Thread: Please clear this for me, honing ratios

Randy,

I completely agree. Whatever hones you are using, you have to have a method; without one, honing will become an exercise in frustration or worse. Translating what works for a Norton combo in terms of what works for barber hones is extremely difficult, as you are well aware. Not only do they cut more slowly, there are other variables such as the media used (dry, water, lather, oil), pressure applied, grit size, and the composition of the hone.

These days, I find myself prefering to use all my barber hones dry for both restroration and maintanance. When restoring a dull ebay razor, I finish off with a Swaty type hone (e.g. Swaty, Apart, Premier etc.). I only need to continue a pyramid type sequence (as you recommend when using the Norton) to the point where the razor still pulls when shaving. At this point, I use a sequence of 3-4 light laps (dry) on my highly polished Premier, followed by 50 on the strop. If that doesn't do the trick then 3-4 more laps on the Premier (applying slightly more pressure), followed by 50 more on the strop. Usually, by the second or third time I've got the razor ready to shave. For some really intransigent blades, I may have to step back again and do another modified sequence using coarse, medium and fine grit hones.

Thanks for your helpful posts Randy. Keep an eye out for an Achonite combo (sp? mine was so well used when I got it, that the engraved name was half gone on the medium side).

Hal

Guys, when I do the laps on my Norton 8000/wet, i dont feel any grinding motion between surface and the blade, it feels like am honing on glass. Is this rigt? I have a feeling that the dry method will grind more metal from the blade. Should i thry this, or its not worth bothering...?

thanx,
superfly

Hi Superfly,

I only use barber hones dry. Swatys and other barber hones were designed to be used without any medium. The Norton, however, is designed to be used with water. The Norton should be soaked at least 10 minutes in advance. However, according to the manufacturer, the 8000 grit does not need to be soaked, and only a splash of water is needed on the surface for it to cut properly.

Remember that the 4000 grit side is for cutting and setting the edge. The 8000 side is for finishing off what the 4000 grit has established, polishing down the fine serrated edge. The 8000 side shouldn't feel at all like the way the 4000 cuts. Bringing up an keen edge is done incrementally in a sequence of two steps, cutting followed by finishing. Use the sequences Randy has recommended and you'll begin to see how the two sides of the Norton work together.

Hope this helps.

Hal

I hope too...

Beard only grows daily...


Will keep trying

Randy, you ought to put that GIF in the files here and on the Yahoo! SRP site for reference .... BTW, reduce it to fit in an 80x80 pixel box and it would make a great avatar, LOL

Hello David,

I sent the webmaster an email asking him to put the gif in the files section, he said "Done" but I do not see it yet. I have tried to upload files to this site but it does not work. I manage to get to step two in the process but then the button say "Back". The Yahoo site seems cramped for space so .......

Today my razor passed the hair test!

I have done a couple of passes on the N8000, more to practice the stroke then to do actual honning. But then, i downloaded the movie from web called "Mr Ham good one.AVI", and it realy changed things. In the movie a guy strops the razor on the canvas, then the leather. But, before seeing this movie, i had trouble finding the right amount of pressure, movement, and speed on the strop. I stropped the razor over 100 strokes , i think, and it shaved arm hair really nice, without pulling. That is a 1/4 inch from the hand. I forgot about the razor, since i was clean shaven. Tonight i took a hair from my girl's head (light brown), and decided to do a hair test. I couldnt believe my eyes: a hair just split!. But the razor passes the hair test only at the middle.

Conclusion:

Hone the razor following the metods described, test on the nail, and STROP. You will need a propper stropping technique, or no shave ready razor. And, get a DE blade and compare. A DE blade easily passes the hair test.

How can i get the ends of the razor shave ready? Should i go back to the hone, or assume the honning is ok, and just strop some more???


Tomorow i will try to shave, and see how it goes.

Sooner or later you would have gotten the touch. I’m just glad it was "sooner" rather than "later"...

I'm having the same kind of problem with my DOVO, except I can’t seem to get the tip to sharpen as well as the belly and the belly is not quite as sharp as the heel... I chalk this up to inadequate technique on my behalf.

It's hard to keep the razor perfectly flat on the hone from heel to tip. I still find my self lifting the tip off the hone at the end of the stroke.

I would suggest letting the razor rest over night, strop it up a good 30-50 passes in the morning and give it a shave.. see what happens. You might be pleasantly surprised. One of my smoothest shaving experiences was when the razor didn’t pass the hair test :roll: Just be sure to prep really well to make it easier on you and your razor.
The hair test isn’t the definitive answer to a sharp razor, the shave is!

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Hello David,

I sent the webmaster an email asking him to put the gif in the files section, he said "Done" but I do not see it yet. I have tried to upload files to this site but it does not work. I manage to get to step two in the process but then the button say "Back". The Yahoo site seems cramped for space so .......

OK, Randy .... do you want to use this as your avatar?

haha its not bad enough that I stole it from a site in the first place now is it? :lol:
the honing gif, the "whore" of the forum :lol: