Thread: My 1K/4K challenge

Good advice, once you do get your synthetics sorted and can produce consistently good shaving edges with an 8k, then introduce naturals.

Compare your naturals to an 8k edge, hone the razor to a pristine 8k edge, then hone the toe half on the natural and compare the stria and the edge to the 8k.

You may find that few naturals will produce a finer stria or straighter edge than 8k. At least until you learn that stone, (slurry, pressure, stone finish) and even then, you may still be going backwards.

None of you honing will improve if the razor has issues keeping the edge off the hone. Learn to hone on a hollow ground, shoulder less razor of good American Steel. It is the most consistent and easiest to take an edge. Not saying they are the “Best” steel, but Little Valley, hollow ground shoulder less razors are hard to beat, a snap to hone and shave a dream.

Don’t fight the razor, learn to hone first, then look for challenges.

I've got 10 hollows I'm working through on the 1K. Mostly American and German and a couple with Sheffield steel. I'm about 1/2 way through and with liberal use of a sharpie, it has been quite helpful.

First I realized I wasn't as far off as I thought, just a couple of small areas on each blade that needed a little extra attention.

Second I noticed that my "bad" areas were mostly coming at the heel end of my push stroke (right handed). A little tweak to my grip seems to have corrected things.

I'll finish running these across the 1K, then 4 and finally 8 before I decide on a plan for playing with my naturals. I like the idea of just using the toe end of a blade for comparison. I've also got a Geneva and a Genco that should be pretty similar for comparison purposes in test shaves. But that learning is still in the future.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Learn to hone on a hollow ground, shoulder less razor of good American Steel. It is the most consistent and easiest to take an edge. Not saying they are the “Best” steel, but Little Valley, hollow ground shoulder less razors are hard to beat, a snap to hone and shave a dream.

I agree fully. This in my opinion is the best razor to learn to hone with. It wont fight you like a wedge will. Keep at it and a year from now you will be wondering why you were having issues.

I also agree. I'm having much better success with the hollows.

I will say the wider bevels of the wedges made it easier to see what was going on at the bevel and I had a better feel of the blade on the stone. I'm still not sure why they are trickier. The theory is the same, just more steel to remove.

For me, wedges taught me the "torque" required in honing. They require a bit more finess to really get the apex. One of my first razors was a 6/8ish wade and butcher that's a tad wonky all over. Best decision I made was to send it to Glen for a honing.

However, I saw some pics of the wedge you are starting with and boy howdy does that look like a challenge. In the same vein that my master's classes in vibration analysis were a challenge.

A good wedge to learn on would be something like a red imp wedge. Stay under $25 bucks on ebay so if you hone it into an awl, it won't be too disappointing.

Originally Posted by dinnermint

I saw some pics of the wedge you are starting with and boy howdy does that look like a challenge.

I gave up on that when it was pointed out the razor used to be much wider than the 5/8 it is now. It's pretty much a lost cause. I'll probably mess with it again in the future just to see I can make it work, but I'm pretty sure it's dead.

I switched to a 13/16 Fredrick, but have put that on hold until I figure some things out.

Originally Posted by JellyJar

I'm still not sure why they are trickier...... more steel to remove.

I think that you have got it.

Just a quick progress update.

I tested two of my hollows (1990ish 6/8 Dovo shoulderless with a straight edge and a 1930ish 6/8 Wey Hand shoulderless with a smile) this morning after finishing with the 8K and a bunch of stropping. The shave from both was quite nice. I think I'm getting it

I think I'm still a bit inconsistent with my pressure, but it should get better as I practice more. If I can get the remaining 8 to the same performance I'll be pleased.

It is not rocket science, but it takes a few tries to get consistent, how many tries varies a lot from person to person.
I’m glad to hear that you are climbing through the the proccess and getting results and seeing where you can improve.

Yes, the basic principles seem straightforward, but there's a few subtle things involved. I didn't appreciate how much the blade flex would affect the final bevel. I think I was getting the bevel set with heavier pressure and didn't realize I needed to continue finishing the bevel to light pressure.

I understand how a couple of hours with a real person would shorten the learning curve. All of your tips were really helpful and reduced my wheel spinning. Your advice and patience are appreciated.