Thread: Too sharp??

I just want to throw something out there. Can you get a razor too sharp, well not really too sharp but are you working too hard to get it shave ready or is it part of the fun? I use a Norton 4k/8k and a plain 3" leather strop and I get a great shave with my three razors. If I use a 12k hone and diamond paste will I get a better shave? I read what everyone writes and I wonder if I am missing something. :roll:

Originally Posted by RichZ

I just want to throw something out there. Can you get a razor too sharp, well not really too sharp but are you working too hard to get it shave ready or is it part of the fun? I use a Norton 4k/8k and a plain 3" leather strop and I get a great shave with my three razors. If I use a 12k hone and diamond paste will I get a better shave? I read what everyone writes and I wonder if I am missing something. :roll:

IMHO no! 8)

The edge is defined MOSTLY by the consistency of the angle of the "V" formed by the two sides. That definition is accomplished by skill and care on the 4k side of your Norton, or whatever grinding hone you use. The polishing of the edge the 8k-12k stones do is to further refine that "V' to make it a tad smoother in its action and will contribute to the edge's longivity before it again needs a touch-up beyond the strop. Pasted strops have the same contribution to the pre-defined edge .... sort of like the difference between just washing your pick-m-up truck, OR washing AND paste waxing!

Rich,

I'd certainly agree with Dave's comments but would also add that there might be some differences, over the long run, in the type of edge developed finishing with a 12K hone compared to one maintained with a diamond pasted strop. As you know, on a hone the blade cuts into the blade edge, on a strop the paste cuts in the opposite direction. Not sure, but using a fine grit hone may result in a more delicate edge than one maintained by stropping with pastes. Has anyone found this to be the case?

Getting a blade ready to shave involves two steps: sharpening and finishing. Ultra fine grit hones such as the 12k or pasted strops, polish off the serrated edge that has been set with the coarser grit hones. This makes for a smoother shave. These tools are perhaps more expedient; however, you can achieve similar results with the skillful use of a leather strop. The better your stropping skills, the less often you may find the need to use diamond pastes or a 12K hone.

Hal

In my limited experience I have found that a pasted strop always makes a difference. Using a 0.5 micron chrome oxide pasted strop is a part of my honing routine. I have tried the 0.25 diamond paste and it keens the edge even more. This is consistent with what I have read on the Yahoo SRP site from others who have used these pastes. Some of the people who have used the 0.25 diamond paste have said that it may make the razor too sharp! But most were impressed with the results.

The only way to find out is to try it for yourself. Try using 30-50 laps for starters. Then shave test.

Hope this helps,

Randy,

I think that may be true, particularly if you're using a Norton combo. Going from 8k to a leather strop probably could do with something finer in between to smooth out the shave. On the other hand, this is not necessarily the case when using barber hones, since there are various techniques you can apply that will offer a finer grit result while using the same grit hone. Lighter pressure applied as well as using lather instead of water, will offer a much finer grit result. In this case, a pasted strop may not be necessary, or at least, may not make much of a difference.

Hal

I thing that what you said is very true Hal. There are many more factors to creating and polishing an edge than grit size alone. The material the grit is made from is one factor, the number and types of edges on the grit would be another. With arkansas stones, the stone granuals that make contact with the steel or more rounded than with a waterstone, so they cut more slowly, but leave a finer polish if the grit sizes are equal. This is because the new granuals that are always freshly exposed on a waterstone as the substrate is removed exposing fresh jagged edges, cut more quickly, but I believe leave deeper scratches in the metal. The arkansas stone polishes more as it wears away the steel, and as the granuals are rounded, the scratches are less deep and less severe. So in my book, using a finer grade of finishing stone would be more important in using a waterstone than an arkansas stone, or perhaps a razor hone. For this reason, I use a translucent arkansas stone as my finish stone, and while it is slow, it polishes the edge very nicely, even though it is only rated at 4000 grit. Some of you may have experienced similar results with various clay or ceramic style razor hones.

You guys bring up interesting points. I have almost no experience using lather on a classic barber hone and ever so little more with Arkansas stones. I am now using a classic barber hone, a no name combo, on some razors. The hone is black and reddish brown. I have two of them. I tried lapping the blacks sides against each other and it was really inky! Just like a black ink.
But the really good part is that the black side is working really well as a substitute for a Japanese 4000 waterstone. Frankly, I will be using the black side from now on. When I purchase a Norton 4000 ( I have the 8000) I will compare them. The reddish brown side is not as fine as the 8000 Norton. Possibly a 5000-6000. Perhaps later I will try some lather on that side and see if that results in a finer edge.

Randy,

I have Wester Bros. combo with a coarser grit side that sounds very much like this black inky one you've mentioned. The finer grit side is greenish color, but being I haven't used it much, I couldn't estimate its grit size.

Hal

I always find that once I get the razor really nice, close and smooth from the hone, that the past adds that little extra smooooooth that is so nice. I do not rely on the pastes for sharp. Lynn

I just honed my first razor that might be considered "too sharp" to shave with comfortably. I didn't do anything different from my normal honing procedures, but this one just came out blindingly sharp. I shaves superbly, but if I don't set the blade on my check ever so lightly, it will cut just from the weight of the blade. Also, as it is a spike, if I press down with my normal shaving pressure (which is pretty light, mind you) I will get a stripe down my cheek as the spike digs in and makes a perfect slice. This is the only razor in my collection that I am actually afraid of. lol