Thread: Reaching th edge

Hi, i just want to get some advise from people who have been doing this for a long time.

My best shaving razor a Hart custom. Honing it today i noticed at the toe end a part on the very edge that reflects light. Nothing massive ,but i have good eyesight and a scope to boot.

That part then isnt touching the hone.

Normally my answer would be to do circles and so on , with the 1k to even that part out that .

What i'm scared of is the fact that 01 steel dissapears quickly and i have a near enough perfectly small, even bevel on this razor and its aesthetically perfect all over.

Also after the 1k there is no light at the edge, its only when i get to the 10k and then Jnat that this occurs. Adding pressure on those stones isnt some thing i do.

How do you guys deal with some thing like that?

Maybe you are changing your stroke style between the 1k and 10k level?
That could be a possibility, I find it troublesome sometimes when switching between different types of hones.

For example my stroke on a 5 inch coticule bout is very different from one on say an 8x3 Black Arkansas.

Just throwing that out there as something to watch for.

If the edge isn't perfectly flat it may require a small roll or swoop at the end to get the toe if the light is at the very end.

Maybe the bevel isn't set. I know the next post will contain this so I'll get it out of the way.

A picture is worth 1000 words. Could you upload one for us to see.
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If the entire edge is making contact I don't see why that would be. OTOH, if when the razor is laying flat on the hone, there is a slight smile, those areas, heel and point, will need a bit of manipulation as you go through the stroke. Sort of a modified rolling X. At least that is what it sounds like to me without seeing it.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If the entire edge is making contact I don't see why that would be. OTOH, if when the razor is laying flat on the hone, there is a slight smile, those areas, heel and point, will need a bit of manipulation as you go through the stroke. Sort of a modified rolling X. At least that is what it sounds like to me without seeing it.

The razor does have a slight smile.. That totally passed me by.

What do you mean by modified X?

I tend to do the pressure only rolling x not lifting the toe or heel off the stone. Or maybe the heel a little bit at the end of the stroke.

The semi circle stroke seems to work quite well but its not exactly free flowing .

Put some ink on the bevel and then just do whatever it takes to keep the bevel on the stone, (Honing Gymnastics).

To get the toe, it could be lifting the heel a little bit or just torqueing the pressure to the front corner, just a bit. Not great pressure shits or large lifting. An X stroke will naturally shift the pressure to the upper corner, the tip.

The ink will tell you if you are making contact, eventually you will not need the ink and will be able to see the difference in the water movement.

Practice on a high grit stone, so you don’t do any damage. Colored ink is easier to see, black can look like a shadow.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Put some ink on the bevel and then just do whatever it takes to keep the bevel on the stone, (Honing Gymnastics).

To get the toe, it could be lifting the heel a little bit or just torqueing the pressure to the front corner, just a bit. Not great pressure shits or large lifting. An X stroke will naturally shift the pressure to the upper corner, the tip.

The ink will tell you if you are making contact, eventually you will not need the ink and will be able to see the difference in the water movement.

Practice on a high grit stone, so you don’t do any damage. Colored ink is easier to see, black can look like a shadow.

The ink trick shows all the ink gone with a normal x stroke or at least it looks that way.

I re honed the blade today and this time there was a fraction on the other side of the front not touching the hone.

I'll go again tomorrow but this time ill do the whole thing with just x strokes.

Maybe doing circles and rocking it is taking more metal from places I don't want.

I did shave with it today before I re honed it. It was an amazing shave regardless of the imperfection but I am a perfectionist so its all or nothing.

Yes, photos. Are you using a straight stroke?

A heel forward X stroke would automatically put just a bit of pressure on the heel and the tip. You are probably lifting the toe slightly, while trying not to use pressure.

It is not unusual to have to give the tip a bit more attention, usually when I test shave a razor, that is where it need just a little more, if any.

I like square tips and use them often.

Toes have a bad habit of developing a tiny upsweep that's difficult to see over time. This seems especially true of used Japanese razors, but I digress....

I'd start with a few light circles/ellipses with light pressure biased right at the toe on a finisher with a very light slurry, followed by 10 or so light rolling strokes, again, light pressure biased toward the toe.

Inspect, and if you're not quite there, repeat. If you're a long ways off, work backwards another grit stage then come back up when it's good.

Cheers, Steve

Thanks for the advise.
Its actually the flattest blade I have . Even so I can see on the down stroke that the section near the toe doesn't push the slurry so I do incorporate a bit of a sweep stroke/rolling x .

I assume its fine on the 1k because its a rough stone but on super fine stones there's no hiding.





Attachment 211682


Look at that lovely rosewood.

I did try to remove it with circles and rolling x's but then it occurred to me that I have figured this out on my own.
Maybe experienced honers have another take or method for this kind of thing..

I should return to the 1k