Thread: How I hone razors

I've honed quite a few by now, and come up with a routine that is pretty much foolproof for me. I thought I'd share it with you. I will not claim it works for everything, but it does for me. I hone all newly made razors, and only those. I don't hone or restore on commission anymore. This means that I always start with a razor sans bevel, that the geometry of the razor is correct and unspoiled, and that the bevels will be narrow.

I use the 3 same stones for everything: Norton 1000 /4000, Norton 4000/8000, Shapton on glass 16K.
I use my old DMT325 for raising slurry.
I use good quality electricians tape on all new razors.

So, I wash the razor and dry it to make sure the tape will stick.
I soak the stones beforehand, and then raise a thick slurry on the 1000K side. Add a drop of water, and then hone until the razor passes the thumbnail test. I may need to re-raise slurry halfway, depending on just how fast things go. Then I flip the stone to the 4000K side, and raise slurry again. I hone for a couple dozen laps on that side as well. There is no set number. 20 to 30 laps should be fine if the razor passed the thumbnail test previously.

Then I remove the tape, gently wash the razor with detergent to remove glue and slurry before it can scratch the surface, and tape again.

Take the 4000 / 8000 and hone on the 4000 side without slurry and no pressure. The fact that the tape is new changes the angle a fraction so no pressure is important. The bevel will really polish up near the edge. 10 to 20 laps is fine. Then flip to the 8000 side and hone for 20 laps. Then 5 more laps on the 4000 and another 20 to 30 on the 8000 side. And finally, 10 laps on the 16K. At that point I verify that the razor pops arm hair effortless and without resistance. At that point I will shave and get a good shave test without fail. During honing I don't test anything except the thumbnail test.

I like using the 1000/ 4000 as a workhorse with a lot of slurry, as it means that absolute flatness is not an issue. The 4000 / 8000 is really flat. The 1000 / 4000 is flat enough and gets lapped without checking for flatness. It also wears thinner a lot quicker than the 4000 / 8000. The 16K never gets lapped. 10 laps without pressure is not going to hurt it.

I once tried to use my DMT325 for bevel setting but found that the 1000K with thick slurry was much faster. And I tried the norton 220 but found that it is the single most useless hone ever conceived. It dishes out so quickly it's next to useless as a bevel setter for new razors, and the grit leaves really deep scratch marks. I threw it away.

Does the use of slurry realy make that much of a difference on the 1k?
I think I will need to try it on the Nani 1k for bevel setting and see if I can tell the difference
I run a very similar system minus the slurry But with the nani 1k then Norton 4/8 with the Nani 12k finish

I think the slurry on the 1k probably gives a bit more cut and helps remove minor chips more effectively than with just water. I normally set bevels on a Shapton 1000GS but occasionally resort to a King 1000 with a synthetic nagura that gives it a bit of extra cutting power. Like Bruno I then progress through the Norton 4k/8k but I'm happy to finish on a Shapton 12000 rather than a 16. I have recently been trialling a Norton barber hone as a final touch - it seems to give a very nice edge, no wonder people pay a lot for them!

Yes, the difference is staggering. If you raise a thick slurry and then add a bit of water, the stone becomes a LOT more abrasive while still not creating deep scratches.

Originally Posted by Maladroit

I think the slurry on the 1k probably gives a bit more cut and helps remove minor chips more effectively than with just water. I normally set bevels on a Shapton 1000GS but occasionally resort to a King 1000 with a synthetic nagura that gives it a bit of extra cutting power. Like Bruno I then progress through the Norton 4k/8k but I'm happy to finish on a Shapton 12000 rather than a 16. I have recently been trialling a Norton barber hone as a final touch - it seems to give a very nice edge, no wonder people pay a lot for them!

The glass stones only come in 8K and 16K iirc. I bought it second hand to give it a try and liked it as much as my nakayama which I pretty much haven't used since.

When setting the bevel, how much pressure to you use?

And if you encounter any geometry problems, how do you address them to ensure an even bevel?

Originally Posted by Bruno

The glass stones only come in 8K and 16K iirc. I bought it second hand to give it a try and liked it as much as my nakayama which I pretty much haven't used since.

That's right, my 12000 Shapton Pro is a ceramic, rather than glass - and a very nice stone it is. Although in the glass series they also make an intermediate set at 2000 and 4000, as well as several coarser stones, including my 1000. I wish I could afford them all :-)

Originally Posted by Phrank

When setting the bevel, how much pressure to you use?

And if you encounter any geometry problems, how do you address them to ensure an even bevel?

not much pressure at all. If the slurry is thick, I just use enough pressure to maintain a firm contact between the razor and the stone. As for geometry problems: I only hone razors that I created myself. Should I discover a geometry issue, I go back to grinding.

However, These days that doesn't happen anymore. With heavy wedges I may establish a bevel before I start the final polishing, just to make sure I don't need to go back to the grinder after after spending the time to polish and make scales.

Usually however, I verify the geometry during grinding by putting the razor on a flat steel plate. I check that on both sides the spine and edge make good contact as if I was doing a rolling X. All the while I grind it thinner and thinner, checking the grind and correcting things as I go along. And for most razors, I finish the entire thing before it touches a hone for the first time. It's just too much waste of time imo.

Very clear and concise! Simple yet effective. Down to lapping frequency! This could be a sticky!

The only reason not to make it a sticky is this: "I hone all newly made razors, and only those. I don't hone or restore on commission anymore. This means that I always start with a razor sans bevel, that the geometry of the razor is correct and unspoiled, and that the bevels will be narrow."

Originally Posted by bill3152

Very clear and concise! Simple yet effective. Down to lapping frequency! This could be a sticky!