Thread: My next honing challenge- chipped bevel

Shaved with the Geneva razor finished on the Arkansas today- it was a VERY sharp edge and VERY keen. Almost had a dangerous quality to it- only took 2 passes to erase the stubble to my satisfaction but I did nick myself which is pretty rare for me nowadays. I attribute this to operator error.

Unless I have something going wrong with my edge (wire edge, toothy edge, etc. which I did not see) I would say that this is the keenest edge I have produced by far.

I will continue to burnish the Arkansas and adjust my technique to see if I can get it to be smoother.

Any tips or pointers on making it smoother?

“Any tips or pointers on making it smoother?”


Glad it shaves for you, but goes to show, an edge does not have to be perfect to shave.

There is a lot of room for improvement. It looks like the bevel was not fully set on the 1k. After fully setting the bevel, the goal is to make the edge as straight as possible, for comfort/smoothness.

The easiest way for a new honer to do that, is to remove all the stria from each of the previous stones in the progression.

You should be able to get an excellent shave from the 12k, then experiment with the Ark.

Here is a post with good micrographs, of what to look for, and what a fully set bevel looks like, (Post 51). Second try at Honing,

Good work, take your time, watch your pressure on your finishing strokes and build the edge, one step at a time. Your edges and shaves will continue to get better.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

“Any tips or pointers on making it smoother?”


Glad it shaves for you, but goes to show, an edge does not have to be perfect to shave.

There is a lot of room for improvement. It looks like the bevel was not fully set on the 1k. After fully setting the bevel, the goal is to make the edge as straight as possible, for comfort/smoothness.

The easiest way for a new honer to do that, is to remove all the stria from each of the previous stones in the progression.

You should be able to get an excellent shave from the 12k, then experiment with the Ark.

Here is a post with good micrographs, of what to look for, and what a fully set bevel looks like, (Post 51). Second try at Honing,

Good work, take your time, watch your pressure on your finishing strokes and build the edge, one step at a time. Your edges and shaves will continue to get better.

Thank you! I thought for sure the bevel was there after taking out the chip but I did breadknife so it was completely dull.

I see the ragged edge in my photo I will compare to the photo you referenced. That must have been the "dangerous" feel I referenced earlier. I am determined to get this right!

It is common to have a bit of trouble setting a bevel, after bread-knifing or completely removing an edge for repair. The repair site also may have damaged steel under the chip.

So, once you have set the bevel, and are absolutely certain the bevel is set, by looking straight down on it, work on straightening the edge before moving on to the next stone. Try to get the edge as straight as possible, jointing the edge lightly and resetting the bevel with light strokes, helps. Usually 10-15 laps will easily reset it.

Then on your next stone, remove all the deep 1k stria with sets of 20 circles. Once all the deep stria is gone, then lay down an even stria pattern with X strokes and work on a straight edge again.

If you fully set the bevel, and remove all the 1k stria the rest of the polish will go easy and quickly.