Thread: My new equipment.

My Norton 220/1000 and 4000/8000 stones arrived today. Lapped them and tried to hone my blade up. Shaves hair, but not near as good as I think it should. Will shave hair on my arm. Will not cut a loose hair from my wife's head. Shaved my face decent, but pulled a little. The edge looks good I think. But something clearly isn't as good as it could be. I should mention it would shave hear fairly decent from my last honing. Maybe a little better now.


I posted this on Facebook also. There are comments on Facebook, but I can't past all of them.

Do you have CrO or Diamond pasted strop? If so try a few laps and see if that will improve the edge further.

Just my thoughts ....
I think your stone is too high to get good consistent level laps. Your elbow is too low. Do you have a loupe ? Helps to see what your doing. Your Norton 1k may be a little rough being new. This means your going to have to spend more time than usual at the 4/8. Tape may be a good idea if your spending a lot of time on the 1 razor.

Now, are you using the pyramid method ? It is a great starting point to learn. Although like I said the 1k may cause you to need more laps or a bigger pyramid count. Just keep at it if the edge improves. If not better seek some hands on help.


You'll get it, it just takes some practice. Try to stay consistent and don't make a lot of changes at once.

Same with your shave technique. pay attention to angle and pressure. I am assuming this is all fairly new and you have a lot of variables going on :<0)

JustN, were you at the KC meet-up this fall? You look familiar.

What is the razor? You said you shaved with it before. Did you hone it previously or did someone else? Do you have any other razor to use as a comparative standard? Since you shaved with it before, what was your starting point for rehoning it? In other words, how did you hone it this time.

Regardless, congrats on the new toys! They are the basic tools so many here used first. Master them before bothering with anything else. More hones don't make you a better honer, except in my case!

Have you watched Lynn's honing videos? Your hone is too high and your seated position is too low for you to have the correct elbow height that Lynn recommends.

P.S. Use extreme caution when trying to cut loose hairs from your wife's head. Just sayin.

Originally Posted by ChopperDave

Have you watched Lynn's honing videos? Your hone is too high and your seated position is too low for you to have the correct elbow height that Lynn recommends.

P.S. Use extreme caution when trying to cut loose hairs from your wife's head. Just sayin.

Get samples from her hair brush -that's what I do - you can set up your own private HHT calibration. Compare the results to those obtained from your arm hair.

On a more serious note, the other contributors are right about the elbow height; it should be higher. It allows for better control and minimal down force strokes.

Originally Posted by Utopian

JustN, were you at the KC meet-up this fall? You look familiar.

What is the razor? You said you shaved with it before. Did you hone it previously or did someone else? Do you have any other razor to use as a comparative standard? Since you shaved with it before, what was your starting point for rehoning it? In other words, how did you hone it this time.

Regardless, congrats on the new toys! They are the basic tools so many here used first. Master them before bothering with anything else. More hones don't make you a better honer, except in my case!

Yes I was at the KC meet. This is the razor that I worked on getting to a fair edge when I was there.

Originally Posted by 10Pups

Just my thoughts ....
I think your stone is too high to get good consistent level laps. Your elbow is too low. Do you have a loupe ? Helps to see what your doing. Your Norton 1k may be a little rough being new. This means your going to have to spend more time than usual at the 4/8. Tape may be a good idea if your spending a lot of time on the 1 razor.

Now, are you using the pyramid method ? It is a great starting point to learn. Although like I said the 1k may cause you to need more laps or a bigger pyramid count. Just keep at it if the edge improves. If not better seek some hands on help.


You'll get it, it just takes some practice. Try to stay consistent and don't make a lot of changes at once.

Same with your shave technique. pay attention to angle and pressure. I am assuming this is all fairly new and you have a lot of variables going on :<0)

Yes. I need to sit higher. I have a chair that will raise me up a little.
What is a Loupe?
I have been using the X method. Even using two hands to steady the razor (light touch). I'm a little wobbly still with one hand.

Originally Posted by JustN

Even using two hands to steady the razor (light touch). I'm a little wobbly still with one hand.

You probably were wobbly when you learned how to ride a bike, then your muscle memory was established after your brain re-wired. The same will happen for your honing. Regular practice will sort it out quickly.

Originally Posted by 10Pups

Just my thoughts ....
I think your stone is too high to get good consistent level laps. Your elbow is too low.

That was my first thought as well...

Might seem insignificant, but the body works in weird (wonderful) ways and getting in a more flowing, natural position makes things a whole lot easier.

Originally Posted by Siguy

Ding, ding, ding! Take the 1K shave test. It was a Eureka moment for me and many others.

I've never done this.. I commit to doing it on my next shave.