Forced to learn....

Heres the deal.....I messed up my B&B a couple weeks ago by not drying it enough. I was gonna send it out to get polished but I figured I would give it a try myself. Some MAAS and elbow grease has almost gotten all the surface rust gone. Not bad for my first attempt. However, the edge is pretty messed up. It was honed up by Joel from B&B so it came with a great edge.

It passed the thumbnail test but failed the HHT. I have never honed up a razor before. The bevel look good. I ordered a DMT 8000 grit bench hone and some green oxide. And I do have a Red Latigo strop from Mr. Miller. So Im just jumping in and I want to hone it myself. I gotta learn some how.

Funny thing is that my mess up has forced me to much better understand my razor. Questions I have are....Can my hone be used dry? Do I need to use soapy water like DMT says? And how in gods name do I get my green oxdie onto a balse paddle strop? It looks more like C4 than sharpening compound.

All in all if I didnt mess up I wouldnt have a hone and have to learn. So here goes....

Did you try asking B&B.

To be honest, I doubt that a razor from Joel would be sent to you that did not pass the hanging hair test. But it really depends if you played with the razor first, before shaving with it.

That's my answer, but somebody here may help you.

To be quite honest if you have never honed up a razor before by all means get an Eboy special and hone away to your hearts content but please don't practice honing on that beautiful razor. Contact Joel at B&B or one of the guys here and for a small fee they will get it back to like new condition.

As far as the Cr0 goes I know it comes in different forms. It comes in powder where you just add some oil or water or some carrier and apply it. If it came as a block or stick make sure you know the grit size first and I guess its more challenging but you could probably use like a grater or something to get it as fine as possible then apply it. maybe some other guys have gone that route and will chime in.

I use my DMT's wet with plain water. Lap something like a barber hone or chisel-back on your DMT 8,000 first to smooth it up a bit. I've used DMT "dot" hones dry before but results were better when wet.

You can mix green oxide with goop, gojo (non-pumice type please), neatsfoot oil, etc.... before applying it. See the FAQS here for a tutorial on that.

The edge was shave ready when I recieved it from Joel. However, some of the marks were very very close to the edge so it damaged the edge. The bevel is fine but it needs to be taken back to the hone. Ill most likely send it out this week for a rehoning.

I have been looking for a razor to practice on but havent had any luck yet. Im thinking that I just need to keep looking on EBay. Unless anyone has a junker they wanna sell me. Thanks again guys.

The block style Cr can be used with a fine cheese grater then any carrier, I personally use Neets Foot oil but that's just a personal preferance....