Thread: My Edge

I had my first shave with my own edge. All I can say is back to the drawing board My neck looks like a crime scene.

Originally Posted by Audels1

I had my first shave with my own edge. All I can say is back to the drawing board My neck looks like a crime scene.

What stones are you using?

Originally Posted by Audels1

I had my first shave with my own edge. All I can say is back to the drawing board My neck looks like a crime scene.

While there are always 'Exceptions to the Rules' your experience is why I tend to recommend to wait till you've been at this age old art for at least a year. By having more experienced honers do the honing for you it not only gives you time to learn what shaving with this antique tool is all about but when you do start then you have a guide to judge your own honing by.

With that said, I would encourage learning how to 'Touch Up' an edge and it's far easier than setting a bevel and then getting a nice edge. The bevel should be already set and all you are doing is smoothing out the microscopic 'dings and dents'.

Here's a video from my good friend and Senior Mod here at SRP, I hope it will be of some help.

My first ever edge was not that great either. I got one decent shave, then ouch. But I just went back to my highest grit stone and it came out much better on the second attempt. I accidentally touched my cheek with the edge and could see, but not feel, the cut.

If you have got your bevel set (look for any honing post from Euclid) just more polishing will probably bring it around.

well the razor is a cheapo gold dollar that I pickup just to start learning to hone.so that could be part of the problem but I simply don't know yet.
my stones are

Norton 1000k
Norton 4000/8000k
Shapton Pro 12000k

My daily razors are all honed by others and are not in need of a touchup yet.

I am a firm believer that the best way to learn by doing.

Can you hone a Gold Dollar? Yes.

Can you learn to hone on a gold dollar? Yes, maybe.

It is the most difficult way to learn to hone, because with a Gold Collar, first you must fix the razor so it will take an edge.

Learning to hone is all about understanding what you see through the loupe. Otherwise, how will you know when you have fully set the bevel?

Take a vintage razor in good condition, that will shave and learn to refresh that edge. Then once you can constantly produce a good shaving edge, then bread knife the edge and do a full progression 1k to finish stone. At least you know the razor will shave if, you do everything right.

Skip the Shapton for now, they are notorious for edge chipping. Learn to shave from an 8k edge.

Some good advice. There are many ways to read an edge and decide if the bevel is in fact formed to a complete apex. The loupe is the most simple and reliable method I have tried. The bevel set or forming of the apex to a perfect V is the foundation of the edge. It won’t shave well without that. Here is a thread with great pictures.
https://sharprazorpalace.com/honing/...ggestions.html
I too would start with a razor that is issue free. You could take a poorly shaving good razor, kill the edge on your finger nail and look at it and bring it back. Starting to hone a razor that has no bevels and working through the proccess of making bevels from scratch is more restoration than standard honing.

Read the Second Try at Honing thread above. This thread was from a new honer, his second attempt to hone a razor, documented with good micrographs of the edge at each step in the honing process.

If you make your edges match his at each stage, you will end up like he did with a shareable edge and a much better understanding of the honing process.

Post 42, Photos 4 & 5 (upper right-hand corner) shows an edge that is close, but not fully set. Post 51, first photo, shows a fully set bevel.

Once the bevel is fully set, the rest is just polishing.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Skip the Shapton for now, they are notorious for edge chipping. Learn to shave from an 8k edge.

The Shaptons are fine . It's heavy handed beginners that are the problem

You sound just like me my friend. I too thought the best way to learn was to dive in with both feet. I was told by many of these guys to slow down. Learn to shave first and touch up a razor. I didnt listen. I did learn to hone and strop and shave and make good lather all at one time but it was a long haul. Id have to say close to 2 years before it all came together.

It seems like its an easy thing. As it says under my posts "its only sharpening". NO! Its not! 1+1=2 we all know this. But the art of honing is not as simple as it seems.
Put the Gold Dollar away for a couple years. Some day you can custom grind it into something cool. Use a vintage Amaricen blade to learn to hone with if you just have too learn to hone.