Thread: Second try at honing...seeking opinions/suggestions...

More time on the 12k will get all that out and the toe could use a bit more work. Ink the toe and see if you need more pressure, if so just the weight of one finger on the opposite side will get it on the 12k. The toe looks like 4k stria.

So if you want a perfect bevel, you have to max out each stone, removing the previous stria. New guys are always in a rush to move up and just a few extra laps will make a big difference. Or you can just spend more time on a finisher, the 8k Norton is a good stone for cleaning up a bevel and getting any stria that was missed.

Or get some .50um and .125um CBN and polish the bevel, it will also give you a smooth shaving edge and a great touch up pasted strop.

That looks like a nice edge, I would strop on leather and test shave it. If you want more smoothness, do 10-20 laps on Chrome Oxide, make sure it is razor quality Chrome Oxide.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

More time on the 12k will get all that out and the toe could use a bit more work. Ink the toe and see if you need more pressure, if so just the weight of one finger on the opposite side will get it on the 12k. The toe looks like 4k stria.

So if you want a perfect bevel, you have to max out each stone, removing the previous stria. New guys are always in a rush to move up and just a few extra laps will make a big difference. Or you can just spend more time on a finisher, the 8k Norton is a good stone for cleaning up a bevel and getting any stria that was missed.

Or get some .50um and .125um CBN and polish the bevel, it will also give you a smooth shaving edge and a great touch up pasted strop.

That looks like a nice edge, I would strop on leather and test shave it. If you want more smoothness, do 10-20 laps on Chrome Oxide, make sure it is razor quality Chrome Oxide.

I did about 200 X strokes with pressure on the toe, for the side that has the narrow bevel. Overall, it does seem a little better, but there are still some stria visible, more toward the toe and heel. The center is very shiny and no deeper stria:



Thanks for the advice. Seems like I should speed longer at each level, to remove the stria faster. Will remember that for when I re-hone the Spike razor.

For this one, I have Cr-Ox that I got from Glen here on the forum (it was for a bench strop, but I put it on the webbed strop I have). I'll strop on that. Should I go to linen and then leather, or just leather? I can then test shave and see how it works. It was nice from the previous attempt, so it'll be good to see how it improved. I'll try not to cut myself again either!

Will let you know how it goes...

In this case you don’t need linen, just leather. SRD Chrome Oxide is great paste, if you paste a new strop just draw 3in X’s on it about ¼ to ½ in wide, that is plenty of paste.

The toe looks like you are not honing all the way to the edge on the one side. You either need a little more pressure on the toe or a little torque on an X stroke. Ink will tell you when you are making progress reaching the edge.

You can also do X strokes with pressure on the toe, just make sure you balance your strokes by doing some on the other side and long strokes to blend the edge and not create a flat spot on the toe.

The edge looks real good and should shave well.

Linen is best for cleaning and re aligning the edge, (like stropping between stones when honing), leather is for final polish.

I did forget to try inking the edge, on this last honing. I'll give that a shot, just to see the coverage. May need to try a modified stroke, as you are mentioning.

I stropped and shaved this morning and it was great! Very close, no irritation, and not slashes to my face.

I'm very please at how this $20 blade was resurrected into a shavable razor.

Thanks so much for all the help Euclid440!

Great read!
You guys explained ALOT of questions that many of us have with regard to bevel set, stria, etc...
Thanks for taking the time to share!
Best,
-K

Yea, great photos of every step by PCM, make the thread. Stopping to take photos with a scope is such a hassle and a lot of work.

I'll have to sit down and take a good look at this thread later. Thanks for all the work you guys have put into this, pcm especially for the photographs. Looks like there's a lot to learn here!

Originally Posted by Marshal

I'll have to sit down and take a good look at this thread later. Thanks for all the work you guys have put into this, pcm especially for the photographs. Looks like there's a lot to learn here!

You're welcome. I'm learning a lot, and getting great help from Euclid440 and others. I'm glad this is helping others out as well. BTW, I'm working on another razor, and have posted here... http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ochipping.html

I've also started a follow on to this thread, due to some issues I'm having (might just be my technique)... http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...have-live.html

Having read this thread makes me think razor honers are veritable magicians. Stuff seems overwhelming.

Originally Posted by MrZ

Having read this thread makes me think razor honers are veritable magicians. Stuff seems overwhelming.

It certainly can seem that way, but the concept is very simple.

If you have a decent bevel, or a good edge without chipping or other defects, honing a razor is relatively very easy. Even more so if you use synthetics.

Having chips and other difficulties will definitely give problems and that's where the difficulty lies.