Thread: First honing was a disaster - help!

I tried to hone a razor today for the first time and I think I did more damage than good. THe razor was a new Bill Ellis and pretty sharp but was getting a little dull after about 5 shaves and .5 CO did not refresh it enough for me. Thus, I took it upon myself after reading and viewing Lynn's DVD to try honing it to get it super sharp.

I flattened the Norton 4/8K stones to perfection and practiced the stroke on a crud razor and then reflattened the stone and tried to hone my good razor.

I properly wetted the stones before and during use and used a pyramid structure that Lynn suggested for a new razor needing a touch up (3x 4k with 3x 8k, 1x 4k with 3x8k, and 1x 4k with 5x 4k and then used my green CO on my paddle strop for 10 passes and finished with 30 passes on my tony miller red latigo strop). THe razor looks fine but it will not cut a hair (HHT) and it does not feel as sharp as it did before I monkeyed with it. It does not "stick" to my skin when I wet my finger and run it along the blade's edge.

I was careful to put no pressure and the blade was flat the whole time, as best as I could tell, and I proceeded slowly. I did this whole process a second time as the razor would not cut a hair with the HHT after the first round.

Any ideas What did I might have done wrong and what can I do at this point other than send it out to get sharpened. I want to learn to hone because it is not practical in any sense to send them out every time the need to be worked on and I would like to be able to refine them to my liking. I want the super super sharp due to my hair type.

Thanks for any suggestions!

hi i think you may becarefull too much.light touch will not hirt blade .use 8000 side and do light 20 strokes and check it out.MY advise will be keep that razor away and get couple old or pakistany razor try learn how to hone and get microscope and track your progression.about sharpening you can get very sharp edge but it will be overhone. Depends what type razor you have maker etc..As a result it will not keep a good edge longer.another problem is norton 8000 will give to you a good edge but not great one.get belgian razor hone or escher to finish it up.hope this help

I'm not really experienced enough to offer you technical advice, but honing does take practice. Its not rocket science, but even when you "do" everything right - you need to get a feel for it. Either keep trying with your razor there or buy a couple less expensive blades and have at it.

Jordan

I am also nowhere near an expert, but did you tape the spine? Did Bill? If one did but not the other, you may have started a new bevel but not finished it.
Hopefully someone more experienced can chime in.

First of all, it's not a disaster. I also have one of Billy's Blades and he is a master craftsman. It's not surprising that your results from a first hone are not as good as his. Second, your pyramid is not quite right. Go to the Basic Honing forum and find the pyramid threads in the FAQ sticky. Read all of them and especially this one:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...ng-ratios.html

Third, you didn't say whether or not you shaved with the razor. Shaving is the only true test. The HHT is more of a parlour game and the TPT is very subtle. I get the best information from the TNT. Do the pyramid, test with a TNT and when the blade is good and sharp, do 10 more laps on the 8K and then go to the chromium oxide and then the strop. I think you will be OK. The razor may not be as sharp as Bill Ellis got it, but it will give you a good shave.

I definitely agree that it would be better to learn how to hone on a less valuable razor; some people take a little longer and experience few mistakes before it clicks.

As for honing in general, light pressure is best, but you do need some pressure (or a lot of patience).

I have always preferred the Coticule over the Norton because of it's effectivenes, ease of use, and finer polishing capabilities, but you should be able to get the razor sufficiently sharp with your current setup.

I'm learning to hone on a coticule and I recommend it as well. It's hard to overhone or mess up too badly on a coticule and it leaves a nice smooth finish when you are done. I have three rezors, and am honing two with ease and only struggling a little on the third that has a smile (and even it is working pretty well but I haven't mastered the rolling x stroke). I think just using a norton is going to make it hard for you to get a result that you think is good.

I'd suggest you get a 6X2 yellow coticule from Howard at theperfectedge.com

you might want to try more than 30 passes on the strop too. I tend to do 30 passes on canvas and 70 on latigo.

The main idea of the pyramid is to gradually get to a shaving edge. It is also intended that the pyramid be repeated as necessary. One time thru the pyramid would be unusual. My suggestion is to repeat it several times and note the change in the TPT and the HHT after each pyramid.

I would not perform the TNT when working at the finish level. That test is to see if there are any nicks in the edge and if the bevel has been formed.

Hope this helps,