Thread: Stainless steel razor honing

Hi,

I had won a stainless steel Filharmonica in the give away at SRP (sweet), and have 20+ shaves on it. I'm noticing recently that, although the shave is comfortable (less irritation than other blades, and not pulling too much, but is pulling some), it doesn't seem to be quite as close, and the next day, it seems like I'm close to needing another shave (instead of every other day).

I tried (twice) stopping with Cr-Ox, but it didn't seem to improve.

Questions...

• Do I need any special steps in the honing process with the stainless steel blade?
• Will it be harder or easier to get an edge?
• I have Norton 1k, 4K, 8k, Naniwa 2k, 12k stones. Should I try 12k and then step down if it doesn't work, or go to lower grit and come up?
• I'm assuming I don't need to go to a bevel set?
• should a stainless steel blade hold an edge longer than a traditional steel blade (Dovo, Boker, etc)?

I was assuming the stainless steel blade would hold an edge longer, but I'm not seeing that with this blade (I usually get 60 or so shaves, before needing to touch up a blade).

Not having dealt with a stainless steel blade, I'm curious to hear what people think.

Thanks in advance!

Some types of stainless will hold an edge longer than regular carbon steel but it's not a given. I have found the CrOx had almost zero effect on my Dovo or Puma Inox blades. 100K diamond pasted leather strop did work though.I thought that they might be a little tougher to hone but that has not been the case. They do get sharp but do not feel as 'soft' to me as carbon steel. Purely subjective, I know.

If you have a barber hone you could easily refresh the edge wit 5 to 10 strokes, then a proper stropping may well take the pull out of your shave.

Some guys are better at this than others. Good luck.

Originally Posted by mrsell63

If you have a barber hone you could easily refresh the edge wit 5 to 10 strokes, then a proper stropping may well take the pull out of your shave.

Some guys are better at this than others. Good luck.

Thant's how I do it.

There is no substitute for a quality barbers hone.

Unfortunately, I don't have a barber's hone.

I've got a Naniwa 12K stone. I do have some films too, that Euclid440 gave me to try once for honing on a different blade. I have 5um (4k), 3um (8k), 1um (16k), 0.3um (60k) films. Could any of these be used for that purpose?

I'd have squint at you edge through a loupe and try and assess it first. Then, if it looks pretty good, try a light touch up on your Naniwa 12K and test shave it after a good stropping. If that does not work maybe drop down to you Norton 8K, then Naniwa 12K and good stropping. Hopefully you will not have to go back and do a bevel set on your Norton 4K. Stainless hones up like any other carbon steel blades just may take a bit longer to get it there going by the stainless blades I have.

Bob

Sure, the film(s) could be used. Start with the 1um and see if that gets your edge back. If not you can work back back to the lower grits.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

There is no substitute for a quality barbers hone.

But, If the razor was honed with tape the angle will take a bit of work to get to the edge. Having tape at the shave station can make the barber hone a winner in many cases.

YMMV
~Richard

Originally Posted by BobH

I'd have squint at you edge through a loupe and try and assess it first. Then, if it looks pretty good, try a light touch up on your Naniwa 12K and test shave it after a good stropping. If that does not work maybe drop down to you Norton 8K, then Naniwa 12K and good stropping. Hopefully you will not have to go back and do a bevel set on your Norton 4K. Stainless hones up like any other carbon steel blades just may take a bit longer to get it there going by the stainless blades I have.

Bob

I need to peek at it with my microscope to see how it looks.