Thread: Bevel test on 1k

What tests must your razor pass before leaving the 1k stone?

The college entry SAT with a 98 or better.

Dunno what everyone else uses but if it easily cuts a single arm hair at points all along the edge that is good enough for me.

Bob

I think Bob pretty much nailed it. I don't have much arm hair so I have to test sparingly.

I like to do a TNT to check for small nicks before a few more passed and the AHT.

If you are just starting to learn to hone. Doing a 1k shave test is a good idea to teach you where the sharpness starts.

Enjoy the learning curves, and hang in there the rewards are great.

Jonathan

The Eyeball Test… and the Thumb pad test (TPT).

Trouble is it takes some time to calibrate your thumb to know when an edge is sharp. The benefit is you can test the whole edge, something you cannot do with hair. You are only testing the width of the hair. And it is a non-destructive test.

To calibrate your thumb touch every sharp edge you can, eventually you will know what a sharp razor edge feels like, start at the tip and work down to the heel.

Until then look at the edge, straight down with magnification. Any shiny spots are where the bevels do not meet and the edge is not completely sharp.

Once sharp, do 10-20 more weight of the blade laps to straighten the edge and begin the polishing of the bevel. This step pays large dividends at the next stone.

Here is a great video demonstrating the technique.

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

Arm hair. I try to treetop it. Microscope or 60x loupe as well

Originally Posted by Neckbone

What tests must your razor pass before leaving the 1k stone?

There are multiple tests the "Trick" is finding the "One " test that is infallible for you, not what works for anyone else


TPT
TNT
AHT
Magnification / Sight test

All these work, but you have to learn which is your perfect test, use them all until you figure it out..
The bevel set is the most essential part of honing, period, it is about 90% of the job, so take nothing for granted, make sure it is set or you are just fooling yourself...

Honestly I learned at the Meets and watching people pass a razor around the table while trying the various tests that there simply are too many variables between people to claim any one test works..

Glen,

Thanks. Definitely, solid advice. For instance, I had never thought about doing AHT or HHT(tree-top) in checking that the bevel is set at the 1K... Hmmm... Gives me pause hoping I'm not "kidding myself". lol.

More on that, a good link to revisit is the "epd" shave test http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...-1k-shave.html

The problem with hair test is… it does not work for everyone and it does not test the whole edge.

If it works for you… go for it.