Thread: Tweaking the Edge with Tape

Tim,

I'm curious how the edge looks after say a week of shaves and regular stropping.

If you have the time and inclination it would be interesting to see how the edge stands up to daily use when honed like this.

Originally Posted by MJC

Oh Brother..do not tempt them...

Too late, MJC, too late...

Verily I say unto you, the hour of righteous indignation has come for young Tom of Sharptonn. Lo, already a great dark cloud doth gather in the East ready to rain down destruction, fire and brimstone on the Land of Sharptonn in the Vale of Steel and Stone.

Then a great Silence will fill the Land of Sharptonn, and young Tom of Sharptonn and all his doubting kin shall be as pillars of salt and mock the true religion of Beardy-Weirdy no more...

Thus it is written, young Tom, so prepare thyself for thy doom...

Tim. Great pics & interesting approach.

The constant thing that I see in the progression of pics is a gradual improvement of the edge so I'm thinking why stop at 12k ?
At the risk of offending the Escher & C12k fans, there are finer stones that could provide further refinement without needing tape. Of course these stones get exe but just thinking out loud. Maybe you took the experiment beyond 12k but found this level optimal ?

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Tim. Great pics & interesting approach.

The constant thing that I see in the progression of pics is a gradual improvement of the edge so I'm thinking why stop at 12k ?
At the risk of offending the Escher & C12k fans, there are finer stones that could provide further refinement without needing tape. Of course these stones get exe but just thinking out loud. Maybe you took the experiment beyond 12k but found this level optimal ?

Thank you for asking this.
I've been wondering if this could be moved up one more level.
Going from one layer 12k to one layer (Zulu for instance) and the 2-3 Layer Zulu?

For me - as mentioned before of limited experience with razors but years of working with odd stuff (spoke-shaves, hollow augers, draw knives, broad axes etc.) this was a break-out moment.
It hit me first when I was testing the edge by "tree-topping" the hair on my arm. At first I though I was not getting any results, only to notice a small cloud of hair on top of the blade when I lifted it.

The shave test was also wonderful...

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Too late, MJC, too late...

Verily I say unto you, the hour of righteous indignation has come for young Tom of Sharptonn. Lo, already a great dark cloud doth gather in the East ready to rain down destruction, fire and brimstone on the Land of Sharptonn in the Vale of Steel and Stone.

Then a great Silence will fill the Land of Sharptonn, and young Tom of Sharptonn and all his doubting kin shall be as pillars of salt and mock the true religion of Beardy-Weirdy no more...

Thus it is written, young Tom, so prepare thyself for thy doom...

Oh my! I hope this prophesy has nothing to do with Wullie coming with catapillar tractors, semi trucks, and flame throwers to steal my razzers!

Just tried this in a variation of sorts. Put two layers of tape on the spine of my hart razor. Took it to my srd wool strop with crox for about 7 laps. Best shave I've gotten off it and I just had it honed. My microscope shows no microbevel. Good stuff Tim! Thanks.

I have a razor that has about 10 shaves on it. When I get the time, I'll take a few photos.

The razor I used for the first batch of photos is headed to Norway.

Originally Posted by ZethLent

Tim,

I'm curious how the edge looks after say a week of shaves and regular stropping.

If you have the time and inclination it would be interesting to see how the edge stands up to daily use when honed like this.

At the risk of starting a flaming war... All the hones I tried, finer that 12K, all had chunks of coarse grit embedded in the 15K, 16K, or 30K surface. Under the microscope, the edge was fantastic. Then, I would come to several places where there was a chunk ripped out of the edge. Maybe I had bad hones. They were all man made. The highest grit hone I have now is 12K.

A viable alternative is lapping film. It is very well graded, and consistent. I use it for polishing metallurgical samples, and honing research.

Originally Posted by MJC

Thank you for asking this.
I've been wondering if this could be moved up one more level.
Going from one layer 12k to one layer (Zulu for instance) and the 2-3 Layer Zulu?

For me - as mentioned before of limited experience with razors but years of working with odd stuff (spoke-shaves, hollow augers, draw knives, broad axes etc.) this was a break-out moment.
It hit me first when I was testing the edge by "tree-topping" the hair on my arm. At first I though I was not getting any results, only to notice a small cloud of hair on top of the blade when I lifted it.

The shave test was also wonderful...

Originally Posted by ncraigtrn

I'm only asking because I can. What exactly would the Loupe do to improve my honing? My philosophy has been that this is an art that dates back a few hundred years and I doubt they had high power magnification.

Make me a convert!! I want the best edge tell me how a loupe would accomplish it.

Pretty please

The answer is nothing - absolutely nothing. However, it will show you areas where you need to improve the edge, it could show you where you are not actually hitting the bevel and, as said already, it will allow you to see any microchips.

I can't start a war....I'm too weak....coarse grit in my 30k, the delusion of a close, comfortable shave...and lapping film! Where is the romance in that? I'm waving a white flag.

Originally Posted by Tim Zowada

At the risk of starting a flaming war... All the hones I tried, finer that 12K, all had chunks of coarse grit embedded in the 15K, 16K, or 30K surface. Under the microscope, the edge was fantastic. Then, I would come to several places where there was a chunk ripped out of the edge. Maybe I had bad hones. They were all man made. The highest grit hone I have now is 12K.

A viable alternative is lapping film. It is very well graded, and consistent. I use it for polishing metallurgical samples, and honing research.