Thread: Overhoning

A great honing guy once said” honing is easy till it ain’t”. Your miles ahead sending it out

Honestly a full progression is not needed. There are enough guys out there that will do full bevel sets and redone problem blades for very little money. If you WANT to learn all the ropes and spend the cash for a nice setup, welcome to the rabbit hole. There are a lot of us in that rabbit hole and every one of us is happy to share our opinions. Just remember there are many many paths to the perfect edge, but you can only follow them one at a time. I live in a very isolated area and have learned to hone by using one persons video series until I got repeatable results and then branched out and experimented with others. I then attended some meets, which are off the table for now, but you need to decide where you want to take this.

Thank you RezDog. I’m sending it tomorrow for a professional job. I would like to learn how to keep the blade sharp on my own now and do more difficult stuff later as I get competent at the basics. That’s where my head is now.

I didn’t know anything about having to lap a new stone. The DVD I used did not mention anything about that. I started out with 20 small circles as the guy said, until the “edge was perfect.” I must’ve done 10 or more sets of circles, alternating sides, and the “perfect edge” never happened. It just didn’t get better. I got exhausted and just started regular honing per further instructions. Well, you know the rest of the story. I did give it a shot. Now a pro can have a shot. In the mean time would you recommend a good DVD series? The guy who did the one I used is Lynn Abrams from The Straight Razor Place, a site that’s no longer exists I believe.

Thank you and everyone else for their advice.

It’s all about personal preference. You need to be able to follow the presenters ideas. I used Gssixgun videos on YouTube. If you check out his channel and watch a few of his videos, you will be able to decide if you like his presentation. He has videos specifically for refreshing a blade too. That is where you will want to start after you get your blade back, and a few shaves in. I would also like to say good stropping technique is of paramount importance. There is a good tutorial in the wiki by afdavis.

Herakles-The old Pyramid Method by Lynn Abrams is how so many of us got started honing here on SRP about 10 years go; it's more what I call formulaic honing. The pyramid could work okay on easy to hone razors that were close to a no-issues bevel set for all of us newbies with our brand-new Norton 4/8k's, especially if you had a real pro edge on the side to compare your results (the pro reference edge still the best advice for newbies IMO). It gave hundreds of eager new guys "a way in" on a reliable, repeatable popular synth prgression if they had little to no experience honing. That stone itself is still the backbone of my honing progression, as it for many others (although Naniwas are definitely sexier hones-it's a thing, look it up).

If you really get into this, very quickly, if you "listen to your fingers" and get a feel for how things are smoothing out, you will start doing more diagnostic honing in which arbitrary stroke counts can't be determined in advance-you have to feel for the smoothing, basically-as Lynn (and Glenn) does, obviously. And a lot of guys get into visuals, with very cheap microscopes available now (come to think of it, I think I'm going to get one of those new Instagram jobs-some seem amazing for the price!). That's when it starts to really get fun (and sometimes frustrating). Keep on learning!

Originally Posted by Herakles

Yes the stone is flat. It’s brand new-this was the first use.

If it is brand new and you have not lapped it, then no, it is NOT flat. It is only flat if you make it flat and is only flat then until it has been used enough to no longer be flat. You need to learn to lap your stones if you want to hone with stones. If you want to hone with film, then you start with a flat plate such as a piece of 3/4" cast acrylic 3" x 12". It will always stay flat because the razor never touches the acrylic, only the film. When you hone on rocks, you put wear on them and the wear is not consistent from end to end and corner to corner. And so, lapping is necessary. And to be sure that they are flat the first tine you use them, you lap them when you buy them. On this and on other forums you can find threads about lapping stones. Read and heed.

You have barely touched that edge. It should be obvious, since the ding is still there. What did you say... 20 laps? On a 4k? You have done nothing. You have attempted to bail out a sinking ship with a shot glass and quit after 3 minutes because that ought to be enough. You have attempted to dig a canal with a teaspoon and now are puzzled at your lack of progress. A repair like that, start with 600 or 400 grit. Go until the ding is nearly gone. Then move up in grit. Then move up again, to your normal bevel setter, which is generally 1k or 12u to 15u film. You are trying to pyramid hone a razor that needs edge repair. Pyramid honing will work and because it is a system of instructions that you simply follow, it is fine for honing your first few razors, though there are definitely better methods out there. It does work. But it doesn't work for edge repair. Especially not starting from a 4k stone.

The good news is if you get a good bevel set, but there is still a tiny bit of the ding left, maybe it will shave okay. Chips and dings sometimes can be tolerated and do not interfere with getting a decent shave, if they are not too big.

You should do some more study before you try to do anything with this razor, IMHO. Or send it out. That's not a bad razor and it will treat you right if you do your part and if you have someone put a shave ready edge on it.

Oh and next razor you hone, make it a more expendable one. A decent American mass produced vintage razor or an old Solingen razor will be fine, if it hasn't been honed all crazy. A new Gold Dollar 1996 or 66 or 208 will work. Your Inox is a step up from entry level and ought to be treated a little better though it is nothing precious.

Glad to hear you are sending it out. Repair work to an edge looks and seems easy. But now you have an idea about it. Marty likes to use the circles and arrows to help people understand. Be sure you understand what he is saying even if you are sending it out. Its info like that that can help you a lot when you start honing yourself.

Honing id a deep rabbit hole. But more than one stone is needed to do the job. And more info is needed. Like Rez said, check out gssixgun vids. Pick up a basic vintage razor, buy a couple more items like a 12k, 1k, lapping plate, and get ready to spend a year learning to hone. Then you have just started the game.

BTW, welcome to SRP!

Pm, sent to you.

That is is good you are getting some help. Will save you a lot of frustration. How did edge get chipped??

Yesterday, I spent time removing a small chip caused by pitting (rust) at the edge. I was using a 1k and it was still a long, tedious task.

A vintage would be good for practice. You don't have to limit yourself to Solingen and American blades though.