Thread: Harsh edge on freshly honed razor

Quick question for everyone:

I just restored a Torrey razor that had a few chips in the edge. I used Glenn's method for fixing this as outlined in a recent thread. Started with a high angle on my DMT 325 and then went to my Shapton set of 1K, 4K, 8K, 16K, .5 diamond on hard felt, scrub leather stropping, smooth leather stropping, shave test. Here are my findings:

This may be the sharpest edge I have ever shaved with. It mowed down 4 days of growth with zero pressure. That said, the shave did not feel great. I wouldn't call it tugging or pulling. My face wasn't torn up or irritated either. It just sort of hurt, despite being probably cleanest 2 pass shave I have ever had. The hair was mowed off my face with such ease, but the feeling was odd not not enjoyable at all. It sort of stung for lack of a better word. Not a single nick or weeper but really uncomfortable.

What causes this, and how can it be corrected? I have never had this experience so all suggestions and thoughts are welcome. Thanks.

Sometimes I find that after being freshly honed blades are a little harsh. After about the 5th or 6th shave, and at least 50 laps on leather before the shave and 50 laps after, that the edge mellows out considerably.

First question, How many laps did you use on the 16k ???

Drop the Diamond next time and see if that was the problem

Do 100 of the most perfect laps you can mange on the Smooth Leather strop and that should help tone it down a bit

Congrats on getting the chips out, what angle did you start at on the DMT ???

Originally Posted by gssixgun

First question, How many laps did you use on the 16k ???

Drop the Diamond next time and see if that was the problem

Do 100 of the most perfect laps you can mange on the Smooth Leather strop and that should help tone it down a bit

Congrats on getting the chips out, what angle did you start at on the DMT ???

I am not sure about how many laps on the 16K, but I know I tried to keep it as low as possible. Maybe between 25-40? It was more than usual for me, but I was trying to get that perfect feel.

I followed your write up almost to the button. I started at 90 degrees on the DMT (notice my lack of that word that upsets so many people) for about 30 seconds of light passes, which got most of the chips out. I lowered my angle progressively just like you wrote, and then slowly lowered my angle until I wound up at a single layer of tape on my 1K. It was much quicker than I thought it would be, and I got the result I wanted (except for the harshness)

Nice !!! it does work rather well


Sounds like you just pushed the edge a little hard, the stropping should fix the issue.

If not you could try the "Slurry" trick on the 16k yes yes I know it sounds CRAZY hehehe but build a light slurry with your DMT, do about 10 laps and that will bring that edge back down a touch, then dilute out to clear water on the next 10 X strokes, and finish with 5 very light X strokes.. just a trick to keep in the drawer...

But honestly the 100 laps on the leather and as Joe said a couple of shaves should do the trick and smooth it up

Maybe it's not the razor. Maybe your face is chapped. The cold, windy air combined with the heat can dry your skin.

It's a long shot, but worth mentioning.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Nice !!! it does work rather well


Sounds like you just pushed the edge a little hard, the stropping should fix the issue.

If not you could try the "Slurry" trick on the 16k yes yes I know it sounds CRAZY hehehe but build a light slurry with your DMT, do about 10 laps and that will bring that edge back down a touch, then dilute out to clear water on the next 10 X strokes, and finish with 5 very light X strokes.. just a trick to keep in the drawer...

But honestly the 100 laps on the leather and as Joe said a couple of shaves should do the trick and smooth it up

Glenn:

I actually "slurry" all of my Shaptons per your youtube video. For me, it has worked better, given me more "visual feedback", and just plain seems to work. I do about 8 figure 8s with my DMT on the slightly soaked wet Shapton, and then progressively spray the hone down during the honing process with a spray bottle until I am using almost clear water. It has seemed to produce a better edge than just water, and has made grid lapping much quicker. I am not sure if you suggest we do that for every honing project or not, but your light slurry method on the Shaptons really seems to work well.

I had some harsh shaves off of my Sigma 13k and have stopped using it. It has been suggested that perhaps I was over honing and starting micro chips. I didn't have a good loop, it may be worth a squint if you have one.

Yeah I find it works too,

Sounds like you have all the moves down pat, try the stropping and see where it goes, there are a multitude of reasons this one might have been a touch harsh, I could go on and on thinking them up The Micro chips Rezdog just mentioned is worth looking close at, you did have to work that edge pretty hard after all when you yanked the chips.. Which is something to consider, what you did falls into the Restore side of things rather then just simple honing

Least you know it is sharp, now you just have to tweak in the smooth a bit...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Yeah I find it works too,

Sounds like you have all the moves down pat, try the stropping and see where it goes, there are a multitude of reasons this one might have been a touch harsh, I could go on and on thinking them up The Micro chips Rezdog just mentioned is worth looking close at, you did have to work that edge pretty hard after all when you yanked the chips.. Which is something to consider, what you did falls into the Restore side of things rather then just simple honing

Least you know it is sharp, now you just have to tweak in the smooth a bit...

I am going to try some extra stropping, and a couple more shaves and see how it goes. I have a mini microscope from Radio shack so I will take a look at the edge tonight and see what exactly I can see.

Thanks for all of the advice,
Rob