Thread: my first honing experience

Well... still no success...

The honing went pretty ok...After the Coticule with slurry I went to the DMT for 30 laps... borrowed a hair from my GF she's got pretty thin hair and it failed the HHT but after 10 more laps it passed all over the edge..The I went to the BBW with slurry.. and did the HHT again but that only passed occasionaly.. so no Champaign yet in the fridge..

after the BBW I went to the Coticule and then stropped on leather..

Then I went running and took a shower (This was a good plan cause during the run I got an idea whats going wrong)...

I shaved after the shower and it was horrific... it felt like pulling barbed wire across my face.. It did shave but, very very uncomfortable.. It didnt pull at first but at the end of the shave it didnt shave my upperlip anymore..

During running I figured out the it might just as wel be overhoning.. that would explain the strange reflections on the edge that I saw again after stropping (I sure checked it before stropping and I didnt see it then.. could it be that because of overhoning a shiny piece of metal folds back on the edge during honing and folds back when stropping? causing these reflections. I only see the reflection on ONE side of the blade for a certain part of the bevel.. so its either on one side or the other.. never both)

If thats not likely I'm very curious about plan B...

Maarten

Originally Posted by mlangstr

could it be that because of overhoning a shiny piece of metal folds back on the edge during honing and folds back when stropping? causing these reflections.

I don't think so. Folding a strip of metal back and forth that way, I would expect it to break off.
I have never encountered overhoning on the "DMT-Belgian" progression. Honing on the Coticule with slurry, before those 40 laps on the DMT should have ruled that out. The fact that the final 10 laps on the DMT still improved keenness, also suggests that you were not doing excessive honing on that level. Even then, the Blue with slurry removes a wire edge, rather than causing one. A Coticule with water is known not to produce a wire edge. Heavydutysg135 once did over a 1000 laps and still witnessed no sign of overhoning.

Originally Posted by mlangstr

I only see the reflection on ONE side of the blade for a certain part of the bevel.. so its either on one side or the other.. never both)

That's very odd. Can you see something with magnification? If so, could you post a picture?

Originally Posted by mlangstr

If thats not likely I'm very curious about plan B...

Plan B... Add 3 layers of electrical insulation tape to the spine. Hone 30 laps on the Coticule with water. Strop 50 laps on a very taut strop. Remove the tape. Strop 50 laps on a normally taut strop. Test shave.
This method creates a small secondary bevel. Because all honing action is concentrated on a very small region of the very edge, the normally too slow Coticule-with-water does manage to refine the bevel tip with a new angle.

If that doesn't work, plan C is to send the razor to me. I 'm eager to have a wee little honing battle with this M%}!F°%!!ing piece of J%[)!! On my expenses.

Kind regards,
Bart.

Go for plan B and then go for plan C no matter what the outcome of plan B. We all want to hear the detalied forensic analysis of what all went on with this one.

i tried to take pictures of that reflection but it didnt work.

I will go for plan b and will report the results probably on wednesday.

The funny thing is that my second hone experience was a lot better. I think the Dirlam is just a stuborn piece of metal.

Maarten

well I honed it according to plan B. It produced a nice second bevel. I'll try to test it tomorow, but it will be a crazy day tomorow.

Maarten

strop and go for shave lets hope we will have a good news not then we have to change whole plan on this blade.

ship to me i will hone free but you have to pay for shipping .

Didnt get to shaving this morning.. I had a three year old that needed to get dressed for kindergarten that needed more attention..

I hope I can make it this evening or else it will have to wait a bit..my dad is getting surgery at this moment so I'm not really in the mood for a relaxed shave.

I think I made one error with plan B and that is the tape I used.. I used a bit thicker tape than insulation tape.. but we'll see what happens.. I will do one more attempt myself and that looks like this:

1-downstroke the Razor so its blunt
2-tape spine with one layer of tape
3- reset the bevel on the DMT until it shaves hair and passes the HHT
4 go to the BBW with slurry until scratches are removed + 10 laps
5 go to the coticule with water to pollish it up
6 strop
7 have a successfull shave..

If that fails I will send it off to Bart to have a look at it .. that would be quicker than sending it to the US.
But thanks for the offer hi_bud_gl I really appreciate all the help!

Maarten

Originally Posted by mlangstr

Didnt get to shaving this morning.. I had a three year old that needed to get dressed for kindergarten that needed more attention..

I hope I can make it this evening or else it will have to wait a bit..my dad is getting surgery at this moment so I'm not really in the mood for a relaxed shave.

I think I made one error with plan B and that is the tape I used.. I used a bit thicker tape than insulation tape.. but we'll see what happens.. I will do one more attempt myself and that looks like this:

1-downstroke the Razor so its blunt
2-tape spine with one layer of tape
3- reset the bevel on the DMT until it shaves hair and passes the HHT
4 go to the BBW with slurry until scratches are removed + 10 laps
5 go to the coticule with water to pollish it up
6 strop
7 have a successfull shave..

If that fails I will send it off to Bart to have a look at it .. that would be quicker than sending it to the US.
But thanks for the offer hi_bud_gl I really appreciate all the help!

Maarten

Hey Maarten,

Sorry to learn your dad is in the hospital. I hope his surgery goes well and he makes a swift and full recovery. I guess we've all been there at one point, when someone dear to us had to struggle with health issues. All my sympathies go out to you and your family.

I'm not sure but I always thought hi_bud_gl is somewhere in France?

Of course I'm eager to get my hands on the Dirlam, in case you are unsuccessful in your attempts to make it shave decently, and take a shot at it myself. Nothing like a good challenge...
But it's your call, and I've heard nothing but praise about hi_bud_gl's honing skills. Maybe he has less confidence in mine, matching my offer to hone this razor for you, to save you from further disaster.
After all, you have shaved with one of mine, so I'd completely understand if you wanted to expand your horizon with edges honed by other gents extending sharpening services. (notice how I go the great lenghts avoiding the presumptuous term "honemeister") You can't hurt nor insult me with preferring hi_bud_gl's offer over mine. Just making sure you know that.

All the best & good luck on all fronts,
Bart.

Originally Posted by Bart

I looked at your edge pictures again, and I see now that the second one has lower magnification. It still looks a bit jagged to me, but I think you're on the right track.

Now that we know, you're without a Blue, here's what I propose:

1. make sure your bevel is complete, coming off the DMT. If it shaves arm hair very well, you're fine. Even better if you could pass the HHT, as I described it in one of the previous posts on this thread.

2. Get a light slurry on your Coticule. Light means very watery. For our purposes right now, the slurry should not look like milk, but more like water with a slight white cloudiness.
Hone on the Coticule for about 50 laps. Keep that slurry the same consistency, by adding water if it starts to dry. After those 50 laps, you should start diluting the slurry with 2 maybe 3 drops of water per 10 laps. Dilute it 10 times, this totals 100 laps.

3. Strop 60 laps on clean leather and test shave. It depends a bit on your Coticule how well this will work.


Regarding the DMT, it really should feel a bit different honing on it, if it's broken in well. The initial grittiness should be gone.

Good luck,
Bart.

Is it possible to completely hone a razor on just a coticule with varying degrees of slurry? Like milk think, light, and then just water? Esp. if the razor is somewhat in a near shaving condition, like a new Dovo for example...

Originally Posted by Stuggi

Is it possible to completely hone a razor on just a coticule with varying degrees of slurry? Like milk think, light, and then just water? Esp. if the razor is somewhat in a near shaving condition, like a new Dovo for example...

It is possible, but it depends on the Coticule. It's difficult, once you start diluting the slurry while honing, you need a very efficient stroke, which means: light pressure and nice even, perfect contact with the hone throughout the entire stroke.
A new Dovo, whether it came shaveready from the factory or not, often has a weird bevel. If that's the case, it takes some time to correct that. You must hone with a milky slurry, till the bevel is ready. (the hard part is recognising such a "ready" bevel: you can read the wiki article about bevel setting to learn more about that. Bevel-setting in theory and practice - Straight Razor Place Wiki) Once the bevel is properly set and maxed out in keenness form the slurry-honing, you can start washing away the slurry while honing, by adding a few drops of water every ten strokes. It should take about 100 laps to dilute the slurry nearly into oblivion. At that point rinse the Coticule and continue with plain water for another 50 laps.
Strop well and test shave. It is a very Zen-like method. you really need get into the honing. On a good day, it gives me edges that can rival my best edges from more conventional methods. On a lesser day, same hone, same razor, they razor will barely be shaveready... I have the feeling that it all comes down to minimizing the pressure while keeping the stroke perfect.

Here's an old thread that elaborates on Belgian hones: http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...s-yellows.html

Bart.