Thread: Honing with a smile.

Originally Posted by KingOfMalkier

The marker test tells me that I have a slightly harder time hitting the heel and toe of the main bevel. (I say main to describe the bevel I want, the larger one closer to the spine.) But the entire main bevel is clean of marker after 5 passes or so. The secondary bevel stubbornly persists on nearly all of that side. I know there are tons of unknowns and variables, but if you had the worst double bevel you've ever seen, can anyone predict how many laps on 1k it should take? I'm just trying to get a really rough ballpark. If I've already done twice what people estimate, then I think I'll have to send this to Alan or someone. I'll try and hone it up when it dulls from shaving.

Also, why the hell won't my cat stop trying to sniff the Olive wood scales?!

You should be focusing on the edge bevel, not the spine.

Regarding the 1K, you should see significant progress after 100 laps, if not then something else needs to be changed.

What kind of 1K are you using? A Norton, sandpaper, ????
Let us know,

Originally Posted by randydance062449

You should be focusing on the edge bevel, not the spine.

Regarding the 1K, you should see significant progress after 100 laps, if not then something else needs to be changed.

What kind of 1K are you using? A Norton, sandpaper, ????
Let us know,

I'm using a 1k Norton. I have lapped it with a granite tile and sandpaper. Perhaps I should try lapping again?

I'm a little confused by your statement about focusing on the edge bevel. I know my razor vocabulary is poor, so maybe it sounds like I'm talking about hone wear on the spine? I basically think of this process as trying to extend one bevel all the way to the edge, erasing the other one. Maybe this is a poor way of thinking about it that is somehow effecting what I'm doing?

-Josh

Originally Posted by KingOfMalkier

I'm using a 1k Norton. I have lapped it with a granite tile and sandpaper. Perhaps I should try lapping again?

I'm a little confused by your statement about focusing on the edge bevel. I know my razor vocabulary is poor, so maybe it sounds like I'm talking about hone wear on the spine? I basically think of this process as trying to extend one bevel all the way to the edge, erasing the other one. Maybe this is a poor way of thinking about it that is somehow effecting what I'm doing?

-Josh

Yes, it sounds like you are might be talking about spine wear. I hope that is not the case. The only bevel we care about is the one on the edge of the razor. Then that bevel should extend all the way to the edge of the razor.. The scratch pattern should be unifom for the full length of the edge from heel to toe and width of the bevel.

The 1K Norton is rather slow. Try lapping it again, lightly, then place it under running water and rub off any loose material. This will "refresh" the cutting surface of the hone.

Are we talking about a razor that is warped, a razor with a "smile", a W&B full wedge?

What width are your Norton's?

In the previous thread about this razor (which
was lost), he indicated that he was honing a
razor with a slight smile. I believe it was a full
hollow, or nearly so.

Under magnification Josh is seeing what appears
to be a double bevel, and his honing was seem-
ingly not touching the final edge of the blade.

I'll step back at this point because I don't have
a lot of experience with either smiling razors or
double bevels

- Scott

Originally Posted by sebell

In the previous thread about this razor (which
was lost), he indicated that he was honing a
razor with a slight smile. I believe it was a full
hollow, or nearly so.

Under magnification Josh is seeing what appears
to be a double bevel, and his honing was seem-
ingly not touching the final edge of the blade.

I'll step back at this point because I don't have
a lot of experience with either smiling razors or
double bevels

- Scott

Thanks Scott

OK, if one side is fine then concentrate on the other bad side and let us know if there is any progress. Check every 50 laps and stop at 150 laps. Then make a post here and tell us whats happening with the bevel.

When honing be sure to use some pressure and have the weight distribution more on the edge than the spine, in other words put some torque on the blade edge.

Thank you Scott, I think you summed that up much nicer then I could have.

Thank you as well Randy, for all the advice. For the record, I was trying to describe the two "parts" of the double bevel, not referring to spine wear. The Norton's I believe are 3x8, though I'm at work so I can't measure them just now. (They cover just about the entire razor.)

I will try my best to do what you describe above. You preemptively answered my question about torque, but I have one last one before I hone and report back. When you say "concentrate on one side" does that mean completely ignore the other side? Or maybe do two laps on one for every lap on the other?

-Josh

Get back to work. No, seriously though, I recently
got an ebay special to practice honing on. I'm
brand new at this, so take my advice with a grain
of salt. Anyway, the bevel on one side didn't
equal the bevel on the other side, so I concentrated
honing only one side until I got the desired result.
Then I went to the pyramid working both sides like
you normally would. It worked out good and I
got a sharp edge, so I don't see the problem of
working only one side for a while. I would wait to
hear from Randy or someone else before proceeding.
I'll be interested in their take. Good luck and happy honing.

John