Complete rehone of an old razor

Hi guys,

I'm new here and also new to straight razor shaving and knife maintenance in general. I have an old Carrara which I picked up online which shaved OK out of the post. Did a bit of work which messed the blade completely, put it aside for a few months and have just brought it back out to play with. I managed to hone/strop it to a level which produced an acceptable, but far from perfect shave. After having a closer look at the blade I noticed that the blade was ever so slightly curved (in the same way a katana is curved). Now there was nothing wrong with it but in my infinite wisdom I decided to go for broke and make the edge straight again. So long story short I turned my shave sharp blade into a straight butter knife. The hones I have available are a 240/800 Saphire and a 2000 Saphire. I can get my hands on some 5 and 3 micron diamond paste and I have a double sided paddle strop. The main question I have is am I completely mad? Do I have any chance of returning the blade to shave ready with what I've got or have I just made a BIIIIG mistake? I have no problem with patience and technique.

Yes you do. First post some pictures. Hopefully there is someone on the site that is in Australia that can professionally hone it for you. Just curious, as the spine straight or was it hollow (a smile shape)? If it was hollow the blade may have been made with a smile to match the spine.

Photos of your stones and the razor would help.

You will need much finer stones at least up to 8k and your stones may not be up to honing razors.

You really should read the first three threads in the honing forum and the honing section of the library before you do any other work on the razor.

A smiling razor is a plus, not a defect.

Some pics would be helpful.

If the edge was shaving before and is starting to pull a refresh is all you need. A refresh is usually done at 8000+ grit. There is no reason to use a hone less than 1k grit unless you're getting out a serious chip or there are serious geometry issues.

Hopefully your razor isn't too far gone, in the mean time read through the wiki:

Straight Razor Place Library - Straight Razor Place Library

Unless a razor needs a complete bevel reset due to a frown or a chip I usually start with a 1000 grit hone and move to a 4000/8000 combo and finish on something approx 12000. There are a few users in Western Australia, maybe they can help you get started.

Here's a list of users in W. Australia
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...sername&order=

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Hi, thanks for the reply! The spine is straight and I have a gut feeling the curve was due to dishing of the hone that was used previously, though I really have no idea. While I appreciate that getting someone to hone it for me would do the trick, I have taken this blade on as a project and I have every intention of doing this myself.

To me it looks in very nice shape and probably needs to start on a 1k stone unless there are issues I can't see in the picture

A curve on a blade is perfectly normal unless it's a frown

Yea it can be fixed.

Are these the stones you have?


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That's not bad, what I had envisioned was far worse. You may want to send that off to a hone meister and get a beater to practice with. Honing is an acquired feel. Definitely read through the wiki and ask questions when they come up. First thing is get a 1k hone, no reason to practice with anything else until it shaves arm hair at the skin level. You can remove a surprising amount of steel with one. Honing can be a little costly to get started but the hones will last a home honer a lifetime, either a naniwa 3/8 or a Norton 4/8 and once you get those figured out get a finer finish hone. You can get a great shave off a 8k.

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These are the stones I have. They definitely do work as I can see metal removal but as I have never used anything else I couldn't say if they are any good

Although you probably can figure out how to get it back and shaving I am not sure why you would. Most times people first learn to shave well with a straight and then move onto honing. For the rice of some higher grit hones you can get that one sharpened a lot. Often the progression of hones used are 1K, 4K, 8K and then a finisher of sorts. You can get quit a once shaving edge from an 8K. There are a lot of threads about honing, from learning to specific problems. The foundation of every great edge is the bevel set, which is when the two sides come together to for a perfect and even apex. I think if I look back I should have sent more blades out and gotten far better at shaving before I started honing. Which ever way you choose to travel your path, you will find helpful and knowledgeable people here. So have a look here http://straightrazorpalace.com/class...wcat.php?cat=4 and find out how much you are looking at for honing and then make your choices as to where to start.

I would also tape the spine to save it from hone wear which can be a big problem when you first start honing (I always tape the spine on every razor)

You can probably set the bevel on the 2k stone, stay away from the other two, way too aggressive for razors unless making repairs.

As said you will need a 4 and 8K ish stone, and some razor quality Chrome Oxide. A Norton 4/8k or Naniwia 3/8k combo stone would both be good choices. Either of the two are under $100 and will last a life time.

Buy quality stone for razor honing, for knives you can get away with inexpensive stone, but not for razors, you want a fine smooth edge.

With the 2 k stone, the 5 micron diamond and 3 micron diamond you will be able to get a good shave ready edge. Will take some trial and error on your part but completely do able. Really is my preferred method of sharpening a razor except I use a 1k hone and go out to a 1 micron finish. However I have stopped and shaved at the 5 micron and 3 micron before. 5 micron was a acceptable shave but a little irritating for me and the 3 micron gave a fine shave.

First you need to set the bevel on the 2k stone correctly with out doing that the razor will never get sharp enough to shave with. Read up on that alot and have a game plan going in.

Next you will need to make two paddle strops or a two sided paddle strop for your paste. There are a ton of materials you can use for this. I used scrap wood and an old leather belt with a untreated leather back.

Once you made your strop make each side with the paste you are going to put on it and apply paste.

Now the 5 micron is roughly 4 k in grit and the 3 micron is roughly 8 k in grit. So after your bevel is set you start on the 5 micron and do a lot of strop strokes and I mean a lot.

Once you have the blade as sharp as you think your going to get it with 5 micron you move to the 3 micron and repeat.

Then shave.

Here is a thread with more details I did awhile back http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ugh-guide.html