Thread: Having some trouble

Got this wade and butcher ebay special. Used one layer of tape and the spine wear vs edge is very strange. And tips on how to fix this?

5 laps with just the weight of the blade on a norton 1k after the marker.

You could try rolling X strokes if you haven't already. There may be a bit of a warp to that blade which seems to be pretty normal for that period blade.

Bob

Hi Fliping.

If your join date is anywhere near the beginning of your experience w/ str8 shaving, I would suggest sending it to a pro and avoiding ebay & the like for the next 6 mo. That may not be what you wanted to hear, but very much *not* intended to discourage you from enjoying a straight. Its just that your experience will be much better and your learning much faster if you learn w/ pro-quality edges. I say that, having made the mistake of learning the shave at the same time I learned to hone. I would not do that again.

You're definitely going to need to use a rolling stroke with that blade. As stated previously, might be best to learn on something a bit more straightforward.

John

The join date reflects my experience shaving with a straight. I have the problem of an addictive personality. Have one professionally sharpened razor that I'm becoming proficient at shaving with as well as a few other ebay blades that I've honed myself getting smooth shaves with. One more sent off to SRD for honing and looking forward to that. Will probably set this one down and get some more experience with easier blades.

Thanks for the helpful advice everyone.

I learned how to hone using this forum as a resource and eBay specials - some of which have become some of my favorite razors to shave with. I took me a good 3 months of daily practice honing and then rehoning every time I learned something new. Now I can get great edges on pretty much any razor I've come across... most of the time!

Keep at it and you'll get there - watch all the videos you can or hook up with someone local who knows how to hone.

John

Fliping,

Blades that take more knowledge/gymnastics can definitely knock your confidence. It sure does with me. But having some that you can successfully hone and shave with lets you know that you've got the skills down at least for those blades.
As long as you've got somethind to shave with and aren't dependant on this one, you can relax a little and take in bits as you go along.
I have some that I just can't get right now, and instead of grinding away on them, I put them aside and improve on other razors as I ask questions, learn from others, etc. I keep up the faith that one day I WILL get those and don't let them discourage me in the meantime.

Cool Tape Trick:

This is just for info, as a new honer it might prove difficult for you...

Put a new piece of tape on, color the edge, try honing heel forward and don't worry so much at all about the edge just try and keep smooth even strokes going, watch the tape wear out..
See that oddball wear pattern on the tape you have in the pics above, let that happen again, as soon as you get close to the steel on the spine STOP !!!
Now add 2 layers of new tape leaving the oddly worn 1st layer under there.. now hone for effect never let the top layer wear through keep changing it out until you get a nice sharp solid bevel set then complete the honing process. This works much like using Inletting Black when fitting a rifle receiver, you are evening up the low to high spots with the 1st layer of tape

With razors that have bad spine wear or excessive spine wear you only have 4 choices

1. Grind the crap out of the spine and edge leaving a huge flat bevel and spine in your wake and hope that you have it sorta even and that the steel can hold the new angle..
2. Re-grind the razor
3. Use a taping trick and honing gymnastics to even out the bevel and get the razor shaving again
4. Hone it like a knife with the spine lifted, "Good Luck" with that option

The choice is yours


Warning: If you use this "Trick" you are going to have to use it in the future while honing this razor, it does NOT correct the steel it only corrects the bevel and edge

So what I am doing is honing the tape until it sits flat. Then using 2 new layers to set a second bevel and then hone from there. Still going to practice on some of these other razors that aren't so wavy.