Thread: At a loss.

Ran the blade through the set again. There was discomfort in the sensitive spots, but the 1K section was noticeably better this time. The 4K was tolerable, I felt like I could have done a full shave off it, but stopped a little less than half done so I could hone with the 8K and clean it up the rest.

I did a 2 pass run. The shave is passable I guess, but not the best I've had in terms of closeness. Comfort after, well there's no burn so I have that going for me. But the actual process left something to be desired, the razor seemed to tug ever so slightly. It's becoming really tempting to slurry up the dragon's tongue and clean this thing up because I feel like I had better results with that method, but that would defeat the whole purpose of this exercise. Which is to polish the basics.

Third run, I think I'm finally getting somewhere. I didn't bother with any shave testing today. This time around it was all about ensuring the bevel was set. So there was a lot of moving up the hones, then right back down again. But I think I finally got it where I want it. I won't really know until tomorrow's shave though. With any luck the third time will prove to be the charm.

Do you have kids? I can't tell you how many mysteries I caused my poor dad playing with all the stuff I knew better than to touch out of my curiosity.

I would get a 12 or 16 K. hone to finish on if you can. Or go big & get a Coti. & learn to use it. Something I learned from a Dr. Matt video is when finishing on a Coti is to hone under running water. All I can say is that works great for me. I don't use slurry with my Coti either. Once again it works for me.
Which Swaty hone do you have? Is it a 2 line or three line is it one with a rougher side & a finishing side? Someone did a bunch of Barber hone testing at another forum & one of the best was a John Primble. I have one of these & a 3 line Swaty & the J.P. gives a nicer edge for me.
Like I have said, these things work for me. That might change tomorrow if I get a new hone or learn a new way of honing. Having a good strop is very important in getting a great shave & is your first line of defense after you finish honing. There are many way's to skin a cat. You just have to find the one that works for you & your equipment.

Slawman

Originally Posted by Brent375HH

Do you have kids? I can't tell you how many mysteries I caused my poor dad playing with all the stuff I knew better than to touch out of my curiosity.

Haha, I did the same to my parents when I was younger. But I'm chronically single and have no pups of my own running about. I don't think the room mate's mess with them either.

I do have other finishers, but right now my focus is on the 1k to 8k stage. Going back to basics if you will. I'm not sure what kind of Swaty it is, the stamp doesn't say 2 line, 3 line etc. I know it's single grit.

Once I'm satisfied with keeping and maintaining the blade on these 3 hones I'll work my other hones back into the rotation, but I feel like I need more experience on the 1/4/8 before I move on to the PHIG and Welsh Slates.

What I saw this weekend reinforces that. I finally got the Dovo setup decent. But I have other vintage blades that are recently honed that don't shave worth a fig. So I took a look at them, and all their bevels were set, but there was varying degrees of microchipping and pitting that had gone unnoticed before.

I figure a few months of back to basics, one razor, 3 hones, and a strop will teach me more than the past 6 playing with 7 razors, 8 hones, paste, strop etc. Once I've got this down, I'll add the slates back in. If I'm happy with that, then I'll move back to the other blades and give them their due attention.

A 2 line Swaty will have 2 lines of print & a 3 line has on the first line FRANZ SWATY, second line, WANRING dei Wien & the third (AUSTRIA).
I wouldn't keep going back to 1K. Once you have the bevel set I wouldn't worry about the coarse hone.I would just work with the 4 & 8K. stones Another thing I have learned is to check that the spine is the same width the length of the razor. I use a dial caliper or a 0" - 1" micrometer to check this with. This seems to be more of a problem on older razors but I always check now. There is a tap test where you have the blade on a flat surface and tap the diagonal corners of the blade if it moves or "Tinks", the blade is not straight. Another Dr. Matt video. Another tip to check sharpness of the the edge is to see if it will slice easly into a cherry tomato or a grape. It works.

That isn't a half bad idea. I chose the Dovo specifically because it's the newest of my razors and I don't think I've worn it too bad yet. So in theory it's geometry should be right. But it still might be worth taking a look at to ensure it's sitting right.

I keep circling back around to the 1K because I keep doing silly things I shouldn't be. Like carrying it to the bathroom to retrieve toilet paper (Used to wipe the blade clean before checking with a loupe) and dropping it. Or doing light joining against my better judgement. Or just not having the bevel meeting like it should be. Now I'm confident that, barring another unintentional meeting with the sink/floor, it should all be 4k and 8k work to maintain.

I thought the term 2 line/3line was a reference to a product line number, not the lines of text found on the hone. Looks like it's a 3 line.

Originally Posted by Marshal

Looks like it's a 3 line.

Unless one of the three lines actually say's "three line". In that case it is not a real three line.

Originally Posted by bluesman7

Unless one of the three lines actually say's "three line". In that case it is not a real three line.

It's a legitimate 3 line, not one of the knock off hones that says "Three Line" on it.

If your bevel is set don't go back to the 1k. If your bevel is set and you think you compromised the bevel you can reset it with a few laps on the 4k. You should get a fairly comfortable shave from the 8k and proper stropping. Good luck.