Thread: Practice makes perfect...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

If you are practicing a bevel reset then killing the edge is a good start this way you can experience the edge coming back each time as the two sides once again meet evenly.. BUT you will be resetting a nice even bevel each time and this will get pretty easy for you after a short time ie: BORING
Buying a few GD's actually is not a bad idea for practice, they have many different issues that can come up, so it can be a good challenge to overcome them all. Again once you do enough of them you know what problems to expect and how to fix them, so they also become boring after a time..

That's EXACTLY why I asked this question Glen.. Setting a bevel and REsetting a bevel are two very different things. Killing an edge just to reset it, doesn't introduce those challenges you mention. I order half a dozen GD's yesterday. Not sure if I am going to want to shave with them once I set the bevels, or after honing them.. but that's another story. Thanks Glen...!

Originally Posted by Avenolpey

The problem for us newbies as I see it is "What does a good shave feel like"? If I were to start over again I would buy one professionally honed razor and then learn to keep the blade feeling that way. That might not include a bevel set for a year. This strategy would limit the honing to a finish stone only. As GSSIXGUN demonstrated that can be done with a c12k $35 as long as you build some slurry. Later add a coticule $130. Then once you get your finishing and stropping down, you are ready to get an vintage razor and set a hone and build an edge from the ground up. My problem has been jumping between razors and never perfecting one edge and not really knowing what the end game feels like. Rather than starting with dull and trying to find sharp, reverse the process and start sharp.

Good suggestion.. though for me, it's Been There, Done That. My first months (almost a year) of straight shaving was on edges created by different pros. Seeking the one(s) I like best. I've gravitated to the more mellow edges from Coticules and J-Nats & A-Nats (African Natural ~ Zulu Grey).

As it stands now, I am using synth's for the early steps.. and finishing on the naturals, with the intent to move the entry point of the naturals earlier and earlier in the process until I am setting the bevel with a botan nagura...

Originally Posted by Chevhead

The answers above WILL do a full bevel reset.
Once you start back on the 1K the bevel you had is GONE!
You, in essence are starting over for a FULL bevel reset.

Or if you want, go get some Gold Dollar razors, they are cheap enough and have at it!

I think you fail to understand the OPs original question. There is very little benefit in setting a bevel on a blade that already has a decent one. If you end up with something that shaves arm hair, what have you learned? Maybe if you end up with something that no longer cuts arm hair, there is a lesson, but what he really wants is to start with something that does not cut arm hair, and end with something that does.

I only really need to keep my blades refreshed and sharp but in my obsessive compulsion disorder want to try honing so I bought a set of Naniwa 1,3, 8 and 12K stones from SRD. Since I don't yet want to touch my four very well shaving razors I purchased a $3.84 gold dollar 66 that came in the mail yesterday. As expected it will not touch arm hair.

With some time to fool around I marked the edge with a sharpie, watched Lynn and Glenn's videos and tried the circle method followed by X strokes. After several efforts I can visually (40X loop - thanks Sam) see a somewhat uneven bevel with missing spots on the toe and heel on one side and the toe on the other. It will still not shave arm hair though I did cut one or two hairs. I'm not sure what I am doing wrong as I have my elbow up and seemingly pushing the water as in the videos. The stones are lapped with my course (325) DMT duo-stone that I use for knives and it removed pencil marks along the whole stone. I'm sure I will need some mentoring. My immediate concern is putting good strokes on the 12K for finishing and I don't have the confidence to do that yet.

I did see Glen uses a king stone to set the bevel in his video and then the Naniwa 1K - How come if I may ask?

After all that - to the OP - go to ebay and you'll see the cheap GD razors to play with - It will take a month to get to you.

Originally Posted by GC7

1. I'm not sure what I am doing wrong as I have my elbow up and seemingly pushing the water as in the videos.

2. I did see Glen uses a king stone to set the bevel in his video and then the Naniwa 1K - How come if I may ask?

1. Because it actually isn't quite as easy as we make it seem in those videos, we have honed thousands of razors we have the moves down
Looking at the GD's brings a few other things that have to be taken into account and dealt with to get a nice even bevel... There are a few threads in the Workshop that show those issues and how to fix them..
This is also a challenge for many E-babies too, you have to sort the issues, THEN set the bevel.. Often times I refer to this as Edge Restoration rather then Honing often times people ignore that

2. It says why in the video I use a "Dedicated Bevel Setter" same one on every razor that crosses my bench at this point in time I use a Chosera 1k when I did some of those vids I used a King because they are Cheap and often locally available, plus they work quite well.. I was trying to prove a point
Using a Dedicated Bevel setter allows me to get an exact overall feel for the steel on each razor...

Originally Posted by GC7

I did see Glen uses a king stone to set the bevel in his video and then the Naniwa 1K - How come if I may ask?

After all that - to the OP - go to ebay and you'll see the cheap GD razors to play with - It will take a month to get to you.

I have a King 1k and have used it for months.. Today I ordered a Chosera 1k. I spent the morning with my friend and honing mentor, mjsorkin, and had a chance to work on his Chosera 1k. I lack ample vocabulary to describe the difference, but in hand and in action, it's like comparing a Gold Dollar to a Thiers Issard. The Chosera just 'feels' better. The King feels like it would be a great tool to keep in the garage to hone my ax. The Chosera feels designed for razors. Plus I like that the Chosera, like the natural stones I am using, doesn't need to be soaked.

Already ordered the GB razors...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Because it actually isn't quite as easy as we make it seem in those videos

Now, there's an understatment...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

....at this point in time....

Watched enough of your video's that I find these five words hysterical every time I hear them.

Originally Posted by UKRob

I think you fail to understand the OPs original question. There is very little benefit in setting a bevel on a blade that already has a decent one. If you end up with something that shaves arm hair, what have you learned? Maybe if you end up with something that no longer cuts arm hair, there is a lesson, but what he really wants is to start with something that does not cut arm hair, and end with something that does.

Exactly.. thank you.

I am thinking I will torture the GD razors. Set the bevel.. then bread knife it. Set it again then sand or buff the edge.. do to them all the nasty things we are likely to see don't to the flea-bay razors.

I don't want to refresh a bevel.. I want to set it.

I agree with you about the chosera and king.. I've been using the king the last few months.. And One of the srp members stopped over yesterday and I honed up a few razors using his chosera 1k.. What a difference seemed a lot easier setting a bevel on the chosera rather than the king.. And now I have a better idea also what a TNT should feel like.. My big problem is I did a chosera 1k norton 4/8 then Naniwa 12 k then suehiro 20k .. I'm in love with the shave was my best yet ever.. Gonna have to drop the cAsh sooner or later on the suehiro but for now I'll borrow my friends.. I've also am playing with setting bevels on the gd... They are a challenge but I enjoy the learning curve

I was under the impression that the Naniwa 1K was a good dedicated bevel setter. Is this not the case?

I'm playing around with the GD and I think at a minimum I am getting a feel for making passes over the stone

Originally Posted by GC7

I was under the impression that the Naniwa 1K was a good dedicated bevel setter. Is this not the case?

The Naniwa 1k is a great bevel setter, what you are missing is the semantics of the term and my personal use of the "Dedicated Bevel Setter" I do things a certain way and that works for me, I don't use my Naniwa SS 1k nor my Shapton 1k to set bevels, to me they are part of the entire system...

Always keep in mind that those Vids are just a Guide, they are not the end all be all of honing, they are designed for you to get to a shaving edge then to adapt to your own style...


Those Naniwa vids were actually done for a Naniwa honing thread http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...iwa-users.html as you can read there it is a step by step honing system...

Gc7 next time we get together it think will b after New Years .. There will b some great guys around more than willing to answer questions.. I believe Sam took all our phone numbers down not sure if you got them?? Most of us are very happy to talk about this stuff ..I can lend what I know which by no means am I a pro at all but I'm making great strides..

Is it possible to get a gold dollar to shave really good? I mean if you sent it out to get honed would you have a good razor? Or would you just have a shiny turd?