Thread: My First Self-Honed Razor

Sorry ...when I think Phank , I think "BIG ole wedge" :<0) wasn't paying attention.

Originally Posted by 10Pups

Sorry ...when I think Phank , I think "BIG ole wedge" :<0) wasn't paying attention.

You weren't far off, plenty of big wedges, just more big hollows!

Tried to get some pics of the bevel, just don't have the tech here to take the pic.

But I have now dulled the razor so I can begin sanding the gunk off....

Now to do some reading on setting the bevel on a Naniwa 1k...any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Oooh! oooh! me! me! me!

Take the 1K Shave test! All in is all in!

I have re-lapped all my stones, including the new Naniwa 1k.

I don't know why this made a difference, but using the DMT325 plate made a significant improvement over using the Naniwa Flattening Stone???

I used a pencil grid on the all the stones, and maybe it's just me, but the results seem far superior using the DMT plate - which after having read here I used some kitchen knives on a few times over the last week or so to "knock off any loose diamonds"....I looked, but couldn't find any?

Back to sanding...

Join Date: Jul 2013

You're definitely a late bloomer, but better late than never ! Good to see you dipped your toes, keep on the water's warm

BTW that razor is most likely a regrind of the original design, so 'hone wear' is a somewhat ill-defined quantity. Doesn't matter as far shaving goes.

Originally Posted by gugi

You're definitely a late bloomer, but better late than never ! Good to see you dipped your toes, keep on the water's warm

BTW that razor is most likely a regrind of the original design, so 'hone wear' is a somewhat ill-defined quantity. Doesn't matter as far shaving goes.

Thanks Gugi - after cleaning the razor up, I noticed there was definitely some wear.

Just finished again - reset the bevel using the Naniwa 1k, then 4/8k, then Naniwa 12k, then finish on the Escher - much easier and a better bevel this time. This razor definitely had issues, it was warped I'm sure, which made getting a bevel on the heel and the toe very difficult. I have learned that every razor is different/unique, so there is no way to "practice", so I just approached it slowly, when the frustration factor when up, I took a break, which was frequent, wasn't going to rush it.

There is a definite temptation to get off the bevel setting stone and move along.

Sheesh, it can take A LONG TIME to hone a razor, that was about 3 hours, and it came out OK I think, the shave will tell...just finished on the Escher and then straight to linen for 60, then leather for 120.

Will shave with it tomorrow, it's been fun!

edit to add: I did not go to the crox afterwards. I was thinking, should the 12k and the Escher be enough? Or is crox strongly advised?

I'd try a shave first and see how the edge feels. I personally use Cr Ox after my Shapton 16k it seems to soften the edge somewhat. The same result can be achieved by about the 4th shave without Cr Ox. Advice given to me originally by Neil Miller (Thanks Neil)

Originally Posted by MJC

To clarify - when looking for something to lap with, the advantage (for me) for the DMT (in lieu of say the Norton laping stone) is that you can use it for other things - like kitchen knives. Sharpening knives and honing razors are for the most part separate skill sets.

For a practice razor I'd suggest also looking for a "Hardware Distributor/Barber Supply" razor in excellent shape. These are mostly made in Germany, high quality, "no-name" shavers. Avoid anything with chips, un-even or excessive hone wear etc. (the Wiki has great notes on what to avoid) With patience you can find these in the $20 range, you will get a dud from time to time to help re-focus your search skills..

It helps to think about what you want to do - Maintain, Hone or Restore.
And the reference material and videos from Lynn and Glen and others are amazing, take advantage of them.

Thanks for the ideas/advice. My goal is to maintain my razors, including keeping them sharp, and being able to deal with minor problems. I'd also like to be able to set a bevel on a razor. At this time, I'm not interested in tackling restoration, mostly want to work on my shaving skills and up keep of the "tools".

Hey phrank,
i just spent the afternoon honing up a gold Dollar that I bought expressly to mess around with. Yesterday i ground the stabilizers off. It's ugly as sin but will hopefully work.
I did a few dry strokes and it seems to cut well enough.
this'll be the first razor I have done a full hone on from bevel to shave. I did have another but never got round to finishing it.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Hey phrank,
i just spent the afternoon honing up a gold Dollar that I bought expressly to mess around with. Yesterday i ground the stabilizers off. It's ugly as sin but will hopefully work.
I did a few dry strokes and it seems to cut well enough.
this'll be the first razor I have done a full hone on from bevel to shave. I did have another but never got round to finishing it.

Glad you're in - it was very interesting to go through this process for sure.

I spent probably two hours, with my thumb applying light pressure to the toe, and then the heel on the 1k, just to get a good bevel from the heel forward - I like and use the heel and also like a good edge on the toe as well.

Still makes me chuckle, minimum for me as 85% of the honing was the bevel, when I finally got to the alleged finishing stones, it was a let down, it's basically all over once you make it good on the 8k...so did you get a shave fro the GD at 8k?