Thread: Honing my first eBay razor

I got a SR Droescher 6/8 off eBay a few weeks ago. It is in pretty good shape, but had a chipped heel; 3 chips, the largest a little over 0.5mm. Definitely visible with the naked eye. I put on 2 layers of tape, and with a diamond plate and raised spine made the chips disappear in about 10 minutes. I laid the spine down to the plate and honed for a while longer but never finished the bevel. Had to put it away for a few days...
This afternoon, I put on 1 layer of tape and got out my old King 1200.

I haven't used this in about 20 years. I lapped it earlier this year when I got my DMT. I assumed it was a 1K stone, so it should be good for bevel setting, right?
I did half strokes for an hour and got nothing but a well polished second bevel. Really nice shiny polished secondary bevel. Almost no stria in my 10X loupe. But it never erased the bevel started earlier with 2 layers of tape. And the bevels never came close to meeting at an edge. Am I mistaken about this hone? It just doesn't seem to cut steel.
I got out my coticule and built a thick slurry and almost an hour later have the bevel close, but not yet done. It's starting to take arm hair. I guess I have a pretty slow coticule, a Le Grise I believe.
Anyhow, this is my first attempt at honing a razor from deep in the hole. I have managed to maintain my small rotation, but have never had to build my own bevel. Does the time I've spent seem appropriate for the progress I've made?
I have a lot more respect for those that hone for hire...

I would think a 1200 would be fine for bevel setting, considering some folks set a bevel with a 4K.

My guess on the bevel issue would be that it was honed last with tape. Perhaps several layers. Were you using tape when you were setting your bevel?

What I see is that 2 layers tape then taking one layer off is reverse of the way I understand taping to work, if you want a micro bevel then after you get the bevel set, you would ADD 1 layer to make 3 layers and put the micro bevel on and finish that edge.

How is the spine wear on that razor? If medium to heavy then I would start off with two layers and bring up a nice even bevel, then finish with two layers so that the spine is protected and you are not being wonky with the tape layers going up and down.

Just doing my best to help you, the experienced Honers may have another way?

My King is slower than a Norton or Chosera in 1k. Your headed in the right direction. You did fine and maybe skipped a step when you "never finished the bevel" the first round. Then again the diamond plate may have done more than you think at the edge and that is why it feels like it is taking so long. You have already gone this far on the King, just stick with it, I don't think you have reached the edge with it yet is all.

Just going off what I can't see :<0)

Kings are notoriously slow and they tend to dish out fairly quickly. I speed mine up by the use of a synthetic Nagura also made by King. I eventually got tired of having to soak the hone and bought a Shapton GS for bevel setting - occasionally I go back to the King+Nagura combination for heavier duties.

I have heard it said that a king #800 is about the same as a Norton #1000 or equivalent. So I have heard.

Anyways, most eBay razors I have come across take a LOOOONG time to set the bevel. Some not so long but you're not done until you're done and it wouldn't surprise me if it took a long time to get it set on pretty much any hone. Tape or not. Especially after removing chips with a raised spine. I would use a marker to make sure it's not a bit off and in need of a rolling X, swoopingX, or some other adjusted stroke. My late night thoughts and 2¢.

I thought the SR Droescher razors usually fairly well hollow ground

I have spent 3 hours on my Nani 1K SS correcting the bevel on a worn out wedge but never a hollow ground

my questions
1 is the blade a full hollow or bellied razor?
2 if so are you using too much pressure & flexing the blade up grinding away at the blade face & missing the true bevel area
try the nicko pen and very light pressure & check the hone contact area is correct

I admit I have did this for a while before I realized what was happening when first starting, on a full hollow 8/8" ATOR that only has a 3mm (1/8") spine just to add to the fun

just a thought

The kings are much faster with a slurry. Just keep a slurry going, you'll also feel when the hone starts to get smooth, then it's time to lap and raise another slurry. Pics of the razor may help too. You also could have spent a little more time on the diamond plate too from the sound of it. Also don't be afraid to torque the blade a little to get some pressure to help cut faster.

Thanks guys. From what I have read above it sounds like I'm not messing up too badly. I agree, I could have stuck with the diamond plate a while longer, but I was out of time and so stripped the 2 layers of tape. Don't want to leave that stuff on too long; didn't know when I would get back to it. What I have learned here is that if I want to use the King, I should create a slurry. Can I use a coticule slurry stone? Can I use the diamond plate? Should I buy a slurry stone made for this hone? The King is just too slow on water alone.
Hope to get back to the blade next weekend. I'll post another update when I've had some success...
Thanks again for all the helpful comments.

You can raise a slurry with the diamond plate or you can use one of these http://www.amazon.com/King-Japanese-.../dp/B00068Y30O I've not tried using a small coticule to raise a slurry on a King but it would probably work - it certainly works on a coticule.