Thread: First time honing

I will try to make this short and to the point since I am sure many of you have run across the same issue the first time or two you honed your razor. I did watch and follow Lynn's video on honing using the Naniwa super stones. I started with the 1K for setting the bevel, then moved on to the 5K, 8K, and then last the 12K. Once going through all of that following along with the video as best as I could for a first timer, I then used a wool felt pad with the Crox on it, then went to my regular stropping routine. I did test the blade a couple of times between stones and it was doing a good job of picking up hairs on my arm so the next logical step was to see how it shaved. It was sharp but the shave seemed a little rough and I had a little more skin irritation than I normaly do. It is hard to describe what it felt like but the best way to put it is probably that it was not as smooth as the razors I have sent off to be honed. It did not really tug or pull, just felt uncomfortable enough that it did cause the irritation like I mentioned earlier. It still did shave very close. That all being said, should I start back over with the 1K and do the whole process again or is there a step involved that I did not do properly that may have caused this. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

After all of the abrasives, how many laps did you do on plain leather? With some razors it can take a bit more stropping to get the edge all polished up and comfortable.

I did 50 laps on the plain leather

Did you get to look at the edge any with any type of magnification to see if it was time to move up to the next grit or if there was any micro-chipping in the edge

Did you lap your stones before honing?

On the shave, did it start out shaving good and then get worse? Do you have any form of magnification so you can see the edge? There is so much going on that it can be difficult to diagnose "online" and in words. It sounds to me like the edge may be "chippy" and you are scratching your face.

I normally recommend that folks learn to touch up a razor first so that they can get the feel of the stones and then work backwards towards the more coarse stones. Your best bet is to find a honing mentor, someone who has been honing for about a year and meet with them. You can learn more over a few cups of _____ than you can learn in days or weeks here. Of course we will do what we can here too...

I did not use any type of magnification (where would be a good place to pick up one of those that would work well for a razor if you don't mind me asking), just followed the number of strokes on each stone in Lynn's video. I did not lap the stones before honing because they were brand new and did not think that I needed to. I lapped them afterwards but not before. The shave did start out better than what it finished but still did not start out that great. Sounds like you are correct that I need to find a mentor close to me in NC that could help. Someone showing me the process in person I know would go a lot further that reading the advice on here and trying to follow it. The advice I know is good but I do learn hands on quicker than I do any other way. Is there a link here on SRP that would help direct me towards a mentor. Thanks for the advice!

For magnification you can find loupes on Amazon. Best to find a lighted loupe at around 30x. That's a good middle ground.

For your stones I would flatten and lap them. I thought the same as you but I have recieved many good quality stones that were not quite flat and would not have works well. And lapping them will produce many times a smoother stone surface. Best example are the new surfaces of the norton 4/8k stones are gritty at first and need to be flattened and lapped before first use.

Originally Posted by Avant

I did not use any type of magnification (where would be a good place to pick up one of those that would work well for a razor if you don't mind me asking), just followed the number of strokes on each stone in Lynn's video. I did not lap the stones before honing because they were brand new and did not think that I needed to. I lapped them afterwards but not before. The shave did start out better than what it finished but still did not start out that great. Sounds like you are correct that I need to find a mentor close to me in NC that could help. Someone showing me the process in person I know would go a lot further that reading the advice on here and trying to follow it. The advice I know is good but I do learn hands on quicker than I do any other way. Is there a link here on SRP that would help direct me towards a mentor. Thanks for the advice!

I really like the cheap magnifier from Radio Shack : Carson MM-200 MicroMax LED 60-100x Pocket Microscope : Magnifiers | RadioShack.com

Properly lap your stones and start over...then get back with me.

SRP Staff - Straight Razor Place Forum

You could also start a thread asking for help in your area. Don't do it in the beginners section, do it in the honing section.

I'd say for a first time effort that it sounds like you did pretty good.

Try going back to the 12K and do just 5-7 X strokes with no more pressure than the weight of the blade. Balance it on the stone so your stokes are even and then do 3-5 more strokes with the same pressure on the treated pad followed by another 50 on the strop and see if that improves the smoothness.

Good luck.