Thread: New razor, supposed to be shave ready, yeeeeeah right!..

Just getting technical for a while.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the spine. Often on the English razors, the spine bevel is wider near the end than at the toe. Some times the spine is slightly thinner at the tip to achieve this automatically when you hone using a figure of eight pattern on a hone that is 2" or less wide. I think that during the hammering process, the end was given an extra hit on both sides. I have seen many Sheffield razors with this deliberate engineering.
The design leads to a wider edge at the tip and removes any spike off the razor tip, but replaces it with a sharp curved end. If you don't like the sharpness running around the tip of the razor, you just strike it once or twice along the side of your hone to blunt it down. This was common practice with English razors. Very unlike many American razors which had a deliberate spike point and in some respects were not as sophisticated.

My feeling is that the razor was initially honed using tape and to get back to none taped bevel takes a bit of work on a 1000 grit hone. The blade is nearly a wedge and so it was quick to develop a new bevel on the edge using tape, but it's a slow process to reverse and it does wear the spine bevel to do the catch up.

I will repeat having used a Spyderco 1000 grit(fine) for a while, that good quality wet and dry will do a quicker and in my opinion better job. I use the paper dry and change it for a fresh piece after ten return passes. The result is a very grippy edge with a perfect V. I don't find the difference between 1000, 1200,1500 or 2000 grit wet and dry paper makes much difference. However, I usually use the 1500 grit.


Why anyone should think that wet and dry will do a bad job defeats me. It's just a hone and with wet and dry it's also new and very abrasive, unclogged and put on glass, as flat as you can get. Anyway it' s always done a good job in my hands. It's a very quick and simple process.

Originally Posted by English

Just getting technical for a while.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the spine. Often on the English razors, the spine bevel is wider near the end than at the toe. Some times the spine is slightly thinner at the tip to achieve this automatically when you hone using a figure of eight pattern on a hone that is 2" or less wide. I think that during the hammering process, the end was given an extra hit on both sides. I have seen many Sheffield razors with this deliberate engineering.
The design leads to a wider edge at the tip and removes any spike off the razor tip, but replaces it with a sharp curved end. If you don't like the sharpness running around the tip of the razor, you just strike it once or twice along the side of your hone to blunt it down. This was common practice with English razors. Very unlike many American razors which had a deliberate spike point and in some respects were not as sophisticated.

Thanks for the explanation, I've got a couple of Sheffields with the rounding and the wider spine bevel, excellent shavers.

Originally Posted by English

My feeling is that the razor was initially honed using tape and to get back to none taped bevel takes a bit of work on a 1000 grit hone. The blade is nearly a wedge and so it was quick to develop a new bevel on the edge using tape, but it's a slow process to reverse and it does wear the spine bevel to do the catch up.

I will repeat having used a Spyderco 1000 grit(fine) for a while, that good quality wet and dry will do a quicker and in my opinion better job. I use the paper dry and change it for a fresh piece after ten return passes. The result is a very grippy edge with a perfect V. I don't find the difference between 1000, 1200,1500 or 2000 grit wet and dry paper makes much difference. However, I usually use the 1500 grit.

Why anyone should think that wet and dry will do a bad job defeats me. It's just a hone and with wet and dry it's also new and very abrasive, unclogged and put on glass, as flat as you can get. Anyway it' s always done a good job in my hands. It's a very quick and simple process.

I've used both sandpaper and a DMT 1200 to establish the bevel, and for me the biggest difference is that the wet/dry paper sometimes would sort of "bunch up" in front of the blade, but if you keep focus on holding the paper thought to eliminate the problem, I haven't noticed much difference in the end result.

I don't have any pics before I started honing, but the spine wasn't any different.

Do you hone razors, bjørn? -Send en pm om du gjør
BTW, where in Norway do you live?

Shipping is quite expensive, so if there are no one in scandinavia that hone razors, I guess I will have to try fixing it myself.

Try using the thin, black electrical tape to cover the spine. That will change the angle a very small amount and is probably what is needed on this razor.

I also use 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper to work out nicks from the edge and then move to a 4000 grit stone to set the bevel. Works for me.

Try using a rolling X honing stroke on that razor. Russel Baldridge started a thread with pics showing the stroke. I believe Heavy Duty also demonstrates the stroke in his video series. Look at both of them. It is a very effective stroke to use on blades with a curved edge.

Originally Posted by Legatia

I don't have any pics before I started honing, but the spine wasn't any different.

Do you hone razors, bjørn? -Send en pm om du gjør
BTW, where in Norway do you live?

Shipping is quite expensive, so if there are no one in scandinavia that hone razors, I guess I will have to try fixing it myself.

I hone my own razors, PM on the way.

I'm located 2 hours north of Oslo

appears to me to be a razor honed with the straight up and down flat on a 3" hone method to me. Has taken all the smile out of the blade. Pass it to a honemeister for a proper hone and to get that smile back.

PuFF

Thanks everybody for your advice, it has been very helpful

I think I will wait for my new hone, and try a bit myself to see what happens.
If not, I will send it to a honemeister...

Now I have gotten some new hones, and to my pleasure this razor is now really sharp. The sharpest razor I have at the time.
For me, the stropping and use of chromium oxide really makes the difference!

And today, after not shaving for 5 days, I cut myself quite badly. The razor just melted into my skin...
Apart from that, it was my greatest shave ever...