Thread: Been Honing, now questions?

Originally Posted by Tack

The most common reason seems to be that the bevel is not actually set.

I'm not clear on the rationale for this. If the bevel is not set, what is the reason for the quality of the shave to change 3/4 of the way through? What's changing during the shave? If it's "dull" at the start, are you saying it is getting more dull?

I'm not arguing here, I just don't understand this concept.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I'm not clear on the rationale for this. If the bevel is not set, what is the reason for the quality of the shave to change 3/4 of the way through? What's changing during the shave? If it's "dull" at the start, are you saying it is getting more dull?

I'm not arguing here, I just don't understand this concept.

Yes. No one questions the idea that shaving damages the edge, ie- that the razor becomes less and less sharp with each shave. I'm suggesting that if the OP has a borderline edge to start with, it won't take much to dull it enough partway through the shave that it becomes noticable. A bevel that is almost but not quite right could leave the edge in that borderline state. In truth, such an edge will not be acceptable to him in the first place after he corrects the problem. It is also possible to have a good edge off the stones and then knock it back to the borderline point with poor stropping I suppose.

rs,
Tack

visualize this as the edge



____________ _____ _ _ __________________


The breaks in the line are spots in the bevel that are not fully set, and as Tack said "Almost there"
As you go past that and hone at the higher stages they get closer and correct stropping brings it even closer but as soon as the edge is subjected to the wear of a shave, the weak areas fail and the shave gets grabby...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

visualize this as the edge



____________ _____ _ _ __________________


The breaks in the line are spots in the bevel that are not fully set, and as Tack said "Almost there"
As you go past that and hone at the higher stages they get closer and correct stropping brings it even closer but as soon as the edge is subjected to the wear of a shave, the weak areas fail and the shave gets grabby...

I like this explanation it's things like this explained very simply that I can understand. I've had this problem but your suggestion of the marker pen, also simple has put me on the right path.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

visualize this as the edge



____________ _____ _ _ __________________


The breaks in the line are spots in the bevel that are not fully set, and as Tack said "Almost there"
As you go past that and hone at the higher stages they get closer and correct stropping brings it even closer but as soon as the edge is subjected to the wear of a shave, the weak areas fail and the shave gets grabby...

+1...Glen as usual is spot on! The flat spots that Glen describes are easy to see with the naked eye and a bright light source. Just hold the edge up to the light and rotate the blade edge back and forth very slightly and they will appear as bright spots or spaces on the edge. Even with the TPT they won't feel much different than the rest of the edge unless you have a really experienced 'touch'.

"Practice = Knowledge = Confidence = Success"

WP34

Good points. A jeweler's loupe is invaluable (if your getting older like me)

Watching the water along the bevel is exactly what you should be doing. That let's you know that your blade is making complete contact with the hone. Honing daily should not be needed, neither should a touch up. Once honed properly, you should get 1-3 months out of a blade (ymmv) depending on your beard, stropping and overall technique.

I would check/reset the bevel.

This is much like what I think happens with hair test. The tester, test the edge and it does not cut hair so they move the hair to a different spot and it cuts. They then tell themselves, ok the bevel is set and continue on. Sometimes they actually do set the bevel by honing on the higher grit stones, sometimes not or just part of the razor. Which is the problem with hair test, it only tells you about the hair width section that did or did not cut hair.

So they shave with the razor but the whole razor edge is not sharp, but it will still shave with the part that is. The user then trys to shave with the part that is not sharp and says, what happened the edge is no longer sharp?

Really it never was… the bevel was never set... completely

ok. going to start over with an AIG razor that has seen very little use. use tape, keep the marker test going and see what i can accomplish. i will get this learned, no matter how long it takes. i am persistant. also rewatch a cpl vids to ensure technique is correct. thanks for all the help.

The most important thing is to completely set the bevel, after you are absolutely sure the bevel is set, do 10 light laps to begin the polishing of the bevel, then hone until you remove the stria from the previous stone as you progress with finer stones. You should finish with at least an 8K stone. You can bevel set with the 4k but a 1k will make your life easier.

Strop on linen and leather or Chrome Oxide if you have it.

Here is how to check if the bevel is set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZYFsOP7rBc