Thread: Bevel pics

I sat down this eve with not a lot of time, but time enough to go thru the progression. 2k thru 20k then an Ark for 50 laps with soap and water, then 50 laps with balistol and water. A stopping of 30/150 laps.

I tried to get the pics of the same spot on the blade the entire time using a scratch I saw in the first pic and the top of the pics are a popsicle stick with a black sharpie on it to give a cleaner shot of the edge line. This Razor was honed and felt like a solid bevel set, but I killed the edge lightly on the corner of the stone and reset at 2k. Didn't think I needed to go to the 1k as it wasn't bad to start with. Just a little corse in the shave. Now my cheap USB microscope does have some distortion on the sides, but in the middle, it seems decent enough for me. And I use a light set in front of the edge pointing so I could see as much stria as possible.
I haven't been using magnification lately so I gave it a go and wanted to share to get feedback.

2K


8K


20K


Trans Ark


Strop


So there you have it. At this time the edge feels great with the TPT but I will give it a test shave tomorrow after some work in the morning. I have to go help put up an Antenna on a 65ft tower. I will have 4 days growth so I will be in desperate need of a shave. Ha.

The Arkansas is leaving deeper cuts than the 20k.

Originally Posted by ScottGoodman

The Arkansas is leaving deeper cuts than the 20k.

Yes an Arkansas, being a natural stone, is not going to ever have a polishing effect equivalent to a 20k. That doesn’t always translate into the shave though BUT 100 strokes on an Arkansas after a 20k seems, to me, to be a lot Jerry. I would have stopped at 30 and with the least aggressive media. Since you are already at a 20k level I wouldn’t be wanting to do anything but bring a little Arkansas smoothness to the equation. Then again, it is the shave that counts. Let us know how it shaves.

It could have been my hand causing the deeper striations too. It's a thinner stone and I don't have as much luck with thinner stones. Less you say. Huh. Well, I wasn't too sure. I know the Arkie take a lot more to get anything out of it but the test shave will tell. I can always go back to the 20K followed by the Arkie for less. Its fun trying to learn this stuff, but you can only shave so often. Damn!

Honing a frame back right now. Was just about at a nice bevel set, then my loupe slipped from my fingers and bashed the edge. Now trying to fix that mistake. I will hold my loupe more secure from now on!

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!