thank you for your advise.

Originally Posted by hillbillypick

Ok! Film is now for polishing for restoration only.

I would not say that film is for restoration only.
What you need to focus on now is to get a very sharp edge from an 8K stone that gives a very good shave. Once you have achieved that then it is time to move up to the finer grits. But, a great shave from the 8k edge is your first goal.

It can be done. The method is to go back to the 8k for 10-15 light laps between each shave. This can be a slow process but it teaches you the rate of change that 10-15 laps creates on the edge. If your still not happy with the edge after 3-4 iterations then its time to go back to a coarser grit, 4k-6k, for 10-15 light laps.... repeat if necessary.

Hope this helps

Good to see you posting. I am back in town now so I hope to be posting more.

Good to see you posting again Randy. It looks like the KC meetup went well. How's the deck ckming along?

I ordered an illuminated hand held microscope 60x and 100x that should be here soon. One of the keen cutters I honed had an exceptional edge and shaved very well. I am excited to compare the edges on the not greats and this, yours, and Rods.

Hope you are well.