Thread: Newbie honing help, please...

I bought a Genco on Ebay a few weeks ago.

It is nice, but really needs a hone. It wouldnt shave well at all.

I have a Norton 220/1000 and 4000/8000.

I thought I would give it a whirl last night. I gave it 10 passes on the 1000 side, then a 10/10/5/5/1/5 pyramid on the 4k/8k.

I think I made it worse. now it wont shave the hair on my arm at all.

what should I do? The razor was only @ $20, and I really want to be able to hone my own.

Should I be putting some light pressure on the edge while honing?

Did I not do enough passes?

Did I do the pyramid incorrectly?

Thanks in advance, ad

Have you tried searching the library on this forum? there are many good tips from honemiesters there. Without more information it is hard to tell what the problem might be. What did it shave like before, how long since it was honed, do you see any chips, looked at the edge, was it stropped, etc, etc? if you could give more info, maybe we could help.

Phil

It shaved okay, definately not great.

I dont know if it had been honed before.

No chips or badness on the edge.

I Stropped it on a pasted paddle with 1 micron diamond paste and on the other with .5 micron chromium oxide. Then on my reguar strop.

I will try and get some pictures today.

--ad

With Ebay blades, many times the steel on the edge has oxidized and you need to do a fair amount of work on the 4K (or even the 1K) to get to the fresh steel which will take and hold a great edge without microchipping. If I were you I would tape the spine and do about 50 passes on the 4K, then do a thumb nail test or look under the microscope to assess if you have a good bevel. If not then do another 25-50 passes on the 4K and try again. You should not need to use much or any pressure (1-2 pounds max in this stage). After you get a good bevel then a medium pyramid with very light and even pressure should get you pretty close. Use the 8K between shave tests to give you the sharpness that you want. If you get frusterated then it is time to take a break. Have fun and keep at it. You will get there.

what kind of tape?

Electrical Tape. The black kind. you can pick it up at any store. you may have some around the house.

Phil

awesome. I will do!

50 passes at 4000

10 - 8k
7 - 4k
7 - 8k
1- 4k
3 - 8k

pasted strop
regular strop

test on the cheek -- perfect!

cant wait for tomorrow AM!

Thanks for the help

If the razor shaves well but you still would like it a little sharper, I would recommend doing another 10 passes on the 8K then do another test shave. Let us know how the test shave goes.