Thread: I can't get consistent with setting the bevel

I find myself with an excess of free time, so I'm practicing honing like a fiend.

I have acquired a number of cheapo older hollow ground razors from eBay in order to practice honing. As far as I can tell none of them have any geometry issues. I also have the two stone set of Norton waterstones: a 220/1000 stone, and a 4000/8000 stone, and a flattening stone for keeping my stones in prime shape. I've flattened both sides of both stones using a pencil grid method and chamfered the edges.

I've gotten all of the razors to a shave ready state at some time or another but only if I manage to set the bevel properly (of course).

The problem I have is that I'm highly inconsistent about setting the bevel. Sometimes I faff and fumble with one razor for two hours on the 1k before throwing it into the corner and walking away in disgust. Sometimes I take the same razor, dull it down and can get a bevel set so it shaves arm hair in 6 minutes.

I'm keeping the method I use the same all the time: 1 layer of tape, X stroke.

Why am I so inconsistent? Should I just practice more? Should I practice less?

Your trying too hard,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Every razor is an individual when it comes to honing,,, not every "routine" applies to each razor you come across.
Once you set a bevel & get it to shave ready,,, leave it & just maintain it.
Picking random razors from Ebay to practice on,,, well,, you are asking for a challenge, so you get what you ask for.
Honing is like any skill, it is mastered over time, not in a set amount of time.

Bevel setting varies from razor to razor, with a lot of factors that may only be relevant to that particular razor.

When it gets to be a burden/stressful , put it down for a while, cause all progress has stopped at that point.

Whichever is your weak side is the one that will require more practice on keeping the blade flat and pressure consistent. Which pass is more dominant?
Mike

First off, if that flattening stone is a Norton, it's probably doing you more harm than good. They're great for throwing at wasp nests, not so great at getting a stone truly flat.

Next, add the sharpie test to your routine. Paint the bevel with one of those big chisel-tip sharpies and give the razor a couple of passes up and down the 1K. Then check out the bevel with a magnifier of some kind. This'll tell you most of what you need to know about how the blade is contacting the stone.

Mostly, Don't Hone Mad. Can't stress that enough. If you're feeling frustrated, take a break and come back relaxed. When you're in the proper mental state, the feel of the blade on the stone can speak volumes; if you're tense you're just going to waste steel.

As far as honing mad is concerned, I realized that there is a definite tipping point where it's better to just put everything away and go do some navel gazing or something.

I didn't really try the sharpie test, but I do know that I do have a "better" and an "off" side: I am right handed and usually when i hone towards me, I don't do as well as away when pushing the razor away from me.

The sharpie test - I knew about it, but I didn't really think of using it even semi-consistently. It certainly is a pretty smart suggestion to follow along visually how I'm doing.

Thanks everyone for all of the feedback, and I'm more than interested in taking more if anyone has any contributions!

Did you notice ECL's thread? If your lapper is in fact the Norton lapping hone, then you need to be aware that you need to flatten it.

Let me repeat that.

You need to flatten your flattening hone.

Seriously.

Really, I'm not kidding.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Every razor is an individual when it comes to honing,,, not every "routine" applies to each razor you come across.

Bevel setting varies from razor to razor, with a lot of factors that may only be relevant to that particular razor.

Well poop. Also - that's why I picked up a few of them.

It may seem like I'm pushing this - but here's the trick. I'm at a point in my life where I can burn time on something that I really enjoy doing, and I'm thinking to myself: imagine it was a 150 years ago and I was training to do this for a living. I'd be grinding metal all daaaay long.

Originally Posted by WhoAmI

...I have acquired a number of cheapo older hollow ground razors from eBay in order to practice honing. As far as I can tell none of them have any geometry issues.

What is your test of geometry?

Originally Posted by MisterMoo

What is your test of geometry?

Mark 1 eyeball also, seeing if the whole edge roughly sits on the surface of a flat hone without any pressure and making sure that I get an even water wake across the stone when honing. I actually have a razor in my box that I don't touch because the toe is bent like hell - you can actually see it.