Thread: Bevel pics

I hone about one razor a day so I am almost always shaving with a different edge in the mornings. I was honing 2-3 a day but then got backed up because I can only shave once. I tried multiple razors on different areas but that didn’t tell me as much as a complete shave. It doesn’t matter what I or anyone else says or thinks if the shave is great. If not, something else to try and yes it is very easy to go back to the 20k and then the Arkansas again. Takes just a few minutes IF needed. Good luck.

If you alternate the direction of your final laps it is easier to see the stria patterns and any remaining deep stria. Angle at 2k, go straight for the final 5-10 laps at the next stone, then angle the next stone, just for the final laps.

You are not honing to the edge and putting more pressure on the back of the bevel than the edge, which is why the edge looks fuzzy in all the photos. At 8k your edge should look super straight and crisp. Don’t be afraid of adding a bit of pressure or torque. The final laps on each stone should be with as little pressure as possible.

If you do a set of light finish laps on the 2k, it will greatly reduce the amount of work you have to do on the transition stone.

I can see the same 2k stria in each of the photos, the 2k stria was never fully removed, especially at the edge.

You can make the 2k to 8k jump but you have to do more laps on the 8, at least do your first laps with pressure or do some circles to remove as much of the 2k stria. I start each stone except the 20k with 20 circles. Then do straight or X strokes.

The Ark need some work and your strop needs cleaning.

Its an easy fix, more time on the transition stone. At 1-2 k, what ever the bevel setter is, you are Grinding, the goal to grind the bevel flat and get them to meet. The next stone, what ever it is, you transition to Polishing, the bevels are already flat and the goal is to polish out the bevel setting stria and straighten the edge. Each stone there after is polishing further and making the edge straighter.

I believe the Transition stone is just as important as the bevel set, if you don’t remove the bevel set stria at the edge, this is what happens. It is a common problem I see teaching new honers.

A bevel off of my 20k is near mirror at 400X, an Ark bevel should look hazy and the edges should be super straight. Also the razor may have issues, I see a lot of pitting…

Nice pics.

I was afraid you were going to say this about the stria from the 2K. I noticed it was never going away and was there to the end. Some circles I will try. and I'm always afraid of putting pressure on the edge. I guess this is why the 2K stria is still up to the edge even after all the other stones. Dirty strop? Yep, it is dirty but I didn't think you would be able to tell that. Damn!
Thanks for your criticism. Its what I needed and was looking for. I just got back from putting up the antenna so I will give this razor another go on the stones. I'd rather learn to get it closer to correct than to shave with something that might do the job but not be right.

More pics to come I guess.

I can’t help but agree with Marty on his advice. I am not yet an Arkie user and have nothing to add there.
My progression is a little different, but the magic happens on your first two hones. I do quite a few finishing laps on those hones, just to reduce the depth of the stria from my pressure strokes that were removing steel fast. My finishing strokes are very light and slow. I may do as many as 50, depending on what I see in my loupe. Also what I am looking for in my loupe is to see the apex from the side starting to straighten out, loosing its toothy or fuzzy edge. Once I leave my 5K it is almost entirely about having the bevel with a nice even polish. I have had a few razors that looked less than perfect in the loupe because of stray scratches and that’s fine, as long as looking at the apex from the side, it is nice and straight with no fuzzy look and no teeth.

Euclid440's comments above are a great example of the kind of thoughtful, in depth feedback that makes this site so helpful. Gasman's response is a great example of how to accept feedback gracefully, assuming positive intent and thus benefiting from it. Good stuff!

New pics. I'm just going to post the last few. I went back to the 1K. Then 3K, 5K, 8K, 12K, 20K finished with 30 laps on the Arkie. The bevel is a mirror thru the loupe hard to look at, but in the pics, thru the microscope the bevel looks dull and grey. Don't know what that is about but...

I used more torque to get more work on the bevel close to the edge and I can see two sections of scratches on the bevels from this. Did the circles and I think it does look much better but, I still have a few stray scratches as Rez said. The edge does look straighter from the side. This is a plus. I feel I'm getting closer but don't know if it would get much better than this. I want perfection, but maybe there is a limit to it?

I went to the 20K and then wasn't happy, so I went back to 8K and worked up a third time. No strop pic this time.

8K


12K


20K


Arkie


Looks to me that the 20K really makes bad spots show a lot. And the Arkie added a lot of scratches.

Damn, The 20K pic is fuzzy at the edge!

Deep scratches that go right into the edge can cause issues. I have a hard time looking through pictures at this high of a magnification, because I only ever go to 60x and I am quite happy with 30x too. They look not bad as far as I can tell. The 8 and the 12 look like too much pressure. My finishing strokes are quite light. When I first started someone with a lot of experience said, if you go light enough that water is going under the blade, you are no longer honing, then add just enough pressure to clear the water and that is as light of a stroke you can make and still be honing. That is what I strive for in my finishing strokes, and they are the ones that get rid of the fuzz for me. Maybe if I used that much magnification my edges would be fuzzy too. The torque of the blade and the lightness of the stroke when used with consistency is what got me to the edge that I really like. Your arkie edge looks good, I would shave with that.
Marty will be along soon and is a better judge of this magnification

I'm all ears when it comes to what Marty has to say as I just had my shower and test shave and....
Keen and Comfort! I really wasn't expecting any comfort from this edge but it was there. I even broke out the Alum because it went so well and got nothing from the Alum. Amazing.
If I can make my edges even better I'm all for it. But if this is the best I can get I'd still be as happy as a pig in ... Well, you know what I mean.

The bevel didn't look as good as I thought it should have looked, but I guess it was good enough. I'd still rather get an even cleaner looking bevel but I think this will take some more practice. And I see what you mean Shaun when it comes to getting the first couple stones as right as possible. I was fighting the stria from the lower stones. I think this is a very important part of honing. All of the steps are! From being damn sure you got a good bevel set, Making sure you have worked the lower grit stria as fine and even as possible, to the finish stone and being easy on it.

The way the Arkie did to the bevel didn't make me happy at all. I was a little bummed out on what it looked like, But I found it and/or a straighter edge made a difference in the comfort level.

I still want to hear from Marty and have him slap me down. Telling me what I still did wrong, but this is what makes me learn and grow in this crazy hobby of ours.

We hadn't had many edge and bevel pics lately so I was happy to post some and to show others who might be struggling with honing that it can be learned. It's not magic! There are solid facts and science to honing. This is what I've been looking for. Sorry for going on so much, but I'm excited that I just made a big jump to the better in my honing abilities.

Strop pics. This time a clean strop.


Don't look much different than the Arkie pic.

Going up for a show and test shave this time. Crossing my fingers!

BTW, 40 on linen and 150 on leather.