Thread: A "honing resistant" razor

It seems you may have a "wedgie"... or close to a wedge maybe a 1/4 hollow.
If you do have one of those heavy razors you will have to do quite q few laps to set the bevel... even on the 1K it may take a much more than 50 laps.


EDIT: If it's a wedge razor then that would explain why previous owner gave up on straight shaving.
Wedgies are not the best razors to learn to honing.

Warped blade or spine is possible. In that case, hone on the edge of the stone instead of flat. Yes, that sucks. I'm voting for warped since you have a wide bevel on one side, and narrow on the other. Regardless of what people tell you here, honing a razor is definitely not rocket science. Hopefully you don't have those sinful combo hones and can easily flip those bad boys on their sides and grind away. Because that's exactly what you have to do now, my friend, whether you like it or not, you need to even out that bevel. My only advice for this razor is to use the edges of the stones, and to get that bad boy shaving before you move up.

Originally Posted by Ditch Doc

Warped blade or spine is possible. In that case, hone on the edge of the stone instead of flat. Yes, that sucks. I'm voting for warped since you have a wide bevel on one side, and narrow on the other. Regardless of what people tell you here, honing a razor is definitely not rocket science. Hopefully you don't have those sinful combo hones and can easily flip those bad boys on their sides and grind away. Because that's exactly what you have to do now, my friend, whether you like it or not, you need to even out that bevel. My only advice for this razor is to use the edges of the stones, and to get that bad boy shaving before you move up.

But if you do have a combo stone and can't hone on the side, you can always do what I did! http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...w-results.html
I just cut my stone in two. Makes working only on a specific part of the blade EASY. Narrow hones (or the side of a hone if it's single grit) are awesome at fixing an uneven bevel like the one it seems you have.

Dave

Lay the razor down on a flat surface like a flat hone and hold it up to the light looking at the spine then lift the sharp edge very slightly. Do it on both sides and that will tell you what you have going on. A rolling-X is probably in order none the less.

Later,
Richard

Yes, it seems the spine is warped somewhat. I marked it with a marker and when started honing it turned out there are 2 spots where the spine doesn't contact the hone well. However, when honing those spots gradually disappear but it's extremely slow process.
OK, i will spend another night on honing

Your drawing is helpful, but in my mind not of much concern. Because razors are often not flat, it is fairly common for bevels to not be uniform along their entire length. However, if the marker test is showing spots that are not reaching the hone, then you should probably try using the rolling X stroke. If you don't know what that is, part 9 of this video explains it. See if that improves your marker test.

, if the marker test is showing spots that are not reaching the hone, then you should probably try using the rolling X stroke.

I think i've just managed to correct the spine (it took me almost 2 hours). I marked it on two sides with a blue permanent marker and honed on 1000 grit until all the marked spots that should touch the hone were gone (no blue ink). It seems the razor cut arm hairs better but i get rough sensation when doing it (perhaps it's overhoned ?).
Also i took new DE blade and did TNT test. It moved VERY smoothly over my thumbnail without any sensation, digging into the nail etc. but it passed HHT at every spot of the blade. So i'm confused how i can compare it (TNT) to the straight razor blade
Also when doing TPT with DE i don't get any feeling when touching the fingertip

Originally Posted by kekon

Yes, it seems the spine is warped somewhat. I marked it with a marker and when started honing it turned out there are 2 spots where the spine doesn't contact the hone well. However, when honing those spots gradually disappear but it's extremely slow process.
OK, i will spend another night on honing

DO you mean "spine doesn't contact the hone" or edge doesn't contact the hone, not the same thing at all. If the spine isn't contacting the hone in spots its no big deal as long as the edge is still making even complete contact. If the edge isn't contacting the stone in spots you have to hone at lower grit until it is.

Originally Posted by kekon

I think i've just managed to correct the spine (it took me almost 2 hours). I marked it on two sides with a blue permanent marker and honed on 1000 grit until all the marked spots that should touch the hone were gone (no blue ink). It seems the razor cut arm hairs better but i get rough sensation when doing it (perhaps it's overhoned ?).

opps! looks like I didn't get my post in on time. Again check your vocabulary are we talking about the sharp side or the dull side of the blade.

I wouldn't worry about overhoned at all since we really haven't started honing yet. You are still "setting the bevel" or getting the razor in condition to take an edge. What are the results of the TNT now?

Originally Posted by kekon

Also i took new DE blade and did TNT test. It moved VERY smoothly over my thumbnail without any sensation, digging into the nail etc. but it passed HHT at every spot of the blade. So i'm confused how i can compare it (TNT) to the straight razor blade
Also when doing TPT with DE i don't get any feeling when touching the fingertip

You can't compare the feel of a DE TNT with the feel of a straight TNT. The DE edge is far finer, and usually coated for slickness, this messes with all the tests. You can sometimes get the TPT to work with a DE but not always. They just aren't comparable in that way.

What are the results of the TNT now?

The blade "sinks" into the wet nail and tries to "refuse" to move when i try to move the blade along it. I apply very little pressure. The marker test is passed all the time. I checked it under 50x microscope before (when the blade is marked) and after (when the ink is gone). All the ink is removed after 1..2 strokes.
The sensation i feel on my nail when doing TNT doesn't change at all after i apply more strokes after the TNT and marker test.