Thread: Lessons learned

I have posted my frustrations with trying to hone my first straight razor here a few times and have always been greeted with positive words of support, but after 4 attempts to bring my designated "learn to hone" razor to shave readiness I had given up for a while. I admit that I then changed my focus to D.E. safety razors because it was easy to attain the perfect shave with very little maintenance.

But..... There was something missing. Something gnawing and scratching at my sense of pride. The do it yourselfer in me was ashamed at the defeat that I had accepted and the easy path of immediate gratification was now flavorless. Although I was in fact getting excellent shaves with a vintage Gillette New Standard and a Weber D.E., the quality was tainted by my feeling of inadequacy. I realized that It was time to get back on that horse and try again.

So I swallowed my pride and made a call to the Honemaster that originally honed this razor. Now I accept that opinions are like #$%*$@&$, but this is a guy that has in fact successfully honed a razor that I had failed with. The knowledge passed to me was priceless. He explained to me that this particular razor, a Mehaz International Solingen Germany was on the softer side of things. He had problems with this razor as well. In fact, he was unable to hone this razor with standard techniques. I was instructed to take a "Trailing Edge" approach on both the 4K and 8K. The theory was that the steel was too gummy to cut clean. That by trailing the edge and then removing the wire edge with approximately 15-20 strokes on linen every 40-50 passes on the Norton 4k, I would be drawing the edge out rather than deforming it with conventional "Leading Edge" passes.

He was right on all accounts. With this new found knowledge and a good machinist's loupe I was able to see the transformation of this razor and better understand the mechanics of what actually happens to steel when put to a hone. By forming and then gently removing the wire edge created by the 4K and then refining it on the 8k, I had finally figured out this razor. After 25 laps on linen and 100 on leather I had earned a very acceptable shave right of the good old Norton 4k/8K that everyone here has been telling me was possible.

So what was it that I had just learned? A hell of a lot!!

1) Never give up.
2) Choose a quality razor for your first attempt at honing.
3) Ask questions and keep an open mind. Sometimes we have to swallow our pride and admit that we just don't get it.
4) Every razor has it's own personality. As a result, technique must vary accordingly.

And this is just for starters. I accept that although I have now successfully honed 2 razors to shave ready status, I still have much to learn.

It has been a rough road for me, this straight razor addiction. Full of achievement and defeat. At the end of the day I am proud to be among those resurrecting this time honored art. I now feel as though I have earned a fine shave.

You are on your way, enjoy the rest of the journey.

Bob

that gives me some hope.

I too am new to honing and another tip someone else has mentioned before that has helped me a lot is:

Sometimes, it is best to step away for a bit when having problems with honing a razor!


Mike

Originally Posted by mglindo

I too am new to honing and another tip someone else has mentioned before that has helped me a lot is:

Sometimes, it is best to step away for a bit when having problems with honing a razor!


Mike

Yes indeed! In fact I stepped away for about a month and a half.

Congraulations - it is a great feeling - I've had success with 3 hollow ground razors, and crashed and burned on a wedge - after two attempts, it was a don't walk away mad, just walk away.....

Glad you got it dialed in, but the wire burr on a 4k and trailing edge honing are not techniques that are recommended and more indicative of knife honing. For some it is hard to make the transition from knives to razors and that they are very different.

There again YMMV, most probably your were using too much pressure.

At 4k on a Norton, the edge is still not very straight, but should not have a wire edge if honed properly. An 8K with regular strokes will straighten it out.

Whatever works for you, then again, some guys, hone on bricks…

I like the story and the results.
I'm new as well and some blades just seem easier to hone compared to others.
The steel could be a better match to my stones, or the bevel may have only been slightly off.
Warpage, smiles, grind, hardness, there are a lot of variables and different approaches that I know of but I find I'm guessing if I run into issues.

My wife didn't understand why I would have such mixed results either. She noticed some blades took me longer than others and the results were a mixed bag.

The best way I could get her to understand was to liken it to cooking:

"If I purchased you a great set of pots & pans like Gordan Ramsay uses..."
"I still wouldn't be able to cook like he does... got it..."

In the 18 months I've now been using a straight razor I've tried to hone my hollow ground Solingen razor about 3 times using a 4k/8k Norton combination stone with poor results. I will try this technique to see if my results improve [emoji106]

I tried this technique because my honemaster explained to me that the steel this particular razor was made of is rather gummy. Instead of cleanly removing material it displaced material during leading edge honing. Sort of a smearing. Therefore it was an undesirable result. By using the trailing edge method it was drawing the malleable steel to a fine wire edge that was very noticeable under magnification. I then lightly stropped it on linen, breaking off the wire edge. Did this several times to achieve a sharp 4K edge.

I have never heard of this technique but this guy is very good so I took his word for the truth. Glad I did.

Please understand that I am in no way condoning this technique for standard honing. I suspect that this particular razor is of substandard materials. He explained to me that I will probably never run into a quality razor that responds positively to this technique.

Afterwards I moved on to my Robeson shuredge using a standard technique with excellent results. I have been shaving with both razors since. But in doing so I have noticed a very big difference in both razor's ability to hold an edge. After using each I have inspected the edge under magnification and noticed that the Robeson (quality carbon steel) looked keen while the Mehaz (poor quality-gummy) was "not so much". A good stropping brought the Mehaz back quickly. I suspect that the Mehaz will need to be honed much more regularly.