Thread: Unbeleivable Edge

Originally Posted by Willisf

I have a few razors coming soon that he honed. Glad we have a place like his in Canada. And he does great honing! As he says.... A Zen like shave...... lol

And don't forget Valery at The Gentleman's Den - he is at a Zen like place all his own, his edges are my go-to, and have never had anything but the sharpest and smoothest edges I've ever shaved with, I think he's some type of Jedi Hone Master....

Beautiful blade--and yeah, the Friodurs give a wonderful shave. I had a similar experience. I've maintained my own blades forever, but recently sent a Friodur out to Max for rescaling. He was nice enough to touch up the edge. I suspect he waved a magic wand over it. I've never gotten it that sharp or that smooth. Experience goes a long way!

Out of frustration I ordered a SUEHIRO GMN200 Whetstone GOKUMYO Series #20000. I will still use the Thuringian but will add some strokes on the 20k Suerhiro for a final touch. Does any one have experience with this stone? Is this the right tack to take? Interested in your thoughts and am determined to get an exceptional edge.

Originally Posted by dcaven

Out of frustration I ordered a SUEHIRO GMN200 Whetstone GOKUMYO Series #20000. I will still use the Thuringian but will add some strokes on the 20k Suerhiro for a final touch. Does any one have experience with this stone? Is this the right tack to take? Interested in your thoughts and am determined to get an exceptional edge.

Well the 20k won't do you any harm. Assuming you have a progression up to 10/12k, you should be able to get a truly remarkable edge. The rest is up to you at this point. You have a great razor and good rocks to rub it on. Now it's your turn.

I think that the best edge is going to come from what you do before you get to the finish hones. If you polish a substandard edge it will always be a substandard edge. I am looking forward to the Calgary meet because I know there will be a good core of experienced honers there and I am sure I will leave with some advancement in my honing. A little more practice and another meet and I should be close to hitting my benchmarks on a regular basis. I don't think my issue is hones but refinement of skill. YMMV

Originally Posted by RezDog

I think that the best edge is going to come from what you do before you get to the finish hones. If you polish a substandard edge it will always be a substandard edge. I am looking forward to the Calgary meet because I know there will be a good core of experienced honers there and I am sure I will leave with some advancement in my honing. A little more practice and another meet and I should be close to hitting my benchmarks on a regular basis. I don't think my issue is hones but refinement of skill. YMMV

I'm going to assume a good edge prior to the 20k. It's said here so often that my head hurts from it that you need to get a good 8k edge. So ill assume that much is already in place. And that's a lot to assume really but you don't need me to give an inventory of the obvious. But assuming that much is in place, a push at 10 or 12k and then on to the 20k should provide an exceptional edge. The nice thing about the 20k is that it's straight forward. There isn't a lot to figure out with it. It's not like a Jnat the requires a PHD in patience to figure it out.

In my experience, it's not about the finishers, it's about what your edge is like before you get to the finisher. Each stone, including your bevel setter, needs to have the most pulled out of it. And that "most pulled out of it" is most important when setting the bevel. Those "super light" strokes done as the last few on your last hone are how you need to finish on every other hone as well.

And yes, honing lots and lots of razors helps as well, but only if you pay attention and try your best and try new things in the process. After all, hurling a basketball at the net a million times won't make you a good freethrow shooter.

Best advice I can give; don't even use a finisher until you are impressed by the way a razor shaves right off an 8k.

I use the 1K-3/8K-12K naniwa amd finish with the 20K suehiro and then strop well. I do get really good edge and the shave is very comfortable but I've only been at this for since 2013 and don't have the expertise that the masters do. I hope that will come with time. It's really humbling to think your doing great and then use one of the masters edges. Will the 20K help as others have said if the rest of the honing is up to par then the 20K should add the final touch to the edge. I hope you do better than me but from the sound of what you said about the edge you got on that razor don't be angry if it's a little short. If it's not hang in there you'll get there it just takes time and a few razors.

Originally Posted by rhensley

I use the 1K-3/8K-12K naniwa amd finish with the 20K suehiro and then strop well. I do get really good edge and the shave is very comfortable but I've only been at this for since 2013 and don't have the expertise that the masters do. I hope that will come with time. It's really humbling to think your doing great and then use one of the masters edges. Will the 20K help as others have said if the rest of the honing is up to par then the 20K should add the final touch to the edge. I hope you do better than me but from the sound of what you said about the edge you got on that razor don't be angry if it's a little short. If it's not hang in there you'll get there it just takes time and a few razors.

As I usually preface my comments on honing, I'm not one of the experts. But having depended on the experts in the past, I can say that I'm getting edges as good as the ones I used to marvel at. Am I as good as those guys? No. I can't solve every honing problem or perform as consistent as they do. But in most cases I can get where they used to go with my razors. And for me that's enough. It might take me a longer to get there than they do....in some cases much longer. But I'm happy with my setup and results these days. So my disorders can remain in the areas of razor acquisition and soaps/creams. LOL.

To try & simplify a complex thing.
You need :
1/ an exceptional razor
2/ a properly set bevel
3/ good or exceptional stones & knowledge in their use.
4/ enough experience to choose & apply points 1 - 3.

It's possible you can get more out of your Escher or the 20 k. If you can't the problem is earlier in your progression or maybe even knowing when to stop honing.

It's good to have goals. Just don't get frustrated as not all razors are created equally.