Thread: 1k 4k 8k

Originally Posted by STF

...so I'm gonna hone them even if i have to grind them down until I can make them into screwdrivers.

Nah, you'll do fine. Just take your time and practice honing "mindfulness." Just think of it as another stair in the flight.

Some razors are difficult to hone because of a twist in the blade or an improperly shaped spine.

I had one of those that I simply could not get a proper bevel set on. The folks here suggested using extra tape in the places on the spine that matched the parts of the blade that were not contacting the hone. That created a secondary bevel to correct for the nasty original one.

It worked. The razor has one ugly, inconsistent looking bevel, but it now shaves well along the entire length of the edge. It is not aesthetically pleasing to look at, but it is in the rotation.

Post some pictures of the troublesome blades so the folks that know can see what the problem might be.

Sometimes, it’s the razor and not the honer. The experienced honers know how to identify a blade that has a problem and can suggest how to correct for that.

Circles remove metal quickly because you are multi- directional honing. Cut a valley, then cut off the hill and create a new valley in a different direction.

Circles work well to set a bevel where some correction (metal removal) is needed or at the beginning of a new finer stone in a progression to quickly remove the bulk of previous deep stria.

But the finish work is in single directional strokes, straight or X. An X stroke will hone the whole edge, especially if the edge and spine are not straight, (flat). A straight stroke will only hone the high spots, if the razor is curved, it will hone the heel and toe on one side and middle on the other.

Single directional strokes refine the edge by getting all the stria going in the same direction and making a straighter edge.

If you are having issues, ink the bevel and see where you are making contact. Then adjust your stroke until you are consistently and evenly removing metal and honing to the edge.

The maker of the stone does not matter all that much, I have most of the good stones available and lately have been honing on a 1 & 6k King and finishing on Naturals. A $20 King will set a bevel just fine.

If you are having a problem with a razor, post some pics of the razor. Both sides. It may have issues you are overlooking.

I have a question and hope you guys can help.

Full disclosure, I'm playing with a Gold Dollar. Yes, I know but it's cheap and I can practice everything from honing to shaving , stropping, even re-scaling for less than $10.

Anyway, my questions.

I have ground the shoulder a bit so that the heel touches the stones. I am spending an inordinate length of time setting the bevel on a 1K Norton, but then I always spend a serious long time doing it on everything.

I got the GD to shave arm hair against the skin but decided to take it further before I move to 4K.

The edge went from shaving arm hair to less sharp.

Is it possible that even on 1K a bevel will actually become less sharp (go backwards) if it is over-honed?

What is the recommended way to make a straight edge smile, my guess is that a person would do extra work on the heel and toe then hone toward a smile even though there isn't one yet.

The edge went from shaving arm hair to less sharp.

Is it possible that even on 1K a bevel will actually become less sharp (go backwards) if it is over-honed?

If there is a burr, it will not shave arm hair (at least not mine anyways). You may have removed enough metal to re-create a burr that needs to be removed.

Tough to say... could be chipping, could be technique. Depending on the steel, tempering, and geometry, it may never get right. Do you have access to photos?

Originally Posted by HungeJ0e

Tough to say... could be chipping, could be technique. Depending on the steel, tempering, and geometry, it may never get right. Do you have access to photos?

Thank you for trying to help.

I killed the edge and started again. No problems and I had a good shave with it.

Originally Posted by STF

Thank you for trying to help.

I killed the edge and started again. No problems and I had a good shave with it.

Good to hear! You're on your way man... it's all fun and games from here.

Seriously, my enjoyment with a straight went way up when I started honing myself. Getting a very good shaveable edge takes maybe a solid week of playing around with stones (with some breaks when you get frustrated).

Getting an incredible shaving edge takes a lifetime...

I have a question, how do you guys make a razor smile, I assume it's done on a hone.

I like smiles, I want smiles - miles of smiles.

There is a copy of an old barbers manual, think it's on here somewhere. It shows the technique, but it's fairly advanced. The alternative is to buy one. Saitos and the old smiling wedges are a treat to shave with.