Thread: Bevel

The 12K is a nice thing but it won't set a bevel; nether will the 8K and the 4K might but it will take forever. Magnification 40x-60x helped me a lot to know what's happening in beveldom and to get it right. But, like 10Pups said, nothing beats being taught by someone with experience. I learned way more at a weekend meet from Lynn, randydance and Utopian than I had figured out in a year on my own (plus videos).

Actually, yes they will… A 4K can easily set a bevel on a razor that has been properly honed previously, as will a 12k, it is a pretty aggressive stone.

Do tape the spine until you learn to hone, then decide if you want to continue to tape. The forum is filled with new honers who have honed “for hours” on low grit stones trying to set a bevel and ruining good razors.

Ink the bevel to see where you are making contact and use good magnification to see your progress frequently. A good 60X lighted loupe can be purchased for 2-3 dollars on line.

Here is a thread on setting a bevel with a 12K in 206 laps in about 20 minutes. While it is not something I recommend to a novice honer, it is a testament to the aggressiveness of synthetic stones.

Simply look at the edge with magnification to see when the bevel is set, no shinny reflections and to inspect for flat bevel and chip free edge.
Here is a good video on inspecting the edge. Straight Razor Sharp Test.


Here.

Are there any pakki razors good enough to practice bevel setting without taping? Note note trying to shave with them just hone practice at a very cheap price.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

...A 4K can easily set a bevel on a razor that has been properly honed previously...

I stand corrected given a properly previously honed razor and time, the great equalizer. You are correct and, as always, thorough.

Lol if you don't have anything near a 1k , you may get a bevel set but not in any reasonable amount of time

First step is having a reference point to shoot for. A razor honed to shave ready. Try it, look at it, take care of it. No matter what, you have to know what it is your trying to accomplish, seriously :<0) Best if you watch it get honed. I bet you have somebody close enough to get to and willing to help.

Well a point of reference does help

Originally Posted by whoever

Lol if you don't have anything near a 1k , you may get a bevel set but not in any reasonable amount of time

Or use wet dry sandpaper 1k grit and have at er on a piece of glass.

“Are there any pakki razors good enough to practice bevel setting without taping? Note note trying to shave with them just hone practice at a very cheap price.”

Not really, because the steel is so soft it will make you crazy trying to get a chip free edge on it, so you really will not learn much.

Last Sunday at the So Cal meet, I helped a newer members hone a nice razor from Whipped Dog, a W/B or Morley, I forget, honed a few razors that day. It is not pretty, but can be made to look much better. More importantly it was straight, good steel and very little wear on the spine. He will have a great shaver for years to come.

So for about the same money, you could buy a good razor from EBay, Antique Store or Whipped Dog, that you can learn from and have a nice razor that can be restored and provide great shaves for a lifetime.

If a razor has had a bevel set, and now you are refreshing, you do not need to do a complete 1K bevel set, you just need to get the bevels to meet, not at all a difficult task for a 4K.

The whole 1k bevel set obsession, is a very new thing. For hundreds of years guys have been maintaining razors with a leather strop, a high grit natural finish stone and perhaps a bit of paste.

A 4K will easily re-set a bevel. The 12k reset I linked, was a razor I bread-knifed to remove a chip in 206 laps. A 4k should take about half that many laps, without removing a chip… 10-15 mins. These stones we have available to us now days are very nice, very aggressive stones that can do a lot more than we ask of them, and they just keep getting better.

Try it…

Thanks, I was hopping that there might be s good enough POS that would be good enough to hold a bevel just to test. But guess not.
So while I got you, when stroping, I will ocasionaly kiss my leather with my edge. Now we know this will kill your blade. When this happens ,I have always stated back on 1k, Do I need to start there or could I start at 4k?