Thread: 3 Videos ..Bevel setting / Synthetics / Nagura Progression.

Originally Posted by DZEC

Just watched the bevel setting video. Well done.

Your calm explanation and doing it in real time make the process seem quite straightforward and not overly time consuming, The key take away for me was to check often so you don’t over hone - something I am prone to do.

Thank you for taking the time to make the video.

Thanks..
I love all my stones so much that over honing on each stone is always a problem

I like your minimalist honing approach. It is something I too have been experimenting with for a while.

It may seem contrary to many here, where we often talk about” Maxing out” each stone.

Really once the bevel is “fully” set, the rest is just polish, and you don’t even have to polish the whole bevel, just the edge. For many knowing a fully set edge can be challenging, so over-honing/maxing each stone is a simple sure way to get and keep an edge.

It is more of an advanced technique, or more way of thinking, may be worthy of its own thread.

I think that the less trauma caused to the apex would make for a less chippy edge. You can see under a microscope that one or two extra strokes on bevel set with a T.I or Dovo can cause some chipping and in my mind that is where weepers come from when going atg around the chin for example.

I wouldn't say that other honing techniques would not get good results but i only know what i know and i don't know what others know

Years ago, there was some discussion on edge impact, with respect to diamond plates and even aggressive sanding belts during the manufacturing process.

Steel does have a memory, look at the inside of any automotive body damage repair or damaged steel with a microscope. Damage goes deep.

It has to have a lasting impact, so anything one can do to minimize impact damage will make a stronger edge.

That makes sense .

Honing is a controversial subject if you consider what has been said over the years on many forums...many arguments.

Luckily here at SRP there is some form of structure . Probably because many have stuck around for such a long time.

Best Straight Razor forum this side of the mississippi

I’m a bit suspicious of the edge impact being damaging, though it may well be, I’m just not seeing anything definite, just speculation. Steel undergoes a lot of impact effect during forging, from hand hammers to power hammers to drop forges. People generally consider this impact process beneficial though the steel is usually at a plastic temperature during these processes and it’s happening before quenching and tempering.

We do know that flexing a metal can cause it to harden or become brittle, you can bend a piece of soft iron at normal temperatures back and forth until it breaks at the bend. But does that effect happen at a razors edge from diamond plates or sanding belts? I don’t think we know...

Yes, the fabrication is brutal and impacting, but after rough grinding the steel is tempered and normalized in effort to relax the steel and amalgamate the stress and steel uniformly.

It is after this process that the steel, the edge is re-introduced to stress, though much less by the final grind with aggressive Diamond and Ceramic belts and again possibly during the honing process.

When you have a chipping issue on a hard razor or one that has undergone edge restoration, buffing, chip removal or reshaping. A quick simple solution is to remove a bit of metal and re-set the edge or produce a wider angle that will offer more support, (Micro Bevel).

Whatever the cause, getting to solid steel is the cure. Steel impact damage is well documented. Steel can not be cleanly cut off, even with a laser or water jet, there is always some microscopic deformation, the molecules must go somewhere.

Hardening probably makes it worse, locking microscopic blocks of steel together, that resist cutting and chip.

Until someone makes a real time X ray, Micrographic video of the inside of the steel as it is cut, we may never know for sure. It has always been controversial, much like honing, because we cannot see what is happening at the edge when it is happening.

It is an interesting subject, and while we may not know exactly why, avoiding it is easy and proven solutions exist.