Thread: Beginner Honing with Lapping Film

Hey everyone I'm new here on the forum but I'm looking for any advice on honing with Lapping film that i can get...

i have been shaving successfully with my Gold Dollar 800 and was able to refresh the edge quite well using some 3 micron and 1 micron Lapping film from 3M followed by CrOx ads stropping, i watched the YouTube videos by Slash McCoy and it worked awesome...

well i have found my grandfather's straight razor which he used prior to WWII as a barber...it has "H.M. Christensen stamped on the Tang and is set in Yellow scales, not sure of the material...

it appears to be a 5/8 stainless full hollow ground...i have tried a refresher honing on the 3 micron, 1 micron and CrOx paste but looking at the edge under a 20x illuminated Loupe i can clearly see small imperfections and even small chips I the blade....the bevel also is not the same width consistently along the length of the razor....

so I picked up a bunch of different types of lapping film, 30, 12, 5, 3, 1 and 0.3 micron and plan to follow Slash McCoy's YouTube videos all the way up the progression....i even bought the same bull-nose polished marble tile that he uses as a lapping plate...

this razor unfortunately has a pretty thick heel so while the blade will sit perfectly flat on the lapping plate, i can't really do circle honing because i only have about 1/8" of play before I'm touching the heel of the razor against the tile and the blade is no longer flat on the plate...

sorry for the extremely long post, but I really want to be able to bring this razor up to shave ready status on my own... and I honestly think I can do it using the lapping film....any help would be greatly appreciated!

thanks!

You just learned that all honing systems will have a weak spot...

Lapping film works best with Straight edged, Hollow Grinds, without issues, that is where it shines.. When you start throwing issues into the mix then life changes...
Some people like to make out that honing is easy, which is true, right up until it isn't

You need to get the bevel set and the heel issues corrected, once you have a solid even bevel set, then honing is easy and fun again...

Man if I didn't try film once than it might have been twenty times... and I just could never get it to work for me . I know some people swear by it, but I honestly think its incredibly hard to use and even then... only as a finisher.

That's my experience anyway.

With respect to your grandfathers blade, because it's something I would imagine rather special, I would have it honed up by a pro first. Have them set the bevel (ask them to use tape or not), then try giving the film a try again. Getting the bevel set is key.

If the film fails you after that - if I may - I recommend the Naniwa's. They have a way of making me look good .

Originally Posted by earcutter

Man if I didn't try film once than it might have been twenty times... and I just could never get it to work for me . I know some people swear by it, but I honestly think its incredibly hard to use and even then... only as a finisher.

I'm no fan of the poor-man's Shaptons, but film is fairly easy to use IF ...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You need to get the bevel set and the heel issues corrected, once you have a solid even bevel set, then honing is easy and fun again...

Originally Posted by earcutter

Getting the bevel set is key.

...and you stay away from grits above 3 microns. In my experience, 3 micron film is equivalent about 3-4k and is reasonable starting point after the bevel is set.

Set you bevel with a 1K then go to your 3um and finish on 1um with a sheet of paper between the plate and film.

It is much easier to set the bevel on stone than film. You can set a bevel on film but you will need 15 or 30um.

You also can use a 1200 DMT to set the bevel but it will leave a rough edge and you will either need some 5um film before the 3 or do lots of laps to straighten the edge, (80 -100) on the 3um.

Get a good 1K and save yourself some work, it will take out any chipping and save you time and film.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Set you bevel with a 1K then go to your 3um and finish on 1um with a sheet of paper between the plate and film.

Just to clarify, the effect of the wet paper under the film is to introduce a small amount of convexity into the bevel, I have measured a 1-2 degree increase at the edge. Honing with film on a hard surface can produce a foil edge. The wet paper seems to prevent the formation of the foil. The 0.3 micron film with one or two layers of paper under has produced some excellent edges for me.