Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 15
Like Tree16Likes

Thread: Setting a bevel!!!! I get it now!!

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Winnipeg
    Posts
    43
    Thanked: 1

    Default Setting a bevel!!!! I get it now!!

    Ive watched every video i could find and logged about 15hrs over my stones and then today i thought.....'maybe i haven't set a bevel yet.'

    I was sure i set a bevel. I brought home a microscope and sure enough....no bevel. I spent way way long on the 4000 i have and finally set the bevel.

    Within 10 min of getting a good bevel i was able to take hair off of my arm.

    lots of fine tuning and stropping and i have no hair on my arms, chest and legs!



    So no matter how many times i heard it .... Setting the bevel is very important! I get it now.

  2. #2
    There is no charge for Awesomeness Jimbo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Maleny, Australia
    Posts
    7,977
    Thanked: 1587
    Blog Entries
    3

    Default

    Congratulations!

    Well, you can say "set the bevel" and people can hear "set the bevel", but until you actually do "set the bevel" for the first time it's just a concept really.

    Now you know what it is you are actually aiming for, your honing should really take off.

    James.
    Steel likes this.
    <This signature intentionally left blank>

  3. #3
    aka shooter74743 ScottGoodman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    SE Oklahoma/NE Texas
    Posts
    7,285
    Thanked: 1936
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    Yes, setting the bevel is about 80% of honing a blade, the rest is just icing on the cake.
    Southeastern Oklahoma/Northeastern Texas helper. Please don't hesitate to contact me.
    Thank you and God Bless, Scott

  4. #4
    Senior Member blabbermouth
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    17,250
    Thanked: 3221

    Default

    Congrats on the epiphany about setting a bevel. I remember having one of those and how much my honing improved after that. If I can easily shave arm hair all along the blade edge off my bevel setter I am usually good to go up the progression.

    Bob
    ScottGoodman and gfro like this.
    Life is a terminal illness in the end

  5. #5
    aka shooter74743 ScottGoodman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    SE Oklahoma/NE Texas
    Posts
    7,285
    Thanked: 1936
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    FYI: When Bob is talking about shaving arm hair he is talking mid-upper shaft, not near the skin.
    Southeastern Oklahoma/Northeastern Texas helper. Please don't hesitate to contact me.
    Thank you and God Bless, Scott

  6. #6
    Senior Member Boarder277's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Posts
    194
    Thanked: 18

    Default

    Congrats!

    I too just recently learned to hone my own razor to absolute shave ready awesomeness! Like you I had been honing and honing some more on my Norton 4k/8k and polishing on the 12k and endlessly stropping but with no real luck cutting arm hair.

    Then finally I decided to drop down to my a Norton 1k and do 1 set of Lynn Abram's circle method with pressure, then another set on my 4k and BOOM, cutting arm hairs perfectly!

    It was certainly one of life's " AHHAAA" "OHHH I GET IT NOW" moments lol.

    Since I had that first epiphany I've been able to kill the edge and re-set the bevel a couple of times with absolute success...always being able to shave arm hair, albeit not perfectly off the 1k or 4k stone...when the experts say "it's all about the bevel" they are absolutely correct!
    BobH likes this.

  7. #7
    Senior Member blabbermouth
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    17,250
    Thanked: 3221

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by shooter74743 View Post
    FYI: When Bob is talking about shaving arm hair he is talking mid-upper shaft, not near the skin.
    No I do not mean tree topping if that is what you mean.

    In any event, it is good the OP found a way to verify if his bevel was set or not before continuing up the progression. In a previous post it was pointed out that there are several methods/tests that can be used to validate a bevel set. I am sure that there are individual variances of these tests that are tuned to the individuals using them. The biggest point being to find a method that works for you or everything else after the bevel set could easily be a wasted effort.

    Bob
    gssixgun likes this.
    Life is a terminal illness in the end

  8. #8
    Senior Member mjsorkin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    1,139
    Thanked: 173

    Default

    I always like to say that one test can fool you, so always do two or three tests. My three bevel tests are the arm hair test, the thumb pad, and the look test.

    After 1k this is what i look for. The razor should cut arm hair effortlessly all along the blade with no pressure. The edge should feel super sharp and stick to my thumb. The edge should look polished without magnification; and under a magnifier the very edge should look very straight without reflecting light.

    Michael
    “there is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to nonlethal quantities of the drug make them resistant.”---Fleming

  9. #9
    Senior Member sheajohnw's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Rye, New Hampshire, United States
    Posts
    392
    Thanked: 83

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Boxertim View Post
    Ive watched every video i could find and logged about 15hrs over my stones and then today i thought.....'maybe i haven't set a bevel yet.'

    I was sure i set a bevel. I brought home a microscope and sure enough....no bevel. I spent way way long on the 4000 i have and finally set the bevel.

    Within 10 min of getting a good bevel i was able to take hair off of my arm.

    lots of fine tuning and stropping and i have no hair on my arms, chest and legs!



    So no matter how many times i heard it .... Setting the bevel is very important! I get it now.
    Until the thin bands being abraded by the stone on each side of the blade intersect to form a fresh edge, there is no edge to refine with the higher grit stones. Until that intersection (bevel set) is achieved, the high grit stones are only polishing the bands rubbing on the stone, not refining the razor to a shave-able keen edge.
    BobH and crouton976 like this.

  10. #10
    aka shooter74743 ScottGoodman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    SE Oklahoma/NE Texas
    Posts
    7,285
    Thanked: 1936
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BobH View Post
    Congrats on the epiphany about setting a bevel. I remember having one of those and how much my honing improved after that. If I can easily shave arm hair all along the blade edge off my bevel setter I am usually good to go up the progression.

    Bob
    Quote Originally Posted by BobH View Post
    No I do not mean tree topping if that is what you mean.

    In any event, it is good the OP found a way to verify if his bevel was set or not before continuing up the progression. In a previous post it was pointed out that there are several methods/tests that can be used to validate a bevel set. I am sure that there are individual variances of these tests that are tuned to the individuals using them. The biggest point being to find a method that works for you or everything else after the bevel set could easily be a wasted effort.

    Bob
    I guess I don't understand your arm hair testing then. I understand what you mean about testing the entire length of the blade to make sure it will all shave, but I am not understanding if you shave close to the skin or ???
    Southeastern Oklahoma/Northeastern Texas helper. Please don't hesitate to contact me.
    Thank you and God Bless, Scott

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •