First Honing and The Results

I was able to get this razor from a local Mennonite tool sharpener. Another customer had brought it in over a year ago to have it sharpened and never picked it back up. It has no name stamped on the tang, so I was wanting it to be my first honed razor guinea pig.

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I have as set of Naniwa Sharping Stones 1,000, 3,000, 8,000 and 12,000 grit. I also have a 10,000 Naniwa Specialty Stone. I started out on the 1k stone trying to get rid of the marks on the bevel from the tool sharpener using an Amazon purchased loupe. Once happy with that after about 15-20 minutes(I was not in a hurry) moved on to the next stone. Stopping every so often to check with the loupe on the progress of the removal of the last stones etch marks. I don't know if you can see it in the photo or not but the shoulder on the razor sticks out/higher then the plan of the blade which made getting the heel honed properly difficult. I just skipped it to be honest and did the best I could with the heel trying to keep the blade flat on the stones.

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I shaved with it the next morning. The shave was not bad. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. Especially how it was my first self honed razor. I was able to get my usual two pass shave(WTG & ATG) out of it.

Now I am going to take it back to the stones starting at the 3k stone. There is a spot or two that looks bad under magnification that I would like to try and get out of the blade now that I know I can hone a razor to the point where I can shave with it. If I hose it up I don't really care as I bought it to learn how to hone.

After I honed the razor I stropped it on my leather strop about 75 times. The one question I do have is, I have Whipped Dog Balsa Wood Strop w/ green 0.3mic chromium oxide & red 0.1mic iron oxide. Should I use that after honing verses the leather strop?

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Originally Posted by GarnerPW

After I honed the razor I stropped it on my leather strop about 75 times. The one question I do have is, I have Whipped Dog Balsa Wood Strop w/ green 0.3mic chromium oxide & red 0.1mic iron oxide. Should I use that after honing verses the leather strop?

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I usually use a CrOx paddle plus linen/leather after honing, I go after the best edge possible and that gets it for me

It depends on the edge that you want. Some like an extremely keen edge that pastes give. I prefer more comfortable edges that I usually get from natural stones. Although I survived with a naniwa 10k as my finisher for a long time.

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A 45-degree x-stroke will help you hone the heel:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...honing_a_razor

Well, if you've used your 1/3/8/12 setup and you know it isn't quite shaving right, I would say going further isn't going to close the gap. Get it up to par on the 12K first, then try out the pastes and see how you feel about them.

You don't want to move up until you have your bevel set at the 1k level. If that ain't right all the way along your edge then your not done setting it and there is no sense moving to the next level.

Is the bevel set?

Does not sound like it…

You cannot polish an edge, that does not exist…

So I'm trying it again. This time I have added a layer of tape and am trying to hone out a chip that is only visible under magnification with the loupe. After marking the bevel with a sharpie I can see how far down the edge I'm getting.

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First you must, set the bevel, get the two bevels to meet fully at the edge.

Here is a post with good micrographs of what to look for, Second Try at Honing.

Also, reading the first 3 post in the Honing forum may help you.

The bevel set is the foundation of your edge. To ensure it is everything it can be you need to look at the edge, not the side of the bevel. Looking almost straight down on the bevel you should see no lines or sparkles all along its length. Once the bevel is complete from one end to the other, you look at the side of the bevel to watch the previous grits stria disappear. As you progress it will look more polished and more straight.
That being said, you got it to shave, not as well as you wanted it to, but it shaved. I would mark this one down as a success. I doubt many of us can say that our first hone job was perfect. I know mine passed, but like yours left room for improvement. As you hone more you will get better results and it will take less time. Good job.

Ps
The linked thread above is a good read.

Good advise has been given.
However, I cannot help but wonder if the no-name razor is capable of the desired outcome?

That shoulder/stabilizer thing sounds familiar....You cannot just 'skip' that, I think....

" I have Whipped Dog Balsa Wood Strop w/ green 0.3mic chromium oxide & red 0.1mic iron oxide. Should I use that after honing verses the leather strop?"
I myself used to use chrome-ox after my nani 12k. Anymore i go to my zulu grey. The chrome-ox tamed the edge well. But just understand by the time you put a few shaves on the razor after the 12k or chrome-ox it will have mellowed out just from shaving and stropping.

Your no-name razor with shoulder problem looks just like a non-stamped Gold Dollar I have. Mine too has the shoulder problem, but as already advised, keep the blade at a 45 degree angle and you'll do fine. BTW, both my Gold Dollars shave just fine. (They ought to, they've spent enough time on the hones while I was learning).

Don't know that it's a Gold Dollar, but I've got one of those (still has the stamp) that also shaves fine. Won't really know if it's the razor or the hands doing the honing until it's been thoroughly tested, but I'd wager the razor is fine and the hands honing it simply need some practice. Getting an edge you can shave with on your first run through is pretty good, congratulations! It took me countless attempts just to squeeze that much out of an edge.

When you get back to the point of stropping as has been said-Green side(CrOx)/red side(FeOx)/strop on leather.

Before resorting to CrOx, I suggest you learn to get a shave-ready edge from your hones first. Then experiment with CrOx too see if you prefer the edge straight off the hones or touched up a bit on CrOx first.

Once your honing improves, I believe you will skip the CrOx step, but this debate is certainly a YMMV topic among members. It's also part of the fun in learning what works for you, too. :)