Thread: Can someone help a lost honer?

Good job, Kevin! You're going to have fun with this.

Chris L

Maas, huh? That's pretty fine stuff. That edge must have been just almost there.

I may have to try the balsa wood with some Maas. I also have some Flitz paste that I used on a paddle strop. I didn't ever notice any difference after coming off the chrome-ox so I had quit using it.

Yep, MAAS on balsa wood seemed to do the trick. Now it slices my hair with ease

Kevin

FWIW passing a HHT does not necessarily mean that the razor is "shave ready", it just means that you are at least in the ballpark of being sharp. The real test is how the razor shaves. Hopefully you are there with your razor and will get a great shave.

Originally Posted by Chrisl

On this chisel, IF I would simply continue to work back and forth on higher grit stones (4000, 8000, 16000), essentially polishing the bevel and the face, it would probably take days to get an edge. This chisel edge needs serious metal removal that only a coarse grit stone will provide.

It might even take weeks, years or eons....

That's the most clear explanation ever of what I consider to be the main cause for "newbie razor unsharpness". Well done, Chris.

I'd like to add that on most dull razors, the cutting triangle doesn't have the shape of a trapezoid, like your dull chisel, but rather an arched tip, that's even more difficult to spot.

Stropping with an abrasive medium can form a bit of a pointed arch out of a rounded arch. That sure is a kind of sharpness, and such edges do shave, but there's a downside: those edges never last long and they are not the keenest possible. It think the reason for that is due to the fact that they are formed by honing away from the edge.
"Debris Deposit", as professor Verhoeven calls it in his knife sharpening experiments, is the major contributing factor with "away from the edge" honing. While with "into the edge" honing, again according to Verhoeven, "plastic flow", as he calls it, plays the key role in edge formation.

But, hey, Kevin, if your razor shaves well in the end, it doesn't matter how you got there, as long as you're enjoying shaving with it. Well done. Great thread.

Bart.

Well done you guys!

Originally Posted by Bart

It might even take weeks, years or eons....

That's the most clear explanation ever of what I consider to be the main cause for "newbie razor unsharpness". Well done, Chris.

I'd like to add that on most dull razors, the cutting triangle doesn't have the shape of a trapezoid, like your dull chisel, but rather an arched tip, that's even more difficult to spot.

Stropping with an abrasive medium can form a bit of a pointed arch out of a rounded arch. That sure is a kind of sharpness, and such edges do shave, but there's a downside: those edges never last long and they are not the keenest possible. It think the reason for that is due to the fact that they are formed by honing away from the edge.
"Debris Deposit", as professor Verhoeven calls it in his knife sharpening experiments, is the major contributing factor with "away from the edge" honing. While with "into the edge" honing, again according to Verhoeven, "plastic flow", as he calls it, plays the key role in edge formation.

But, hey, Kevin, if your razor shaves well in the end, it doesn't matter how you got there, as long as you're enjoying shaving with it. Well done. Great thread.

Bart.

Ah huh................ hmmm, that might need a little bit more explaination, but I think that I may see where you are coming from..... maybe........ I believe that I will give my razor a shot in a bit and see how it shaves compared to before I rolled the edge (stupid mistake) and let you guys know the results. I'm pretty sure that the edge was there though because I could give it a few rounds on the non-pasted strop and it would pass the hht before I used the paste. I do believe the reason it wouldn't pass was because my hair is so fine. Again, maybe, I'm not the master.

Kevin

Alrighty.... I just got out of the shower and the verdict is...... HOLY $%!# this razor is sharp! It shaved like a pro leaving me with a SUPER smooth face

THANK YOU (again and many times more) to everyone on here who has helped me with this little art.

Sincerely,
Kevin

Originally Posted by McShaverson

Ah huh................ hmmm, that might need a little bit more explaination, but I think that I may see where you are coming from..... maybe........ I believe

Hey Kevin,

The remark I made was more meant to elaborate to Chris' post in general than to address your particular situation. Based upon your shaving experience, I think that your bevel was properly set and that Russel Baldridge was right with his estimate about your razor's condition.

Enjoy your success.

Bart.

Your intuitive use of the shave as the test of choice points to a good, innate honing sense. The HHT is a very subjective test and it gives very variable results.

You report what a lot of guys also tell me. They get good edges with the Norton 4k8k and learn to hone their honing skills with one but still sense there's more performance to be wrung out of their blade. Then they try a coticule and I get glowing emails and ecstatic phone calls. That last 10% of performance makes all the difference!