Thread: Adventures in barber's hone-land

Originally Posted by Marshal

Slight pulling at the 8k level to me says it probably needs more time on the 8k, or failing that - a tiny bit more time on the hone below to polish up some of the deeper scratches. Then again, it may just need some stropping.

I wouldn't judge where the Barber hone is by feel alone. Hone a razor on your 8k, look at it under magnification. Then do a few strokes on your Apart and see if the edge improved. Also - I would imagine if you don't want to lap barber hones, abrasive cleaning pads are also on the do NOT use list. Circles back to removing binding material and potentially exposing too much of the cutting material. I would stick to soap, water, and paper towels if anything.

Oops. :/

I guess what is done is done. I used soap, water, and the green side of a sponge. Like I said, no sheen now.

After going back to the 8k this evening then to linen/leather the razor is cutting armhair when held above the skin in a way I have never been able to achieve before: Tomorrow's shave will tell us if it is better off.

I also took the Worcester razor I had set aside for now to the Apart just to see if I could feel a difference on the side I "cleaned" (AKA ruined?) and I couldn't tell a discernable difference between it and the untouched, stamped side. I did notice the side I "cleaned" seemed to glisten - I could see little speckles in it. No such thing on the other side. Maybe the cutting materials that are more exposed?

Also still waiting on that Jeweler's Loupe. Should be here mon or tues. Then I will be able to do some of the more fun stuff.

If I recall correctly, you already have a stereomicroscope. If that is the case, what do you expect to gain from the loupe?

Originally Posted by Utopian

If I recall correctly, you already have a stereomicroscope. If that is the case, what do you expect to gain from the loupe?

Nope, no stereomicroscope. Right now I'm using the good old Mk I eyeball.

Originally Posted by apamburn

Oops. :/

I guess what is done is done. I used soap, water, and the green side of a sponge. Like I said, no sheen now.

After going back to the 8k this evening then to linen/leather the razor is cutting armhair when held above the skin in a way I have never been able to achieve before: Tomorrow's shave will tell us if it is better off.

I also took the Worcester razor I had set aside for now to the Apart just to see if I could feel a difference on the side I "cleaned" (AKA ruined?) and I couldn't tell a discernable difference between it and the untouched, stamped side. I did notice the side I "cleaned" seemed to glisten - I could see little speckles in it. No such thing on the other side. Maybe the cutting materials that are more exposed?

Also still waiting on that Jeweler's Loupe. Should be here mon or tues. Then I will be able to do some of the more fun stuff.

You may not have harmed it, but I saw the word brillo pad and there are projects I've used them in place of 300-400 grit sand paper so the thought occurred to me that may be a mistake. I have my doubts it would do much to the hard surface of a B.Hone, but too much scrubbing just might prove me wrong. Sort of a better safe than sorry type warning. The sheen could've come from 2 things in my mind - burnishing from use over the years, or shave lather if a previous owner used it the same as I do mine. I noticed my hones took on a bit of a shine after I tried them with lather, and that stuff doesn't wash out easy. If you wore away the burnish in time it will come back, that side might just cut a little differently than the stamped side you haven't cleaned yet until it's burnished again. That process can be sped up by running a screwdriver shank or flat edge of a chisel over the hone a few times, but I would hold off on that until you've had a chance to test it and see how it cuts.

The glistening speckles I suspect are the cutting material. Hopefully they're just shiny because they're clean now.

Thanks for the clarification Marshal.

Shaved last night. Stropped linen/leather again and it was wonderful: no pulling at all. I tend to only do WTG - I get to shave more often that way - and it was quite smooth. This weekend I will probably use this razor for a full WTG/XTG/ATG shave. Here's my razor: again no brand name - it has been worn off. Also I know it needs to be cleaned up better...



I know the pics are bad but how does the bevel look? Like I said it was the smoothest shave I have had yet but maybe I don't have good perspective having never sent a razor to be professionally honed. There is no doubt that it could be sharper; but I think it was sharp enough that I could shave with it exactly like this, no problem.

Where do I go from here? Maintenance?

My 30x loupe did arrive and I was able to look at the edges.

This razor looks like it has one bevel, and the scratches are small compared to the Worchester I worked on at the start of this thread.

The Worchester razor has larger scratches and the bevel not only seems to be (marginally) better at the toe than at the heel (probably due to the problem you indicated before) but also has a double bevel for at least part of the blade. It's all kinds of screwed up and as you all advised will definitely need some work to rehabilitate.

As for the Apart, I don't want to use it on my working razor, at least not until it starts pulling again.

I did this. I had a rare double-sided hone, not the Craftsman but something like it, and lapped one side. Clearly a mistake. The glossy, fine surface of the barber hone was reduced to a very coarse surface I would not even use to set a bevel. I've thought about trying to lap it with steadily finer abrasives to see if I can get the original surface back, but I imagine it's gone.

Originally Posted by RezDog

Some barbers hones will degrade quickly once lapped. There is a risk that every time you try, your hone could become useless junk.

Originally Posted by LawsonStone

I did this. I had a rare double-sided hone, not the Craftsman but something like it, and lapped one side. Clearly a mistake. The glossy, fine surface of the barber hone was reduced to a very coarse surface I would not even use to set a bevel. I've thought about trying to lap it with steadily finer abrasives to see if I can get the original surface back, but I imagine it's gone.

I did that with my Swaty when I first got it. There was a bunch of scratches and chips at the edge. Had to wrap sand paper around a pen to smooth the chips and lap away the scratches. My 2 cents - it's already been lapped and that side is useless as is...you can't make it any worse! Might as well polish that side up and try to smooth it out.

I used sand paper up to 2k grit on the Swaty, both my Norton 4k/8k to grind it to a fine polish, then finished it off by burnishing it with the flat edge of a chisel. It left a pretty harsh edge until I had finished that final step, but now I can shave right off the hone. It's worth a shot to save a classic!

Note the shiny spot: