Thread: Can't get a sharp edge off Shapton 8K and 16K

The dressing of the Shapton glass is very important for the smoothness of the blade. By dressing I mean how you finish the stone before getting steel on it. I usually use an Atoma 400 or well worn DMT 325, for the 1k,2k, and 4k, for the 8k, I get smoother edges out of it when I dress it with the Atoma 1200 or a coticule slury stone (a fine 1000k wet sand paper would do, just make sure you wash the stone after.). That's one thing.

I don't get suction on all my razors, but even the razors that don't show suction, I get good edges from it. Try setting a good bevel is my first thing. I rather use my cheap king 1000k to set the bevel than the Shapton glass 1000k. I find that unless the bevel is almost there I don't get consistent with setting a bevel with the Shapton glass 1k. I'm sure it can be done I just chicken out and use my Chosera 1k. If I'm re-sharpening a blade that has a good bevel, I go to the Shapton glass 1k with good results. That's the other thing.

Pressure (too much) kill my sharpness every time. Having good markers (cutting arm/leg hair) the TPT, nail test, loop, light reflection and others that I fail to mention its important when you are starting. The only way to know them is by using them along your honing and correlating them to the final shave. In other words, you learn by doing them. I now use the arm hair test with the nail test for the bevel, then the loop and arm/leg hair for the polishing (even scratch pattern with each stone and even improveness of cutting ease along the edge on the root of the hairs) and TPT for the final 8k, before moving to the true finishers. I don't do HHT until the final stropping, and only with the mid section of my leg hair. Once you get the idea on the markers, you can tell if the edge went back on sharpness or is improving. And that's the third thing. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Double O