Thread: Honing with a smile.

So, I had a thread going about my first honing attempt. Neither it nor I survived the great catastrophe, but here we go again...

I actually have good news to report. It seems I'm getting the hang of the rolling hone, as I [I]believe[I] I'm starting to get rid of the double bevel on the stubborn side of my razor. As best I can describe it, the bit where the two bevels meet is getting "fuzzy". I assume this means I'm finally starting to remove metal where the two bevels meet and am on my way to a single bevel all the way across the edge. (There's a little segment in the middle that's already good.)

I want to thank everyone who gave advice on "First hone plan" and ask if the fuzziness means to just keep doing what I'm doing or if I should be moving on in anyway.

-Josh

Who are you? . . .







Just Kidding.



I've forgotten what you had available but you might use a polishing stone, like the 8k and do about 10 passes and then see how much of the bevel is polished. This'll immediately tell you where your at.

Woohoo! Is the edge getting sharp enough to cut
hairs off your arm? You may have some more
work to go to get that even bevel, so keep truckin!

- Scott

Welcome back, josh.
Sounds to me like you're on the right track.
+1 on Alan's advice.
I guess it's time to start doing the TumbNailTest (TNT)
Drag the edge over your moistened thumbnail, as if you were going to cut in it (that is: if you were to use enough pressure) Use only the weight of the blade and draw it slowly across the nail. If your bevel is okay, it should feel smooth, but "sticky". Sticky means that you should feel some drag coming from the blade as it cuts in the outer layer of your thumbnail. You should notice a fine scratch on your nail after the test. If it's just smooth without "sticky"-ness, then your bevel isn't keen enough yet. That means more 4000. If it sticks you can start polishing the bevel on a finishing stone (8000).
If there are tiny chips or other imperfections in your edge, the test will reveal them. The blade won't be gliding in a smooth fashion in such cases.

Once you get there and you decide to start polishing on a Norton 8000: don't do too many laps! I don't own a Norton myself (I use the Belgian stones), but I've read many posts that warn how easy it is to overhone on a Norton. If you're like me, you'll have to fight an urge to do 20 laps more, and after that, another 20, and after that a very last 20, and after that, a very very last 20, and after that... while in the process thinking that your edge will become sharper with every additional 2O laps. I guess some of us are brought up with the notion that the harder one works, the better the results and the greater the reward will be. That doesn't count for honing, as for some other things in life that I can think of, for instance, typing answers to questions asked by fellow straight razor shavers and lingering on endlessly about honing and the philosophy lesson it carries. How ultimately boring would that be?

Have fun and good luck,
Bart.

Thanks, guys.

Sebell: Nope! But that's cool. I'm okay with slow progress - it's lots better then nothing changing.

Alan: I have a 220/1k and a 4k/8k, both Nortons. A little polishing for visibility sounds like a good idea.

Bart: That's the best description of that test I've read so far.

I've still got a long way to go, I think, but I'm freshly encouraged.

Honing with a smile...Hmm...Isn't that kind of like whistling while you work?

After some laps on the 8k, the side of the razor that doesn't have the double bevel looks nice and smooth. It's almost blackish? I think that side polished up nicely. The other side has much more visible scratching, etc. My current guess is that the 2x bevel side is getting close, but still doesn't have a consistent bevel. It's almost as if the stone is right now hitting the spot where they meet, so it can't polish most of the edge. I feel like it could be 10 laps or 100 laps, but eventually (and probably suddenly) it'll become one. At least across most the blade.

On the poor side try using the magic marker trick. Then you will see where you hones are touching the edge. It will help you to modify your honing stroke.

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?!

Originally Posted by KingOfMalkier

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

I wonder if it smells anything like Dogwood. Dogwood is almost like catnip to cats. I have a few slices of a branch that keeps my cats mesmerized... after a week or so I give them (the Dogwood disks, not the cats) a quick shot on the disk sander to revive the scent.

And no, I don't mean you should take your Olive wood scales to the disk sander to keep your cat happy!

Christian