Second full honing ever - Gold dollar 208

Hi, I received in the mail 2 Gold Dollars 208's for learning purposes and decided to give one a go today. My progression is Norton combo 220/1000 (starting on the 1k though) Norton combo 4k/8k and naniwa specialty 12k. Afterwards I decided to do 10 passes each on the 0.5 and 0.25 diamond spray wool felt (I don't know how long it holds the diamonds but it wasn't fresh but I assume it still worked).

Pictures (middle shot both sides):

Before:
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1k:
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4k:
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8k:
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After 12k and sprays and stropped:
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I'd appreciate your input based on what you see :) I didn't do circles. I started with more pressure and lightened it up gradually as I tried to feel it out and looked under the microscope. Didn't even count the passes to be honest.

I did shave with it but with a couple days worth of growth it did get stuck a little and pull :D 2nd pass was pretty good overall with a fine shave without ATG. (No irritation whatsoever. Almost forgot to put on Nivea after shave for sensitive skin because everything felt so normal)

Thanks,
Tom

1k to 4k is a big jump. You need to spend more time on the 4k, after a couple super light passes when you think your done on the 1k- those scratches you see are 1k artifacts. Deep buggers the 1k stria are. Incorporate some x strokes to remove stria.



I'll send you a jnat to play with if you like. :tu

also: your last hone bevel BEFORE sprays and strops is crucial for next time. Lets see what it looks like off the 12k. Happy honing.

I'll post the picture because I am uploading from mobile and I have a mess with the photos :D I know I took at least 2 before and 2 for the final. One sec. :)

12k photos before diamonds. Hope you can make out something from them. I spent about an hour on this and it was getting late already so I decided if it wants to get as good as this so be it. I'll learn from my mistakes and try again next time to improve :) I have a whole 6/8 to hone into a 4/8 :D

Photos:
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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tomakao

I'll post the picture because I am uploading from mobile and I have a mess with the photos :D I know I took at least 2 before and 2 for the final. One sec. <to be edited in a moment> :)

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5$ says there's an accidental d%$& pic headed our way...:rofl2:

Yeah, there's a lot of stria and edge damage. Are you sure the bevel is fully set?? It should shave arm hair anywhere along the bevel before commencing. Pics 2 and 3 the bevel doesn't look set and is damaged- then again I'm used to naturals. Some synthetic guys can weigh in.


#2 I heard you mention hones, strops, notoriously challenging razors, and sprays- what of a lapping plate? How did you get that norton flat?

Check the classifieds for better razors if you want to learn honing. Euclid440 has some thoughts on bevel setting GDs that invloves a diamond plate and 2 layers tape I think. I'm sure he'll come by

and of course:
Stay away from sprays too until you can 'comfortably' shave with the 8k stropped on plain leather, that way you'll know what you're doing with the hone, not the sprays. The sprays are a crutch or they're a way to bump up a ceiling. Be sure your're at the ceiling and not a plateau before employing them if you're trying to get great at honing.

I have a dovo silver steel prima, 7 vintage razors that I'm attempting to restore (at least clean and hone the blade for now). One of them without a name I cleaned, polished and honed as my first 1k-12k. It did do a better job on the arm hair than this GD after the 1k. This one was weird to me because at a normal angle it didn't do much. At a greater (slightly weird) angle it did cut after the 4k. I picked the GD because I read it's challenging to hone. Well... Challenge accepted :) I think the blade was slightly warped? Or was it my imagination while doing the 1k. It still had a little smile to it I discovered a little too late. I have problems with too little pressure to the heel right now because I see more wear towards the tip. Had to fix it putting more pressure on the heel. Effect was that now I have a wider bevel in the middle on one side... No to bad though :) I lap with a DMT 325 before each session every stone to see if it's flat.

I like me some practice razors because I would have a bad time playing with my custom or the near wedge 6/8 Wostenholm pipe in blue Paua I'm expecting in the mail by Friday :D

The sprays. Will do.

First - skip the 220. Far too coarse for razors, and a probable source for problems further down the line.

Second - if your Gold Dollar is shaped like mine, rolling x strokes are the only way you'll get the entire edge honed without spending hours trying to re grind/straighten the edge. I suspect they also lift the tail of the razor towards the end of the stroke just slightly, because that's the only way to get the toe of my blade.

Take it back to the 1k and let the weight of the blade do the work. That will help with both the scratch marks and the chipped edge. Make sure it can shave arm hair at skin level and those chips are gone before moving on to the 4k. At the 4k level, make sure the 1k stria are gone before moving on to 8k. When you think you're done with the 8k, strop 20 times on linen, 50 leather, and shave your face with it. If it tugs, back down to the 4k, and try again. Once you can get a comfortable shave off your 8k, then try the 12k and diamond pasted strops.

Yup, most probably the bevel is not set. Some GD can be very hard, so setting the bevel on a 1k diamond plate is an option, but…You then, have to remove the edge and reset on a 1k stone or it will chip on you, much like what you have. You may have to reset a couple times to get a good edge, use 2 layers of tape.

Your chipping could be from too much 1k pressure, note the deep 1k stria.

Make sure your stones are lapped well and edges rounded or beveled, then, joint the edge and reset the bevel on the 4k and stay on the 4k until all the 1k stria is removed.

Skip the diamond spray unless you paste with Chrome Oxide or CBN after for comfort. I would just strop on leather and test shave first, then experiment with Diamonds.

Check your edge for a complete bevel set, by looking down on the edge, there are several good post and edge photos in the honing thread to know what to look for. Here is one, Second try at Honing.

I'd have to agree with everything Euclid said except the tape. The Gold Dollar angle tends to be too steep anyway, so lose the tape and hone away. It isn't like you're mutilating a beauty queen, it won't get much uglier than when it arrived lol. In fact, I usually thin the spine with the edge taped then reset the bevel to the thinner spine (albeit not much, but it is flat at this point). When the bevel is set, you might want to lightly join the bevels then reset at the next highest grit.

I do know people that tape the toe when that #$&* overground heel won't hit the hone...

Cheers, Steve

For my personal razor I don't sweat the heel much, because I never use it anyway. I figure one day the rest of the razor will be ground low enough it will touch and get sharp too. Then again, I've spent so much time wrestling it I think it's already there, if not really close.

I hope you don't mind me chipping in but going by the second set of photo's you put up to me your bevel definitely doesn't look set because there's a fare amount of light reflection coming off your edge which is a tell tale sign.

Looks like you got close with your bevel set but didn't do quite enough. To my eye the edge should be a little bit straighter, i.e. less toothy looking. As you hit the 8k it showed us that you didn't spend enough time with the 4K getting out all the 1k scratches. The 8k and 12k look like you would have been alright if the 1k and 4K had been completely run through.

As you finish on each hone really do your best to get super light for a good few strokes, it will help you practice a finishing stroke and also make for less work getting out the last hones scratches as you move up. One more thing to think about would to be at least leave the pasted strop alone, and one better would be to leave out the 12k as well. You can get a surprisingly good shave off the 8k with linen and leather. Maxing out your 8k will also vastly improve your honing, but the only way to do it is to spend time with it, it will really help you develope a bench mark as well which in my belief is indispensable.

Otherwise looks like a great first attempt and your photos are good too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marshal

For my personal razor I don't sweat the heel much, because I never use it anyway. I figure one day the rest of the razor will be ground low enough it will touch and get sharp too. Then again, I've spent so much time wrestling it I think it's already there, if not really close.

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BUT... Grow a goatee/mustache and you will use it.

Cheers, Steve

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steve56

BUT... Grow a goatee/mustache and you will use it.

Cheers, Steve

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Find my last post in the Movember thread, and you'll see why that will never happen.

But, if you are honing GD to learn, how to hone a razor…