Thread: Successful Wapienica Honing Process

I had tremendous honing results with these razors and just wanted to share the honing process I used with everyone. Generally I would not make a big deal about getting a razor shave ready, but I would equate the degree of sharpness achieved to a DE merkur blade. Probably the best results I have had to date.

So here goes... I purchased 3 Wapi's after reading about everyones enjoyment with them over the past few month. Purchased from 2 different sources, all three are 5/8 French Point, 2 new but in need of honing, and 1 came shave ready compliments of Jon.

About a month ago I converted from using the norton 4/8, to exclusively using the beligian stones sold by Howard. Sticking to my new honing recipe I did as follows on both razors....

1) 100 laps on the Blue Belgian (6x2) with medium slury (letting the slurry diminish after 50 laps, then generating it again and letting it diminish into the 100th lap)

2) 50 laps on the coticule (6x2) using just water (refreshing the water after 25 laps, and lightening pressure on the last 10 strokes)

3) 100 laps on a TM Horsehide paragon strop (just the leather side, I generally do not use linen right off the hone)

4) Shave test - Using both razors I shaved this morning with some Castle Forbes Lavender shave cream. No pull, no irritation, and the hair just wiped away effortlessly. I immediately got the same skin contact feeling as using a DE, but without the irritation.

James

Thanks for the post James. I just got two Wapis in the mail today. I was wondering what kind of work they would need. I think I'm going to use these as a travel set. I'm looking forward to trying them!

Jordan

Gravitas,

Nice job, that sounds like a wonderfully sharp Wapi! The
only one I've honed so far has been on the Norton 4/8k,
and I simply did a pyramid starting at 15. I'd love to take
it to the Coticule, and for two more that I've got I might
try the Blue/Coticule method that you described!

What kind of tests (if any) did you employ while you were
honing this razor?

- Scott

James,

Nice work.

As I've mentioned once or twice, I really like these hones. They seem much easier to use to me than my Norton ever did. Sometimes I feel like I'm honing on cruise control.

I've honed a few Wapis now, and most of them would respond like yours did. If anyone is having trouble, though... I did get one where there was no edge. The razor was as blunt as the back edge of a butter knife. There was a slight bevel visible, but the two sides didn't actually meet to form an edge. If anyone finds they have a razor like this, you'll need to use a coarser hone to fully establish the bevel. You'd be an old man before the Belgian blue fixed the problem--slurry or no slurry.

Josh

Originally Posted by sebell

Gravitas,

Nice job, that sounds like a wonderfully sharp Wapi! The
only one I've honed so far has been on the Norton 4/8k,
and I simply did a pyramid starting at 15. I'd love to take
it to the Coticule, and for two more that I've got I might
try the Blue/Coticule method that you described!

What kind of tests (if any) did you employ while you were
honing this razor?

- Scott

Scott -

I usually go with the HHT after the blue and if it passes on 5 equidistant parts of the blade I'm off to the coticule. This has worked consistently for about 15 razors now. The only razor I could not get to pass the test was a new TI I recently honed for a friend, but after 100 laps it was sharp enough.

BTW, Josh started a great thread on using these stones and has been a huge help in getting me to where i am. You can do a thread search for "Coticule Chronicles", there is a wealth of information there.

James

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

I've honed a few Wapis now, and most of them would respond like yours did. If anyone is having trouble, though... I did get one where there was no edge. The razor was as blunt as the back edge of a butter knife. There was a slight bevel visible, but the two sides didn't actually meet to form an edge.

Josh,

I'm assuming you reset the bevel with the DMT 1200. Since moving from the norton I've had one blade that needed to have a chip taken out of the center and the bevel reset. I've been using water and dish soap on this hone and it seems to work nicely. Then right to the blue stone, which i thought would be a rough transition at first but actually worked quite well.

I know what your saying about honing on cruise control. Amazingly consistent results across the board with these hones, and the time it takes has been cut in half.

James

James,

You guessed correctly. The 1200 works like a charm--just keep the pressure light.

I'd hesitate to call this progression a "formula," but I've only had one razor fail to respond out of several dozen that I've honed this way. Generally the razors shave pretty well on the first shave-test, although sometimes they need a few more passes on the coticule to improve the comfort level.

I haven't had the experience that was somewhat common on my Norton: Hone, hone, hone. Perform hanging hair test. Hmmm, seems pretty good. Strop. Shave sidebur..... OOOOUCH! Not quite there yet, back to the hone... With the Beligans, the razor is either sharp enough or not--overhoning doesn't seem to be a problem.

Josh

I've had the same experience. Doesn't seem like you can overhone easily on the blue, and I've been very happy with the first test shave off the coticule in most cases.

You guys have all but convinced me that I need blue and yellow Belgians to go with my 1000/6000 Japanese water stone. I've been emailing Howard for the last couple of days trying to decide. He's getting some more yellows in next week, so I'll probably pull the trigger on a pair of 2x6's. He's also pushing me hard to get a 325 DMT as a flattening stone. Any thoughts?

Howard will do that. He talked me into the DMTs to begin with...

You can get by with just sandpaper for lapping if you won't be honing lots of razors. If you honed one eBay special per week, you could probably go for several months without lapping.

That said, I like my 325 a lot. You can also use it to lap your water stone or other future hone purchases and sharpen tools. For me it was a good investment.

Josh