Thread: 2nd Attempt at Honing

BobH, that's exactly what happened. Sounds like I might have some work ahead of me then.

Utopian, I'll try to get some pics of it later.

Originally Posted by sonnythehooligan

BobH, that's exactly what happened. Sounds like I might have some work ahead of me then.

Utopian, I'll try to get some pics of it later.

Well, then just use one layer of tape and be patient on the 1K till you get a true bevel set. Be sure and put a new layer of tape on when you see the old one showing signs of wear. Don't try to hurry things along using too much weight on the blade either. Good luck.

Bob

One layer of tape is very important to new honers. It prevents hamfisted honing that wears the spine faster than the edge. The spine needs to be in contact with the hone but not pressed to the hone. The pressure should be emphasized on the edge. Meets are great places to get the subtle techniques of honing.

If you have to kill an edge for chips, don't bread-knife unless absolutely necessary. Instead of 90 degrees off the spine try 30-45 degrees off the spine, that way there is less bevel reset needed and less metal to remove

Originally Posted by sonnythehooligan

It didn't want to sharpen up at all with one layer, and took off when I added more layers, but that could be a correlation vs causation issue.

The more tape the less steel to remove to form an apex. You would get there with no tape or one layer but it would take more time & depending on the razor may give you large looking bevels. Did someone say pics would be helpful ?

Ok, hopefully these will help. I've taken it back to one layer of tape. I do believe it is making a bit of progress. I'll work on it tonight, but I'll keep an eye on this thread in case you guys see something I should try differently for this razor.

FYI, Someone asked earlier if I was us a loupe. I am, but all I really know to look for so far are the little chips an edge can have. This one has a edge free of chips for now.

The more tape the less steel to remove to form an apex.

Interesting. I figured there must be a reason for why the razor reacted the way it did to the tape. Thanks!

Originally Posted by sonnythehooligan

but all I really know to look for so far are the little chips an edge can have. This one has a edge free of chips for now.

The loupe will show you exactly what parts of the bevel are and are not being cut by the honing stroke. This allows you to see the progress that you are, or are not, making in refining the bevels and the edge. Seeing this allows you to make adjustments.

The hone wear shown in the photo suggests that you do only need one layer of tape.

https://straightrazorpalace.com/honi...ggestions.html
There are some good pictures in this thread. The method I use to see the bevel set is to look almost straight down on the apex. Any shiny spots, white lines or obvious thickness in the apex and it is not set. Once the apex is very difficult to see and all of the error messages disappear it is time to move up. Then I judge by how the side of the bevel looks.

A sharpy marker is a handy tool to have as well. darken the edge and take a couple laps then check to see if you are making even contact along the edge. If not then find out why and adjust accordingly. If you use a loupe getting the light to hit it just right can help you see when the apex is made. A set bevel should shave along the whole edge. Setting the bevel is %99 percent of the work.