Thread: Mid-range tips

Originally Posted by Srdjan

By the way, are your stone surfaces clear? Some Naniwas will clog with metal swarf and that will slow them down, or even stop the cutting action almost completely. Just asking cos it seems like you're making a lot of strokes and still seeing old scratch marks, which shouldn't be happening...

Yes I religiously lap my hones! Maybe I'm using too light pressure?

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

Yes I religiously lap my hones! Maybe I'm using too light pressure?

Thats alright. Not a lot of pressure is necessary in the mid-range, but I dont go as light as weight of the blade either. Hard to say how much is enough.. I never bothered to measure it, but some people have aparently (was it 3 lbs? Not sure...)

What I find though is that my Naniwa SS will slow down after 40-50 strokes, so I use a nagura to clear it regularly. Not a lapping plate, just the nagura.

100 strokes on a 4k and still have deep 1k scratches - something isn't right. Most synths cut well and those 1k scratches should be gone in just a few strokes. Are you seeing them disappear at the edge? As you lighten pressure you should see the 1k scratches disappear from the apex first, then as you hone more, further up on the shoulder of the bevel.

Cheers, Steve

Ok, the 1k is used to flatten the bevel, and get them to meet, so depending on the condition, you will need “some” pressure to grind it flat. But, the more pressure you use, the deeper the stria, and you will pay for deep stria on the next stone, by putting in more time to remove that stria, there is no free lunch…Deep stria causes chipping at the edge, and the whole goal of honing a razor is a super straight, chip free edge.

The 4k removes the deep 1k stria, begins to polish the bevel and straighten the edge, so here again you may need some pressure or do more laps.

You can’t do too many laps on the 4k, you will want to joint the edge before you start on the 8k anyway, to get a straight edge, 20 or so laps should get the bevels to meet and remove 4k stria. another lite 20 laps, will polish the bevel and straighten the edge.

Too little pressure is as much a problem as too much, because the amount of pressure varies, depending on what you are attempting to do. Generally you start with more pressure and ease up on the pressure in the finish laps. How much is too much is determined by your results. You have to read the bevel and edge.

As an update I got home lapped my stones, used the same razor I have shaved with for 2 days. Started at 4k until it felt like it was sticking to the hone and then went to 8k until the feedback told me to stop. Checked tpt, stropped, checked again. Then did a mid-level arm hair. All good. Going to test shave it tonight

Guys what is happening when the tpt feels good at 4k then is gone at 8k?

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

As an update I got home lapped my stones, used the same razor I have shaved with for 2 days. Started at 4k until it felt like it was sticking to the hone and then went to 8k until the feedback told me to stop. Checked tpt, stropped, checked again. Then did a mid-level arm hair. All good. Going to test shave it tonight

Guys what is happening when the tpt feels good at 4k then is gone at 8k?

How are you doing the TPT?
A little more pressure.slide off the blade at a 45" angle.
Shave is most important

Originally Posted by ultrasoundguy2003

How are you doing the TPT?
A little more pressure.slide off the blade at a 45" angle.
Shave is most important

I'm doing it the original way. Along the blade not across it. Shave sucked lol. Back to the start... And work my way up again.