Thread: Failed first attempt

So, gents, as you see, I failed honing my razor...
I think I was expecting too much for first time...
After two hours of honing on 1000 grit whetstone I couldn't see any progress...
Well, I could see a fresh, shiny edge, but I couldn't feel any draw or resistance when I was doing a thumbnail test...
I also realized that there is a long learning curve when it comes to honing, but I won't despair...
I left my razor to recover 'till morning and I will give it a shot then...

Just one more question...
How long does it take for You to hone a razor after "bread-cutting"...


Robert...

You never really fail honing a razor. It just always takes more work than you anticipated.

Your expecting too much from a 1K stone against a thumbnail.

Two of the best tips I can offer is to ink the bevel w/ marker to be sure you are honing the complete edge or see if the blade is warped. If warped you need to change your honing technique.

Second, use very light pressure or no pressure. General rule for newbies, if you think you are using light pressure you are probably using too much. See goning in the WIKI for more tips.

2 hours on a 1K. I hope the edge was in exceedingly poor condition. Otherwise that's way too much time on a hone like that.

Good! Failing is the path to learning and I'm sure you'll learn a lot from this experience. Let me throw in my two sentences as I do a fair amount of honing instruction. In fact, Stagehand was here today (in my shop) and we spent three hours playing with coticules, shaptons, eschers, DMTs, etc. The end result was that he is re-evaluating some things he had been thinking about coticules, shaptons, and honing technique. He left happy.

First, get yourself some magnification. A $10 Radio Shack Illuminated Microscope which is a little bigger than a Zippo lighter will give you 60x - 100x with the light coming from above instead of below like a biological microscope. Look at the razor from heel to toe on both sides. What do you see? There will be pits, chips, uneven bevels, scratches in one or several directions, etc. Then do 20 passes on your 1000, clean the blade and look again. You'll see a difference.

I have never spent two hours on any blade and I've got about 100 vintage blades I'm slowly restoring to shave ready downstairs. Think of honing as a progressive process. It progresses from coarser stones to finer stones. Once a 1000 has done all it will do, it won't make it any sharper. You need to go to a 4000. Then an 8000 and then possibly strop.

I do use some pressure on the blade as the idea is to remove steel against a much softer stone. You won't remove much steel if you don't use any pressure. The key thing to learn is "how much pressure?" and you'll just have to practice.

Or alternatively, come to Massachusetts and I'll have you honing at the Journeyman level in under an hour.

Is your stone flat? If you are using a dished stone, you can end up re-dulling the blade with every pass.

Granted your hone would have to look like a skateboard ramp, but I have seen some pretty crazy things when it comes to hones.

Originally Posted by joke1176

Is your stone flat? If you are using a dished stone, you can end up re-dulling the blade with every pass.

Granted your hone would have to look like a skateboard ramp, but I have seen some pretty crazy things when it comes to hones.

Once, an old barber showed me how to hone on he's old coticule. The middle of the stone was wear down to the black base (allmost U shape) but it works for him. I think he had a big (maybe 50 years of) experience in honing so that shape is no problem to him.

--
Z

Well, my stones are flat... I laped them about 20 minutes before I started honing...
And, yes, my motions were pretty slow... I did about 300 - 350 laps on 1000...
Maybe I understood it wrong and I was expecting a wrong thing from 1000 grit...
Now I realized that it only sets up the bevel, and this is as far as 1000 could take me...
So, today I'm hitting my 3000 and my 6000, and then I'll see if there would be any progress...
This whole thing is new to me and I'm pretty excited about it, so definitely I'm doing some things wrong...
I know that progress comes with time and that I have to be patient...
Impatience and rushing only leads to the Dark side...
And dulls the blade...

Gents, thanks again for all the help and support that SRP community provided...

Robert...