Thread: Shaving off 8K

It is very possible to shave off 8k. I did it for at least a year before getting my 12k. There is nothing wrong with it at all, as long as; as stated you max out each stone. You must remove the previous hones stria. 8k will leave a nice polish on the blade.
I did not try utopians suggestion of shaving off all the different grits but I am taking his word for it

I cut back to 1 razor honed on nothing but my Norton 1, 4, and 8k hones for a good 6 months. It's not a bad shave, I could live with it. But like everyone else, there are edges I like better, and I simply enjoy playing with naturals and finishers.

Like utopian suggests, you can actually shave OK with a 1k edge. I tried that too at his suggestion around the same time. It was very informative. It tugged a bit, but not nearly as torturous as I imagined.

Not a bad idea for a new honer to do, cause if you can't get an 8k shaving comfortable your not ready fir a 12k or higher, and if your using a natural finisher, you will get a great transition. Like someone said, " if the bevels not set, your just polishing a turd" they honed on an 8k or less around here for a while, plus the infamous Coticule isn't much higher, and some not even. Tc

Like EJ, I shaved off a 8k King for several years. I would not want to do it again but it can certainly be done.

I learned how to hone off the old Norton 4/8K. It was the only stone I used for the first couple years.

Have fun.

I like the idea of shaving off of each level. That does sound like a good way to learn/feel the differences. Thanks Utopian for that. I just don't want to hack my face up in this learning stage. Well, at least not hack my face as much as I can keep from it. ha.

I have another ZY razor that I'll start with a bevel set and give that a go. I think I'm doing ok with each progression but of course I know I'm not perfect yet. Here's pics of 1K. 4K, 8K. I noticed the 1K still has some chips in it. So I guess that would not do.
1K...


4K


8K


I tried to get the pic of the same spot in the blade every time.

Also the edge get thinner towards the middle of the blade then wider again at the tip. You can see it getting thinner in the pics. But the bevels have met. Should I hone more and more to try to correct this? I didn't know if this was right or could be done.

Originally Posted by Gasman

I like the idea of shaving off of each level. That does sound like a good way to learn/feel the differences. Thanks Utopian for that. I just don't want to hack my face up in this learning stage. Well, at least not hack my face as much as I can keep from it. ha.

If you honed the razor properly, you should get a decent shave off of a 1k edge. If you "hack" your face, then you're doing something wrong. You may be surprised at how well it works.

Originally Posted by Gasman

I have another ZY razor that I'll start with a bevel set and give that a go. I think I'm doing ok with each progression but of course I know I'm not perfect yet. Here's pics of 1K. 4K, 8K. I noticed the 1K still has some chips in it. So I guess that would not do.

Yup. The key to a good shave starts from the bevel set. If those chips are there after the 1k, the odds of you getting rid of them on higher grit hones are pretty low.

Originally Posted by Gasman

I tried to get the pic of the same spot in the blade every time.

Good job on that. It really helps to see the true progression that way.
An easy way to accomplish it is to put a sharpie mark on the belly of the blade close to, but not on, the bevel.

Originally Posted by Gasman

Also the edge get thinner towards the middle of the blade then wider again at the tip. You can see it getting thinner in the pics. But the bevels have met. Should I hone more and more to try to correct this? I didn't know if this was right or could be done.

As long as the bevels meet, you're good. One way or another, the honing stroke that you did does not match the one done previously to make the original bevel. If you want to "correct it," you will have to alter your honing stroke to flatten out that part of the bevel farther. It's not really necessary to do that though.

Originally Posted by Gasman

Also the edge get thinner towards the middle of the blade then wider again at the tip. You can see it getting thinner in the pics. But the bevels have met. Should I hone more and more to try to correct this? I didn't know if this was right or could be done.

I don't know if it is most, but many razors will have variance in the width of the bevel. This is due to the variation in the spine/bevel when they made the thing. No need to correct AFAIC.

When I first got into this I had a Norton 4/8 and a Shapton pro (Japanese not supposed to be exported) So I used the 12k because I had it. Randydance told me to shave at the 8k level because then I would know that I was ready to move on up to the 12k. If I went up prematurely I might still get the same edge after all was said and done, but I'd work a lot harder, and waste 12k doing what I should have done at 8k.

I was surprised at how good the shaves were at 8k. Truth be told, if I had stopped there, and never bought another hone, I'd have still been fine and saved a bucket full of money, but going through all those hones was a lot of fun.

I've never shaved off of a 1k or a 4k, and I don't intend to. If you do it let me know how it feels, I'd rather find out second hand.

Originally Posted by Lynn

I learned how to hone off the old Norton 4/8K. It was the only stone I used for the first couple years.

Have fun.

Yea, me too. At the time I thought it was a great shave too. Even now it wasn't too bad.

Wow! I got a reply from Lynn! Second time this has happened. I better mark this down. I feel special now. Oh, I know, Its because its my B-day.

Thanks Lynn.
And all that have replied!
Hoping to learn this honing bit the correct way as fast as I can. But don't we all.