Thread: SOS Need some help.

I'm not trying to blame the tools, but am beginning to think that the razor is warped. I checked all my other razors to see if there was something I was doing and most all of them have even spine wear and straight to slight smiling edges. Its my cheapest flattish razor I own and want to practice on this one, trying to get back into the swing of honing before I go after the herd. Also I looked down the blade and to my eye it looks fairly straight but that's not really saying much.

The parkers I have seen have slight smiles usually. A frown develops for a few reasons, one being a warped edge or convexed hones. Unfortunately you need to at least get the edge back to straight, you’ll lose a lot of steel in doing so. Learning techniques to combat a seriously warped blade is best done under the supervision of a mentor, you can also greatly speed up the process of getting proficient with your setup, which is very nice by the way. It would be worth while to pay attention to people’s avatars and where they’re located and if they’re a mentor, find someone near to you and send them a pm.

Do you have other razors, in need of honing, that you don’t mind possibly screwing up? If so find one that’s pretty straight. Start using tape on the spine too, until you get your strokes figured out it will help keeping you from introducing more problems by unevenly grinding away at the spine.

I learned to hone about a year and half ago with only the Jnat and Thuri, before adding a very used 1k (thanks Glenn), and then most recently the shaptons. At one point I was proficient enough with honing to shave with my edges daily with no irritation or alum burn. Fast forward to present, I have a new job that takes almost all my free time, so I kinda coasted on my 6 honed razors for probably the past year. It was around my birthday (Nov. 2018) I noticed that my edges all sucked compared to a Henckels 72 1/2 from an SRP member that I keep as a control. Well, it wasn't long on the hones until I realized honing isn't something you can just jump back into, least for straight razors. Also whilst showing the razor "who's boss", lots of pressure and half strokes were used. No more pressure and no more half strokes for this guy, I don't care if it takes me an hour to set a bevel lol.

Oh, it’s warped, but not impossible to hone.

Honing a warped razor with straight strokes will produce a frown, especially if you use too much pressure or low grit stone.

Measure from the top of the spine to the lowest spot in the middle. With a sharpie mark the heel and toe to the same measurement and lay a piece of tape hitting the marks at the heel and toe and just above the middle. Now you have a straight mark to shoot for that will be parallel to the spine.

It does look like the spine has a slight curve, so you can try to match the edge to the spine smile. Mark a line with a colored sharpie on the edge and remove the tape.

On a diamond plate or 320 wet and dry on a piece of glass or marble tile straighten the edge with high angle strokes, close to 90 degrees until you are touching the edge of your marks and the middle is the same height as the heel and toe.

The metal is thin and will go quickly. You can pick up an inexpensive pair of Plastic Calipers, General has a nice pair available from Lowes or Home Depot. It will make measuring much easier, measure often.

Once you get the edge sorted, tape the spine with 2 layers of tape and hone with a rolling X stroke. Here is an old post on correcting an edge for a smile, but the work and tools are the same for a straight edge. Make Me Smile

In the future, doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results…

It's fully understandable that you want to do this by yourself. However having a Pro take a look at it and give you an evaluation and estimate would actually help you learn more than just slogging away not knowing whether your are helping or hindering.

I feel that the few funds it would take would be money well spent and steel saved.

I have a preference for a Pro. PM me and I'll give you the contact info.

Are these razors worth the trouble of all that, sending it out to someone who can hone better. Like your totally right about me not really knowing what I'm doing though. lol

Beauty and Value are in the eyes of the beholder.

Once you have an evaluation and a truly shave ready razor you then have a point to compare to when you hone.

I have often sent a razor out for a Pro hone just to see how it compares to my own work.

Thanks for the comments gents. Going to keep going on it to see if I can get it better. If not then A gracious SRP member has offered to fix it, so in the event I can't resolve it, he should be able to.

I’m not going to post the link, but you should watch drmatt357 on YouTube and his “tap and wobble” test, along with his follow up on repairing warped blades.

I’m not a professional but I am a serious hobbiest, with nearly 40 razors that I hone and use regularly. Experience comes from practice. It’s easier to practice what you see. Watch lots of good videos from reliable sources.

I agree with all the previous: tape and x-stroke are the answer.