Thread: Help with honing a new razor

Hey All,

So I bought a TI from AoS. It turned out to be somewhat warped. Exchanged it and got a better one. Shaving with it was horrible, so I decided to do a touch up with the 4/8k. I lapped it and did a standard pyramid. This made my blade duller . I didn't feel it getting sharp. So I started from the begininng did 15 on the D8C, 30 on the D6E and I'm feeling the blade get sharper, more on the heel but not so much at the toe. I used the marker test and although the VERY tip of the toe isn't getting that much attention, it's still touching the stone, but it's not getting sharper (I can roll my thumb pad over without it digging in, as opposed to the heel where I feel it digging in) I tried to focus more on the toe but I'm still not getting there. So my questions are:

If I keep honing on the DMT's will the toe eventually catch up with the sharpness of the heel?
Should I focus on the toe for several passes?
How many passes does it usually take to reset the bevel? (I've watched David's videos and he did some 300 total passes on the Extra Fine)
I'm worried that I'm removing too much metal, should I be?

Thank You all

The ideal situation would be to find a forum member/honemiester in the NYC area and see if he will not only hone the TI but let you watch him do it. I got lucky in that The Topher lives nearby and I had that opportunity. The videos are great but there is nothing like watching someone who knows what they are doing up close and personal.

I have a few TI razors and they ain't the easiest to start out with. They do that cyro hardening and that makes it tougher. If you have magnification you should be able to see the progress you are making with the bevel. Comparing that under magnification to a shave ready razor if you have one would also be a big help. Hang in there and best of luck with it.

It is a mistake to learn how to hone on a brand new razor. Far to many errors occur. Practice honing on a Ebay special or two and send your new TI out for honing. The TI will then become a benchmark that you can use to judge your honing against. Thats my best advice.

If you insist on doing it yourself then do not use the 325 grit anymore. I never use a 325 grit for anything on a razor. The lowest I go is 1000 grit and that is used solely to remove nicks in the edge. I set my bevels with a 4000 grit. That is what you should be using to establish the bevel on that TI and that is most likely what needs to be done. Set the bevel with a 4K using the TPT and the TNT to determine when it is done. Now thats a vague test because you don't know what a razor sharp 4K edge feels like. Thats why we also use the 30X handheld micrscope. It shows you when the bevel extends all the way to the edge. Once the bevel is established then start performing the conservative pyramids and test shaving process.

Hope this helps,