Thread: New Ebay Find, Start to Finish

Hey, all!

I recently picked up a Henckel off Ebay, dirt cheap. It looked to be in good condition. The blade was dull and blunt, (I thought it was purposely dulled to use as a movie or theater prop) but overall shape was looked good, so I was excited because I've been looking for something slightly narrower than 5/8 for shaving around my mouth/mustache area.


Following is some pics showing my approach. I decided to use a regimen based on the info found on Todds blog on science of sharp https://scienceofsharp.wordpress.com/, just to try something new, and plus I was half cut and forced to go home early from New Years celebration because my girlfriend was tired.

Happy New Years!

Progress was: DMT Dia-flat 95 lapping plate "140 grit" (back and forth strokes until goal reached), Chosera 400 (edge leading strokes until decent metal swarf build-up, then 20 edge trailing strokes. Method repeated for all stones), Chosera 800, Naniwa green brick, Chosera 5000, Naniwa Snow White 8000, Naniwa 12000 Super Stone, 20 pairs of strokes on pasted denim hanging strop (CrOx), rinse, 50 pairs of strokes on clean leather. I plan to add 20 strokes on pasted leather with .25 diamond next time before clean leather and after CrOx. It's all overkill, but I love using my stones. Based on Science of Sharp, I could have gone from 800 to 12000, but that's not fun.

First I had to buff out the blade to get rid of weird scratches etc. I have a system I do by hand using sandpaper then various Enkay polish crayons on strips of leather. Good enough for me. One day I'll get a Dremmel.

Weird scratches



Matt finish after sandpaper



Almost mirror after leather w/polish rubbing (black>green>blue)



Uh-oh, after testing flatness of exiting bevel on a flat surface, a curve on the spine is discovered.


No problem. I find the center of the high point on the spine by rocking it, and inspecting closely on flat surface. I'm going to use my DMT Dia-flat 95 lapping plate lapping plate to rapidly remove metal from the spine while putting downward pressure on the spine while attempting to hold it at the intended angle of which I'd like to bevel to be set at without microchipping the edge too much during the process. This is the most challenging part of the process, but it's pretty easy once you practice it 2-3 times on extreme poorly honed razors.



Result:

Please, no neck-beards talking about spine wear. This is intended!

Some steps during progression. Skipped pictures of Chosera 400 and Naniwa 8000 because I forgot.

CrOx on pasted strop, then clean leather.

Result was the most tree-toppingist blade I've ever honed.

Note: I am not a professional.

If it works for you then your method is great! I actually just used a an x-course DMT this evening to level a spine on an eBay find and got some simlar wear on blade. For your next project, check for level and fix issues BEFORE you go to the trouble of polishing the blade! The sanding and polishing will even out the wear and make it less noticeable. I would post pictures of my latest project, but I forgot to take before pictures...

Is that a Naniwa Green Brick I see in picture #10?

J.A. Henckels are probably the best German made razor out there, at least it is of the blades I've tried. Got two nice ones and won't part with them.....great shavers!

Originally Posted by Ernie1980

If it works for you then your method is great! I actually just used a an x-course DMT this evening to level a spine on an eBay find and got some simlar wear on blade. For your next project, check for level and fix issues BEFORE you go to the trouble of polishing the blade! The sanding and polishing will even out the wear and make it less noticeable. I would post pictures of my latest project, but I forgot to take before pictures...

Good point!

Originally Posted by DoughBoy68

Is that a Naniwa Green Brick I see in picture #10?

J.A. Henckels are probably the best German made razor out there, at least it is of the blades I've tried. Got two nice ones and won't part with them.....great shavers!

It is indeed. My experience is that it takes me quite easily from below 1000 grit to the 3-4000 range, based on the feel/metal removal on the 5000 afterwards.

Nice... love the Henckels

GREAT JOB!

Correcting the spine is an evil part of "fixing" a straight razor to make it hone properly. We all forget that a straight razor is a tool. We'd like to keep it all "pretty", but sometimes functionality over looks is needed more. Some razors need spine correction more than other. I guess you're lucky if the spine and edge are perfectly in sync with each other, but not always the case.

Thanks for posting this. Gives me some great pointers!

Originally Posted by Fruiteater

It is indeed. My experience is that it takes me quite easily from below 1000 grit to the 3-4000 range, based on the feel/metal removal on the 5000 afterwards.

That is what I noticed too. I have found that I can use fewer hones by incorporating the Green Brick in the progression. I have had real good luck on some blades going from the Chosera 1K to the Green Brick then finish on the Coticule and maybe having to use the Chinese 12K on some blades.

Besides, the price of such a huge rock makes it a real bargain.