Thread: Advice for killer edge on friodur

Originally Posted by Paysbas

Hello Kristoffer,

the Friodur can be very frustrating but mustn't be. Start with the 1000 (japanese norm), then when you have one, the 4000. Then as a finishing stone the blue belgian or the Thuringian, that's it. Then strop it with chromoxid and leather, that's it!

For stainless i.m.o it is no good to take a finer Grit as about 6000.

For the strokes you need about the half ob usual with carbon steel, that's why the Friodur has a Rockwell hardness from "only" 56 (carbon steel about 61 - 64)

Originally Posted by Paysbas

Hello Kristoffer,

with a lot of strokes the Friodur will be overhoned. I wrote about my experience what was good for my Friodur. The Chomoxid creates the second angle, this will be more durable. With a finer hone there is no second angle.

As many of you know, I have a lot of Friodur razors. I have to go with this gentleman's position. Friodurs do not need a lot of work. Quite the contrary, less is more. They can be tricky because you'd assume a SS razor to need more time on the hone. But in reality, you'll just overhone and cause microchipping.

Originally Posted by Joed

Since I am on a Friodur rotation this week and next I thought I'd try the 1k, 3k, Thuringia hone progression.

Here's what I did:

Razor: 7/8 Friodur Inox Round Point
1) 1200k Chinese hone, water only ubtil water pushed up blade for entire edge/Both sides.
2) Arm hair shave test one hair at a time, toe, center and heel of blade.
3) 4000k Norton w/ same water test.
4) same arm hair test
5) Thuringia hone w/ light/thin milky slurry thinning slurry with more water as I went until mostly water and no slurry
6) Heirloom 2 1/2 strop 25 laps Latigo, 25 laps Horsehide.
7) hot shower prep
TGQ Cavendish Black shave soap
WTG pass, XTG Pass, ATG pass
Royall Lyme AS
Results: Silky smooth killer shave BBS

Note: The edge on this blade was very good to start with and surpassing it's starting state took almost no effort. I did not use any tape on spine.
Pics here for SOTD 01/26/09 http://straightrazorpalace.com/shave...-jan-31st.html

Great approach. You'll get a wonderful shave.

This is rather interesting, I will go for weeks without honing any SS. I just did my fourth on this week. Last night I honed up a Dovo Fritz Bracht No. 42 INOX. After taking it through my progression, I was not very pleased with the results. I put one layer of tape on the spine and did went back to the 12K then up through the strops. Voilà, it came up to scary sharp. It gave a great shave this morning. It took half the strokes a carbon blade would normally take.

strange... my experience with Friodurs is different. I am using japanese waterstones. i'm honing my NOS Friodur right now, and for sure it is harder to hone than my carbon steel razors like Dubl Duck, about the same as a modern carbon steel razor. i mean... none of my waterstones higher than 4000 grit does anything at all on it, so after setting the bevel i had to go straight to diamond pastes on balsa. i went all the way down to 0.1 micron diamond paste and now i have a killer edge! wonderful shave!!!

Addendum: Under the 400x microscope, the edge on the Friodur is not as smooth as my Dubl Ducks. The Dubl Ducks also have a white edge under the microscope while the Friodur is dark gray. Strange... but the Friodur seems to shave just as well.

Okay, so Friodurs can take a very sharp edge, but more often than not in my experience they are a not as smooth as other stainless razors that I've experienced (Dovo), under the scope it can bee seen that the edge of the Frio is a bit rougher, perhaps microchipping of some sort.

So, I've been wrangling my latest Friodur up and down the lapping film scale--taking it all the way to 0.3um.....backing off to 1um finish. Adding a layer of tape for the final fininsh.....and still there is the residual scartchyness to the shave, even though it will HHT like nobody's business.

So, Sat night I finally found the solution:
The TM smooth canvas strop loaded with white Dovo paste!

I like to check the edge by looking at the glint of a bright light along the very cutting edge of the razor (when I don't have my $$$$$$ lab scope handy...). With the Frio, I could see that there was a fair bit of scattered light along the very edge (confimed by looking under the scope as well). So, I took it for 50-60 laps on the canvas----oh yes, progress! Another bunch of laps on there, using a tilted heel leading stroke, then hit the latigo, and the glint was now smoothed out quite a bit.

Gave it a shave, and that seemed to have done the trick! A nice shave, smooth, and sharp. I was about to give up on the Frios for good....glad I perservered!

SRD's web strop dusted with Yellowstone Compound.

Instant Light Saber!