Thread: My first honing project

Hello Everybody;

So actually I have more like 2 projects. The main one is the honing of a Boker Silver Steel that was completely ruined by a bad professional when he used a power wheel to sharpen my SR. You can check my post on this forum for the complete story and pictures if you want. http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...eel-sharp.html

Since I have no experience honing, before I get my hands on the Boker I want to try with a Gold Dollar just so I get used to the hones.

What I have:

Norton 220 /1000 combo stone
Norton 4000 / 8000 combo stone
Norton lapping stone
Yellow lake natural stone rated at around 12000 k
Chromium Oxide on balsa wood
Magnifying glass
Leather strop.

Condition of the Gold Dollar (confirmed by a pro):

The GD is straight. No twisted spine.
The stabilizers have been grinded.
Over all the GD is in good condition to be honed.

My first questions are:

1) How should I prepare the Norton Stones. They are bran new. How many laps should I do with the lapping stones?

2) How long should I soak the stones before I use them?

3) To set the bevel on the 1000? should I use circular motion or X stroke?

4) When do I know that the GD has the correct bevel, after the 1000, and is ready for the 4000

5) When to go from 4000 to 8000 to 12000

Thanks a lot for any info you can give me.

Here you go, from Lynn, itself: https://youtu.be/.

By the way, if you search Lynn Abrams and GSSixgun on YouTube you'll find videos on most such subjects, but they are especially helpful on honing. Good luck! As with everything shaving, take your time!

Originally Posted by Haroldg48

Here you go, from Lynn, itself: https://youtu.be/.

By the way, if you search Lynn Abrams and GSSixgun on YouTube you'll find videos on most such subjects, but they are especially helpful on honing. Good luck! As with everything shaving, take your time!

Thanks, I ll definitively have a look at all the videos.

I guess all honing techniques are the sames independently of who made them

Actually they are similar, but there are many varieties of techniques that many use. You need to find one that you're comfortable with. The one I linked earlier is specific to lapping Norton stones.

Originally Posted by Icarusflies

Thanks, I ll definitively have a look at all the videos.

I guess all honing techniques are the sames independently of who made them

Originally Posted by Icarusflies

My first questions are:

1) How should I prepare the Norton Stones. They are bran new. How many laps should I do with the lapping stones?

2) How long should I soak the stones before I use them?

3) To set the bevel on the 1000? should I use circular motion or X stroke?

4) When do I know that the GD has the correct bevel, after the 1000, and is ready for the 4000

5) When to go from 4000 to 8000 to 12000

Thanks a lot for any info you can give me.

Response to question 2: Norton hones I believe need about 10 to 15 minutes minimum but you can soak them a lot longer without any ill effects.

Response to question 3: Circles are useful for rapid metal removal if needed but at some point on the 1k you should switch over to X strokes to get rid of the circular scratch marks on the blade and establish nice linear striations on the bevel. X strokes are going to be your bread and butter strokes through the progression of the stones practice them well, with even pressure and blade sitting flat with contact on hone toe to heel. This is somewhat challenging for the beginner because many times there is a tendency to lift the toe off the hone until you muscles get used to this stroke. Keep your elbow in line with your wrist don't let it drop or the pressure will start to favor the heel end of the razor and or toe may start to lift. mark your bevel with a permanent marker and observe that your taking off the ink as you hone evenly and completely this indicates your stroke is good.

Response to Question 4: Now this is a little tougher to explain when both faces of your bevel meet at a complete apex along the whole blade this is the foundation of your edge. Keep checking with magnification looking down at the edge not the sides, that your edge is complete without reflections of light on the edge itself. Reflections or intermittent bright spots indicate flat spots and the edge is not completely formed continue until these disappear. Many ways to check if bevel is set but are somewhat subjective imo. thumb pad test basically feel the edge and see if it wants to dig into your thumb. See if your razor is able to cut arm hair at the skin level. Thumb nail tests used by barbers of old. Wetting your thumb nail and drawing the edge at an angle to see if it bites into the nail and not skip off. Some people cut into cherry tomatoes lol. Im sure more competent people than I will chime in with better responses on this one.

Response to question 5: After a proper bevel is achieved, and I cant stress enough this is the most important part, everything else is just polishing and refining the edge. Move on to your 4k and do x strokes until all the 1k striations on the bevel are gone and now you see a much finer scratch pattern. Check with magnification along the way that the stria are even an complete to the edge and all chips if any are removed. Then to the 8K same procedure remove the stria observe the new striation keep you honing pressure light not so light that you lose control but just enough. After 8k you can have a shave ready edge but move on to your finishing stone with light strokes and complete your razor strop thoroughly and test shave to see how you did.

This is just a basic overview of the process its just something that you will have to start doing and build an understanding of the things that will be discussed combined with the instruction from the videos you will watch. I'm sure more experienced guys will chime in with a myriad of recommendations. Keep an open mind be patient because your first few tries may not go as planned. Don't be discouraged you can do this.

I wish you good luck

Take a look at that hone wear required to get a nice straight even bevel and ask yourself...

Do you feel lucky? Well do ya punk? Haha all jokes aside the whole project of making that GD shaveable took +/- 30 hours...

Not all them are like that. That isn't the point I am making. I am simply saying some gold dollars can be a battle. Three things can happen then.

1. You know true frustration and disappointment when you think it's your fault you can't get it to shave.

2. When you do actually get it honed and all the time is put in. You feel like a boss. Like since you did that. What the heck is a Dovo anyways... Anyone can hone one of those.

3. You walk away in defeat, with a heart full of despair and a gold dollar in the garbage can... Off to fiery hell where it can't torment anyone else.

And on a final note!

Good luck with the honing brother :gl

Originally Posted by Razorfaust

Response to question 2: Norton hones I believe need about 10 to 15 minutes minimum but you can soak them a lot longer without any ill effects.

Response to question 3: Circles are useful for rapid metal removal if needed but at some point on the 1k you should switch over to X strokes to get rid of the circular scratch marks on the blade and establish nice linear striations on the bevel. X strokes are going to be your bread and butter strokes through the progression of the stones practice them well, with even pressure and blade sitting flat with contact on hone toe to heel. This is somewhat challenging for the beginner because many times there is a tendency to lift the toe off the hone until you muscles get used to this stroke. Keep your elbow in line with your wrist don't let it drop or the pressure will start to favor the heel end of the razor and or toe may start to lift. mark your bevel with a permanent marker and observe that your taking off the ink as you hone evenly and completely this indicates your stroke is good.

Response to Question 4: Now this is a little tougher to explain when both faces of your bevel meet at a complete apex along the whole blade this is the foundation of your edge. Keep checking with magnification looking down at the edge not the sides, that your edge is complete without reflections of light on the edge itself. Reflections or intermittent bright spots indicate flat spots and the edge is not completely formed continue until these disappear. Many ways to check if bevel is set but are somewhat subjective imo. thumb pad test basically feel the edge and see if it wants to dig into your thumb. See if your razor is able to cut arm hair at the skin level. Thumb nail tests used by barbers of old. Wetting your thumb nail and drawing the edge at an angle to see if it bites into the nail and not skip off. Some people cut into cherry tomatoes lol. Im sure more competent people than I will chime in with better responses on this one.

Response to question 5: After a proper bevel is achieved, and I cant stress enough this is the most important part, everything else is just polishing and refining the edge. Move on to your 4k and do x strokes until all the 1k striations on the bevel are gone and now you see a much finer scratch pattern. Check with magnification along the way that the stria are even an complete to the edge and all chips if any are removed. Then to the 8K same procedure remove the stria observe the new striation keep you honing pressure light not so light that you lose control but just enough. After 8k you can have a shave ready edge but move on to your finishing stone with light strokes and complete your razor strop thoroughly and test shave to see how you did.

This is just a basic overview of the process its just something that you will have to start doing and build an understanding of the things that will be discussed combined with the instruction from the videos you will watch. I'm sure more experienced guys will chime in with a myriad of recommendations. Keep an open mind be patient because your first few tries may not go as planned. Don't be discouraged you can do this.

I wish you good luck

Thank you very much for taking the time to write this complete and very useful information. I will definitely put it in practice.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

Take a look at that hone wear required to get a nice straight even bevel and ask yourself...

Do you feel lucky? Well do ya punk? Haha all jokes aside the whole project of making that GD shaveable took +/- 30 hours...

Not all them are like that. That isn't the point I am making. I am simply saying some gold dollars can be a battle. Three things can happen then.

1. You know true frustration and disappointment when you think it's your fault you can't get it to shave.

2. When you do actually get it honed and all the time is put in. You feel like a boss. Like since you did that. What the heck is a Dovo anyways... Anyone can hone one of those.

3. You walk away in defeat, with a heart full of despair and a gold dollar in the garbage can... Off to fiery hell where it can't torment anyone else.

And on a final note!

Good luck with the honing brother :gl

Yes, I read that GD are not the easiest to hone but I rather try with my US$ 15 GD than with my US$ 300 Wacker. I ll keep well in mind that if someting goes wrong is not me and I ll blame the Chinese....

Originally Posted by Icarusflies

Thank you very much for taking the time to write this complete and very useful information. I will definitely put it in practice.

Although I hope its useful, its far from complete " The Devil is in the details" as they say. I'm sure Euclid will come in and fill in the gaps. Just start and see where it leads you. you might get stuck, you will post and hopefully the good people here will get you through.

Hello All;

I haven´t started yes with the honing. Still waiting for the hones to arrive. But I have another question.

Can I do an irreparable damage to my SR when setting the bevel with the 1000?

Thanks