Thread: Newbie Honer

I have been doing some honing and wanted to get some feedback on it. Pictures have been taken at 230x and it was honed on a shapton pro 12k.
Does this look like an acceptable edge? does it look like there might be some rounding at the edge still?

Thanks Ash

Hi there,
The edge looks a bit rough to me but I'm no expert. Out of interest which may help with the answers have you honed the razor from the bevel setting stage and if so what stones do you use and what was the progression?
have you tried shaving with this blade and if so we're you satisfied with the comfort/feel?
Do you have another razor that has been professionally honed to shave ready to compare it to?

I personally honed two non-shave ready cheap Gold Dollar razors (1000/4000/8000/12000). After I was done, I suppose the question is, "is it shave-ready?"

I stropped them them... Since I don't have 230x magnification I did the HHT (hanging hair test). Some people simply run the razor above the surface of their arm through the hair on their arm. This doesn't work for me as my forearm hair is way too fine. Also the HHT is difficult as I have 1/8" hair! :-). My wife's hair is pretty fine too. My solution is my knarly chest hair. A nice shave ready SR will nip the tops of my chest hair as I pass the SR across the tops of them.

Then, of course, I shaved with them. They worked as well as my $125 and $225 razors. Still pretty new so I'm still feeling out my experiences.

IMO, it's too easy to get caught up in what the microscope is telling you. I let more practical, or rather, more simple experiences give me the necessary feedback.

It's not so much "how it looks" rather "how it feels". Does it shave?

Personally, I had my first razor honed by a pro to get a sure baseline. Then I bought a more expensive shave-ready (again honed by a different pro) to continue to grow that personal experience of a good shave by a fine razor. Then and only then, could I personally and competently evaluate the razors I honed.

Then they met the baseline standards and shaved my beard I was satisfied with my results.

No magnification used to tell me how well they were honed. Only a nice shaving experience!

That's the KISS (keep it simple silly) approach. An approach I welcome as I can complicate boiling water!!!! :-)

Cheers!

Only your face can tell you the condition of a shaving edge.

Shave first, make notes, then take 230x photos. This way you can attempt to "see the butter". Best luck.

Yeah, I agree with Wade. I wouldn't even start to guess if a picture can tell you what your face can tell you, although some with more experience with photographs may be able to offer better advice.

For me, shaving leg hair easily means I try it on my face and my face tells me if I did a good job or not.

Don't over hone on the Shapton; my 16k is very aggressive. I haven't used a 12k Shapton but I guess it's pretty aggressive too...

I had to reset the bevel out of the box as the edge was not straight with a 1K king then went to 6K king, shapton 12K. I have been unable to get a consistent mid length arm hair cutting. I shaved with it last night and it went ok but not great. Before I went back to the 12K again I checked it under the microscope and it looked more rounded than it does now but I didn't take a picture of it in the previous state. I need a bit grow time before I can test it again so am trying to get it right while I wait. I have not had a pro sharpened razor before but am going to try and catch up with a forum member in my area to try and get some tips.

Thanks Ash

Hi mate,

it looks like you've got quite a lot of underlying scratches on the bevel that the 12k didn't take out. This is consistent with my experience with the King 6k; I've never found it to be a terribly useful hone. I have the luxury of using a Norton 4k/8k between the 1k King and the 12k Shapton and boy does it make a difference. While Carl's observation on Shapton aggressiveness is true, in that they are fast cutters, the gap between the King 6k and the Shapton is possibly just too great for the latter hone to bridge.

Of course, as others have said, shaving is the ultimate test.

Whenever I see the very edge light up under high magnification it's an indication that you're not getting the edge - i.e. the bevel might not be fully set. I always look for the scratch pattern to just disappear at the very edge. Try resetting the bevel and make sure you have it set along the whole length and then progress - see if that helps...

-john

From another newbie honer, put the microscope away! For a week or so I got pre-occupied with how the edge looked at 100X rather than how it performed. When I stopped running back and forth to the scope and paid more attention to strokes and pressure the razors got sharper and shaves smoother. I am using Norton 4K/8K finished up with black arkansas and .3 film.

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Yeah, I agree with Wade. I wouldn't even start to guess if a picture can tell you what your face can tell you, although some with more experience with photographs may be able to offer better advice.

For me, shaving leg hair easily means I try it on my face and my face tells me if I did a good job or not.

Don't over hone on the Shapton; my 16k is very aggressive. I haven't used a 12k Shapton but I guess it's pretty aggressive too...

Had a pair of Shaptons try to attack me through a fence yesterday. Damn yappy things.