Thread: Honing Razors With A Jig and Stationary Blade

Honing with a "jig" or "contraption" or "anything other than freehand" can be done. This topic was a source of many "anti-contraption-rube-goldberg" ideas. However, I see this phrase on this site a lot: YMMV.

There is absolutely no reason why you should not try to sharpen a straight razor with a jig that you are designing. My situation is similiar. I want to see if my knife sharpening setup would work on a straight. It does. I say go for it and see what your attempts get you. With anything, practice practice practice. If you have some time to read enjoy the thread:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...intensive.html

m-

I was wondering when somebody would link to that thread.

Bob

[QUOTE=BobH;1376022]I was wondering when somebody would link to that thread.

That thread has a lot of merit. Not only does it provide an optional viable method of honing other than the traditional, it also displayed how an other-than traditional method is responded to on this forum. I also came to understand that the phrase "have fun" can have more than its obvious meaning.

Originally Posted by bladeon

I have just gotten into SR shaving in the last few months. I currently use a shavette-type (Parker SR1). My technique has improved to where I hardly see any nicks. To prep for a "real" razor I built a sharpening jig, and just finished it today. It sharpens knives well. It's the kind that clamps a blade of any sort vertically, and there are rods with pivots to ensure my angles are precise while moving the sharpening film against the blade, which is fixed. I have wet/dry paper up to 1.5K and 3M lapping film up to 60K. My question is, for those of you with experience, is this a viable approach? Being an engineer I like this method, which I also learned off videos. My home-made jig will allow me to make contact from the spine to the edge. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Mario

Honing with a "jig" or "contraption" or "anything other than freehand" can be done. This topic was a source of many "anti-contraption-rube-goldberg" ideas. However, I see this phrase on this site a lot: YMMV.

There is absolutely no reason why you should not try to sharpen a straight razor with a jig that you are designing. My situation is similiar. I want to see if my knife sharpening setup would work on a straight. It does. I say go for it and see what your attempts get you. With anything, practice practice practice. If you have some time to read enjoy the thread:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...intensive.html

m-

[QUOTE=Berthold;1376104]

Originally Posted by BobH

I was wondering when somebody would link to that thread.

That thread has a lot of merit. Not only does it provide an optional viable method of honing other than the traditional, it also displayed how an other-than traditional method is responded to on this forum. I also came to understand that the phrase "have fun" can have more than its obvious meaning.

Now that you have kicked a little sand around,,,,,I'm in,,,

Both threads, this one & the thread from Mario, that has been linked to, are quite similar. Both have opening posts that introduce methods of honing, that are different from what most straight razor enthusiasts use.

Both have asked for comments & opinions.

Both members admit from the beginning that they have little to no experience in the honing of straight razors.

One member (Mario) bought his system, the other (Bladeon) made his.

Mario's thread did not go so well, in my opinion,,,,,,I'm thankfull to him for introducing me to the Edge Pro. I might buy one someday for my knives & axes,,, might,,

But,,, for many of the reasons stated in the thread, it won't see my razors attached to it. Bladeon's very nice invention, if it were available to me, would not see my razors attached to it either.

,,,, and Berthold,,, it has nothing to do with "Traditional vs New Age" methods.

This word "viable",,, had to look it up, just to be sure, ,,, has the word "capable" closely associated with it.
Viable & capable are miles away from "preferred & proven".

The introduction of the Edge Pro into SRP, by way of Mario's thread, reminded me of a well dressed man walking into the local chapter of the Hell's Angels MC & trying to convince the patrons that his Vespa Scooter was as capable as those traditional hogs parked out front; the story does not end well.

SRP welcomes all ideas on honing, but understand that SRP sets & maintains a standard that is at the top of the straight razor community. Prove your ideas here, don't try to sell them here.

[QUOTE=Berthold;1376104]

Originally Posted by BobH

I was wondering when somebody would link to that thread.

That thread has a lot of merit. Not only does it provide an optional viable method of honing other than the traditional, it also displayed how an other-than traditional method is responded to on this forum. I also came to understand that the phrase "have fun" can have more than its obvious meaning.

I mentioned that thread as it should have been linked at the start and there would be no need to comment much in this one. I don't think much has changed in view points on the subject in the meantime.

My personal view is that I will stay with the traditional method of honing but that alternative methods do exist and anyone is free to adopt them should they wish. Many hobbies are hide bound in their views. There is/was a drastic split in the photography forums between film and digital users for example. Me, I use whatever I find suitable for my purposes. I don't think I will ever buy any other brush than a synthetic again and don't much care what others use. OTH I don't push the idea of using synthetics either.

Bob

I've used wicked edge, EP, and various other manufactured jigs birth custom and purchased . . . For sharpening knives and tools. However, why use a jig with a razor when the angle guide is built in? I'm better with tool sharpening then honing a razor. I used to test my tools on my face just to say I could, but the shave wasn't comfortable and I didn't dare go atg. Don't get me wrong, I love using jigs for applications in which I need help to set an angle.

If you don't hone with an Edge Pro, you shouldn't hone. If you don't shave with a straight razor, you shouldn't shave. It's obvious.

I love a good troll in the morning.......or evening........or whenever.........

To me jigs are very reliable in the knife world and I really love the edge pro for my knives. Unfortunately, for me and YMMV, I do not find it as consistent or reliable for straight razors. It will work, but so will a lot of methods and processes and stones that I have tried. The only problem for me is that I want a method and tools that will work the same with every razor and produce great results every time. Consistency and reliability are key. The biggest mystery for me always is in setting the bevel (because of all the crazy wear I see when I get most razors), but after we get an acceptable bevel, the rest really falls into place.

If Have Fun means anything other than that to YOU, YMMV.

Have fun.

[QUOTE=Berthold;1376104]

Originally Posted by BobH

I was wondering when somebody would link to that thread.

That thread has a lot of merit. Not only does it provide an optional viable method of honing other than the traditional, it also displayed how an other-than traditional method is responded to on this forum. I also came to understand that the phrase "have fun" can have more than its obvious meaning.

Coming from a tool / knife sharpening background i can certainly see the appeal of wanting to use the jig(or system if you prefer) to hone a razor. They do work very well indeed for knives and such to put a consistent bevel on them. Ive used a few different ones, some work better than others and if i was to ever buy one then it would be the edge pro. With that said i have been racking my brains trying to think if any of these systems would work on a razor which would give the same edge (or better) than that off a traditional setup and i just can't think of one (the exception would be a wedge type razor but on thinking further im not sure on that one now).

The reason is the finishing stones require such a light pressure to be effective. At that stage you are removing the least amount of metal but i have quickly learnt that it is the make or break of a shave ready edge. Maybe im wrong but i don't see how you can get the fine control over the pressure with any of the systems.

Disclaimer: My razor honing experience is limited and i don't think the jump for an experienced knife sharpener to razor honing is all that big BUT they are different and IMO the biggest difference is that razor honing does require a bit more finesse to get that nice shaving edge.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Mario's thread did not go so well, in my opinion,,,,,,I'm thankfull to him for introducing me to the Edge Pro. I might buy one someday for my knives & axes,,, might,,

This word "viable",,, had to look it up, just to be sure, ,,, has the word "capable" closely associated with it.
Viable & capable are miles away from "preferred & proven".

The introduction of the Edge Pro into SRP, by way of Mario's thread, reminded me of a well dressed man walking into the local chapter of the Hell's Angels MC & trying to convince the patrons that his Vespa Scooter was as capable as those traditional hogs parked out front; the story does not end well.

SRP welcomes all ideas on honing, but understand that SRP sets & maintains a standard that is at the top of the straight razor community. Prove your ideas here, don't try to sell them here.

I am mildly amused with these comments. I posted the EP thread just as reference but as Hirlau said ... "I'm in..."

Your opinion about my thread not ending well is just that. Your opinion. In my opinion as I am the OP of the thread was that the ending was spectacular. I was able to repurpose my gear and can use it to hone straight razors. The dig at axes is a misplaced one. The reply made by Jimbo "I guess the other thing is that it may be a little limiting on razors that require a "rolling" stroke using traditional honing methods" was addressed. Smiles, recurves, bellies, or whatever you would like to call a radius on a knife was addressed by posting a picture.

Is the EP a viable solution, yes it is. Is it proven and preferred. For me and my personal use, yes.

This next one is quite interesting.

The Edge Pro method is a Vespa and the SRP way of traditional honing is the Hells Angels? Really? And how exactly did it not end well? Last time I shaved with my straight (2 days ago) the shave was excellent. A 3 pass BBS shave with an EP honed Wade & Butcher wedge.

Lastly, I do not need to prove my ideas to anyone but myself. I was sharing my experiences. I see many posts about how honing attempts are not going well. Bevels not being set, edges not coming after many attempts, etc etc etc. I was adding my experiences to the large pool of info. I was not trying to sell anything to anyone.

YMMV.

Have fun.

m-