Thread: First experience with honing...

Big day in the Whizbang household!! I am so pleased. This afternoon I was determined to hone my own razor. I had an old antique store find, a JR Torrey. It had a few tiny nicks on the edge...and lots of pitting on the blade. Not the nicest looking razor, but certainly one I felt I could hone...and if I destroyed it...nothing lost. I started by examining the blade edge closely with my 30x loupe so I could see my starting point. I then put the razor on the 1K stone and tried to even up the edge and remove the nicks and set the bevel. (Yes, I did't destroy the spine...I started with electrician tape, but decided to remove it). Then I moved to the 3K and then 8K and all that seemed to go well. I took my time and checked my progress frequently.

The edge was nice, even and clean. I spent quite a bit of time stropping...(I lost count) first on newspaper and then on my leather board strop. When I tested it on my arm hairs they popped nicely. I was thrilled. I had to go upstairs and test shave. I did a quick face lather with some Nivea Original shave cream and then started shaving. The blade was very sharp. It was not the smoothest shave in spots, but I think with some additional stropping it will smooth out just fine.

There is nothing quite like the feeling that you get when you shave with the first razor that you honed to shave ready. It only happens once...enjoy the moment.
Congratulations!!

Pete <:-}

Excellent.

If you preshave prep was normal you may want to try the hone again if the shave was not that smooth.

How about some pics?

You should have a very smooth edge, off an Naniwia 8k.

Look at it, to find out why, it’s not smooth, probably chipping. Look straight down on the edge.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

How about some pics?

You should have a very smooth edge, off an Naniwia 8k.

Look at it, to find out why, it’s not smooth, probably chipping. Look straight down on the edge.

I tried taking pics of the edge but my camera doesn't do close ups very well and my picture taking skills are not the best. I am using a Naniwa 1k stone and a 3/8k Classic Edge water stone. I did look carefully and there was one micro tiny chip in the blade...this may have caused some of the roughness...and the fact I didn't do my normal prep routine. I may re-hone today and try again. I know that with practice I will improve.

Yea, that’s the Naniwa 3/8k.

Makes sure the stone was lapped and the edges beveled.

You probably do not need to completely re-hone (bevel set), but it will depend on what is causing the razor to chip.

That you have a chip after a full honing, is an indication of a problem.

How bad is the pitting and is it on the bevel? What kind of scales are on the razor? How much wear is on the spine?

Photos of the razor tell a lot about it, often it is not just the edge that tells the story.

Try jointing the edge and re-setting on the 8k. You may have to remove a bit of the edge, to get to solid steel. If there is one chip, there are probably more you cannot see. This is why for new honers more magnifications is recommended.
Any deep stria can lead to a chip at the edge.

Try just dropping down to the 3k and see if you can deal with the one microchip there. If so, then move back up to the 8k and proceed with your stropping.

Congrats on your accomplishment. You now are an independent shaver!

Originally Posted by Whizbang

Big day in the Whizbang household!! I am so pleased. This afternoon I was determined to hone my own razor. I had an old antique store find, a JR Torrey. It had a few tiny nicks on the edge...and lots of pitting on the blade. Not the nicest looking razor, but certainly one I felt I could hone...and if I destroyed it...nothing lost. I started by examining the blade edge closely with my 30x loupe so I could see my starting point. I then put the razor on the 1K stone and tried to even up the edge and remove the nicks and set the bevel. (Yes, I did't destroy the spine...I started with electrician tape, but decided to remove it). Then I moved to the 3K and then 8K and all that seemed to go well. I took my time and checked my progress frequently.

The edge was nice, even and clean. I spent quite a bit of time stropping...(I lost count) first on newspaper and then on my leather board strop. When I tested it on my arm hairs they popped nicely. I was thrilled. I had to go upstairs and test shave. I did a quick face lather with some Nivea Original shave cream and then started shaving. The blade was very sharp. It was not the smoothest shave in spots, but I think with some additional stropping it will smooth out just fine.

Congrats - it really is a great feeling when you shave off your own edge. Makes me feel a little less dependent on the "industry" and more self sufficient. A bit of a throwback to our history when self sufficiency was the only option rather than todays disposable for convenience world.

Adam

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Yea, that’s the Naniwa 3/8k.

Makes sure the stone was lapped and the edges beveled.

You probably do not need to completely re-hone (bevel set), but it will depend on what is causing the razor to chip.

That you have a chip after a full honing, is an indication of a problem.

How bad is the pitting and is it on the bevel? What kind of scales are on the razor? How much wear is on the spine?

Photos of the razor tell a lot about it, often it is not just the edge that tells the story.

Try jointing the edge and re-setting on the 8k. You may have to remove a bit of the edge, to get to solid steel. If there is one chip, there are probably more you cannot see. This is why for new honers more magnifications is recommended.
Any deep stria can lead to a chip at the edge.

Yes...there is pitting into the edge. It looks like tiny veins. Its just in a bad spot...right in the middle of the blade. I did my best to get it down to new metal, but obviously not enough. I will have to remove some metal to remove the micro chip. As Utopian suggests I will drop down to the 3 k try to remove some metal and take care of the micro chip...and move back up to the 8k. I tried taking a picture but my camera won't do close ups...sorry.

You asked some other questions: Plastic scales. Very little wear on the spine.

Dropping down to the 3k is worth trying once, but what you now have described may require more time on the 1k.