Thread: Shapton glass stones and others for finishing the razor edge.

Jack0458: I also use the Shapton glass ceramic stones for sharpening my razors. Do you use a loupe to visually inspect your bevels and scratch marks before moving to the next stone progression. After I started using the loupe my honing skills improved tremendously.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

I hope that means you have no difficulty setting an optimal bevel.
The end game you ask about is always about finesse , minimal strokes on your final stone & of course, stropping.
It's actually the easiest stage of honing for me.
This assumes a well set bevel & mid stage refinement, without which you're dead in the water.

I'm going to say I have no trouble setting the bevel. Having said that I've thought I was good at other skills only to find out a few months later I wasn't that good at all. But, the bevels meeting each other at an edge apex along the entire edge is an easy concept to grasp. I have a 30x and 60x loupe and I check this as I work. Also, since I can get the razors sharp enough to get decent shaves to me would indicate I at least get the bevel set. I'm pretty sure the final finesse is where I need work. Another issue is my shaving technique probably hasn't progressed to the point I'm a decent judge of the edge based on the shave.

I'll keep working at it.

Originally Posted by Jack0458

I'm going to say I have no trouble setting the bevel. Having said that I've thought I was good at other skills only to find out a few months later I wasn't that good at all. But, the bevels meeting each other at an edge apex along the entire edge is an easy concept to grasp. I have a 30x and 60x loupe and I check this as I work. Also, since I can get the razors sharp enough to get decent shaves to me would indicate I at least get the bevel set. I'm pretty sure the final finesse is where I need work. Another issue is my shaving technique probably hasn't progressed to the point I'm a decent judge of the edge based on the shave.

I'll keep working at it.

Sometimes, if I'm not 100% happy with an edge just honed, I'll drop back a stone or 3. In the past I could more often attribute problems to the bevel set but one can muck things up further along too.
I'm a dedicated loupe user too. I'm sure the bigger view will help you along.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Sometimes, if I'm not 100% happy with an edge just honed, I'll drop back a stone or 3. In the past I could more often attribute problems to the bevel set but one can muck things up further along too.
I'm a dedicated loupe user too. I'm sure the bigger view will help you along.

I bought two old razors on ebay with the intention of restoring them for fun. I may need to use razors like these for honing practice. I used up so much steel on knife blades learning to sharpen it's not funny. Razors don't have as much excess steel just to throw away. One razor I have been honing a lot on was an old one given to me when I started this. The razor had already been honed a BUNCH based on the amount of steel removed from the spine. I think it's enough to greatly lower the edge angle. Anyway, backing up a couple of stones at my learning state right now will eat up razor steel I bet. It takes a lot of practice for me to become really good at anything. I've been at it a year now. If I can't do a superb job of honing in one more year I'll grow a beard.

Jack

You shouldn't eat up a lot of steel on a 5k & upwards stone. Even if you 'practice' a lot, practice the light strokes required for finishing. There's just no reason to use the same pressure as used for bevel setting & even that can be very light especially with fast cutters.