Thread: no success

it p[ulled and took off some hair but i got spoiled with a Abmram's honed dovo and now that i do not have that i have been using a disposable straight so i hope y'all understand my frustration

i had to strop way too many times between passes to get most of the hairs off--

to i need to go back to the pyramid???

If it pulled then it just isn't sharp enough. You don't mention what hone you're trying to use, but if it's popping hair but still pulling then it needs some more time at the higher grits with a very light touch. If you've got a paddle then you can try that as well. Failing that then send it out to a honemeister and get another razor from ebay to practice on.

I've never honed a stainless razor, but I seem to recall others saying that they take 30 to 50 percent more work to hone. So you might be heading in the right direction but just not quite there yet...

Try a few 1-5s and then retest. It does sound like you're pretty close.

Don't give up--you'll get it. If you get really frustrated, send it out and ask the honer to give you an evaluation of how close the edge was.

Good luck,
Josh

You usually would use the same strokes on the 4K part of the hone and pyramid, but I usually go an additional 2-5 strokes on the 8K and Coticule or Escher for a Stainless razor.

Lynn

i have a 4/8k norton--no coticle or escher

so i guess i will not be able to get anywhere close to a good shave then

well i just did a pyramid and an extra 3 on the 8k side and stropped

gonna try to shave later today and will post....uh here i guess to say how it went

thanks

i have read that a number of members here shave after the 8k norton (and stropping of course). i would follow what lynn had to say about 2-5 extra laps on the 8k to your pyramid for the ss blade.

happy shaving! cheers,
ryan

Originally Posted by raZor

i have a 4/8k norton--no coticle or escher

so i guess i will not be able to get anywhere close to a good shave then

well i just did a pyramid and an extra 3 on the 8k side and stropped

gonna try to shave later today and will post....uh here i guess to say how it went

thanks

You don't need a coticule or an escher to get a good shave from a razor; the Norton 4K/8K and good honing technique is all that is needed. Coticules and eschers can make the razor shave a little smoother; however, the Norton in the right hands is fully capible of making a razor scary sharp.

well got done shaving--kinda disappointed....

thought i had a good honing session but when i shaved i did get some hairs but i still have major stubble--not pulling as much either but nothing compared to when i used my previous Mr. Abrams honed razor

since i have not had that for a while the only reference point i have is the disposable straight---and compared to that i look like a bum!

i am doing the x pattern, using the water, prepping the stone, doing the pyramid, doing a few extra on the 8k, stropping...what can i be missing

i hear members getting some razors shave ready in 15-30 minutes---but i can not do this yet and i just think i need someone to somehow supervise me or something


ANYONE in MIAMI area???? lol

thanks

It is normal to be frustrated when you start honing razors. Work through it and keep at it and you'll learn to do it. You'll learn nothing by sending it to a honemeister. Where are you located geographically? Sometimes five minutes with an experienced honer will save weeks of experimentation. I'm in Massachusetts and people drop by to chat, hone, check out different kinds of stones, etc. fairly regularly. The most important advice I can give you is to use quality tools. Get a decent stone like a Norton 4k8k to start out with before you go to the expense of a natural waterstone. When you know what to expect from a razor and a stone, move on to a better stone. Honing is a progressive process going from coarser to finer grits. By all means get a magnifier like the one from Radio Shack so you can see what the edge looks like and then what it looks like after you've worked on it. That's the quickest way to figure out problems. Tackling a stainless steel blade right out of the gate is a bit of a rough entry into honing. Stainless behaves very differently from carbon steel.

There's no magic to honing... just knowledge.

@howard--thanks for the advice man--i have a 4/8k norton and i am in the miami area for now looking into going to puerto rico soon
so if anyone in the miami area or san juan area wanna lend a helping hand i am open to it


well i intended on honing last night but i ended up going to sleep with my norton in the water all night!! (is it damaged???)

well i did the following this morning--sorry if i screw terms here---but i did one lap (1-up and down) on the 4k and i did 35 on the 8k-then did 1 again on the 4k and 55 on the 8k--and then i finally did 1 on the 4k and 75 on the 8k

it is amazing how much time flew by (took me almost an hour) but i was really concentrating on my technique and going fairly steady and slow with emphasis on keeping my dovo as level as possible on the stone

didnt have much stubble but i shave my sideburns --and i must say with no hair prep and just some soap and warm water on the sideburn it took the hair off pretty go--i am not sure but i might have felt initial pulling but when i switched to the other sideburn i did not feel alot of pulling

what i did feel was like alot of scraping and ofcourse hair coming off
but i guess i will find out for sure when i shave with it---

should i try shaving as soon as i have something to shave or do i hone again??

it passed HHT with surprising ease (best i have seen yet) so i think i am going somewhere lol

anyways thanks

BTW -now i know where to get the diamond paste--like i mentioned earlier i am getting a Tony Miller paddle from Vintagebles sometime this week so i will probably need some help with that too

thanks again all