Thread: Is this microchipping...

Originally Posted by bluesman7

On my monitor the bevel in the lower image is about 75mm, so around 60x. Am I wrong about how this works?

Yes, the measurement tool of the microscope software is calibrated against a physical scale at the distance and magnification level to be measured prior to actual measurement. The bevel in the bottom photo is in fact just over 1mm wide - 75mm is nearly 3", I don't even own an axe with a bevel like that!

Also, you can't judge the scale of an image based on its size on your monitor, especially if the image has been scaled to fit a web page.

OK. 8K, 1 layer tape, checked with ink. Did some with pressure at 45 degrees, then at 90 degrees and checked that most stria was in that direction. Then, went back to 45 degrees, lighter pressure and new tape. Here are high and low rez shots. Had a hard time getting lighting with the high rez shots.


Looks pretty good. Some stria on the toe on both sides is deeper, so not quite getting the toe as well as desired.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Next (and last) stone would be the Naniwa SS 12K.

I did more rolling X strokes (new tape), with pressure only on the toe, weight of the blade for the rest. Here's updated low and high rez shots:


Looks better. Still some deeper stria on the left side.

Suggestions? Thoughts?

And more rolling X and then X strokes with the heel forward, weight only on the tip of the toe, and only about 2/3 of the blade on the stone (gave this a try). I checked the whole length and it looks pretty good now. Even the toe. There are occasional deeper stria every so often, but for the most part it looks nice:



I'm thinking I can give the 12K a go. What do you think?

The stria on the bevel looks good, but there is a lot of pitting at the toe and a ragged edge.

I would lightly joint it and reset the bevel on the 12k, see if the edge holds together. If not drop back down to the 8k joint the edge straight and reset.

You will have to use a bit of extra pressure on the toe to get it honed.

You are making progress, we’ll see if the toe steel is good enough to hold an edge.

Well, I ran the edge, very lightly along the corner of the 8K, taped, and did the 12k. First will pressure on the toe, and then lighter, until I was just doing weight of the blade, and finger on toe (rolling X).

The middle and the heel, for the most part, look OK to me (even at high rez), but the toe doesn't look good. It looks like there was some chipping about 1/2" from the toe. Here are shots of the heel, mid, and then toe, especially with some at high rez at the trouble spot on both sides (the bevel is about 1.5mm in this area)...


First two are the "bad" spot, the third is lower magnification. The other shots show other places on the edge.

Did I use to much pressure on the 12k?
How should I proceed to deal with this problem area?

This region appears to be under 2mm wide, from what I can tell.

Well, with that level of raggedness, it looks like you need to start over at 1k.

Originally Posted by pcm

Did I use to much pressure on the 12k?

I think a 12k requires zero to a light touch of pressure


Form looking at your pics, maybe your rolling x stroke is putting too much pressure on the toe , hence the chipping.

Looks like what I have seen from Cell Rot blades. Is this a cell rot victim? There seems to be similar pitting on the blade above the bevel.

You have to get to good steel, then re-set the bevel, could probably joint on the 8k a couple strokes, as it is not deep and re-set. How deep you have to go to get to good steel is the question. There is some pitting below the chipping and may be an issue.

The rest of the edge and the stria on the bevel look good.

I have a few nice old razors with some pitting on the bevel, but as long as it does not affect the edge, it does not matter, those razors will probably never get another full honing as long as I own them and will shave, just fine. I do understand that this is a honing exercise for you, with this razor and that going in, you felt it had issues and was not perfect when you started.