Thread: Less pressure = razor sharp

I think I just learned something huge but then again maybe not. Can anyone confirm this.

I was touching up my dovo best quality on a guangxi stone and was applying moderate pressure and it got duller!! I tried everything from marker on the bevel, circles, X stroke, half stroke, everything. Nothing worked. Razor was sharp but not popping hair at their tops sharp.

Then....I tried 50 very light strokes and stropped and ......BOOM! It started popping the hair at the tops. Passed a HHT 3 and in some spots a 4!

was this a coincidence? Did I just get to a certain number of laps or was it the pressure?

last time it seemed as though it didn't work until I applied a slight pressure this time it seemed like it was the opposite?

I have a very sharp razor but.....help

I think like anything SR related... less pressure = better results!

I've been working on improving my honing recently. The last time I honed my razor, I used EXTREMELY light pressure and the results were amazing. Sharpest I've been able to get my razor so far. I definitely think less pressure is better...at least at some point. Like I said, I'm still trying to improve.

Yeah, a key revelation for me has been progressively less pressure the higher up the grits and the closer to finished you get. Conversely, a big hurdle for me was using enough (more) pressure to set bevels.

Yes, I did a funded study (ASRRC, grant no. SR0002) on this a little while ago. The main result can be shown in the following graph:



The y axis represents edge awesomeness (a term coined by the author at the behest of the editors which unfortunately hides a rather complex and brilliantly clever iteratively reweighted monte carlo based edge shaveability measure discussed in an upcoming short article published in Nature). The X axis shows pressure, as measured using a modified Sturmey-Archer gaussian random field Newtrometer.

The graph is the result of 200,000 individual hone-shave repetitions for each treatment combination in a fractional factorial design. Treatment combinations consisted of steel type (3 types), grind type (5 grinds), razor size (8 sizes), hone progression (15 progressions, comprising the 15 most common bevel-to-finisher stone combinations as data mined from the user databases of SRP, B&B, TSD, Coticule.be (to be honest, only one combo from that site...), and R&S.

Shave tests were conducted on hemispherical ballistics gel moulds impregnated with beard hair, randomly selected from over 15,000 barber shops worldwide.

The results are clearly conclusive. Due to the nature of the edge awesomeness measure, an edge awesomeness of > 0.85 yields an acceptable shave, on average. From the graph we see that too little pressure is ineffective. Too much pressure is ineffective. Pressure in the range of approximately 10-15 Jimbopascals clearly yields the best and most awesome edges, on average (p<0.0001). This clearly ties in with previous studies by Jimbo et al (ASRRC grant no. SR0001) and confirms the so-called "goldilocks" effect postulated in that seminal work.

James.

This is something noteworthy. As you develop and polish a fine edge, very little pressure is needed to flex the blade and take the edge off of the finishing hones. If pressure of any sort is applied, the work is for naught. Let it lay and do proper strokes, weight of the blade.
JMO!

Are you Serious Jimbo?


In my best cousin Eddie voice from Christmas Vacation... Lol

Here's a thread you might find interesting: http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?p=747956

Wow! That's some actual and factual stuff! I have my answer then-pressure is directly proportionate to sharpness. Light as a feather on the finishing stone and strop from now on (while having just enough to keep it flat if course).

Originally Posted by HNSB

Here's a thread you might find interesting: More on high passes - with pics

I JUST read that 10 minutes after I posted this! Very interesting stuff with pics. Amazing.