Thread: AM I LOSING MY MIND??

Every time I try to hone a restoration razor I get great results with the Norton 1k, 4k, and 8k hones. My razor is sticky sharp with the TPT.When I try to go to a higher grit stone, coticle, thuringian, or chinese 12k, the TPT seems to tell me that I am dulling the edge. I lose the sticky sharpness. Isn't it supposed to refine the edge thus getting more sticky sharp??

What am I missing here?????? I want to break my hones.

UGH....

weird. never heard of that before.

I'm having that same problem with my coticule and hunsrueck. The Chinese stone is performing well though. Some say the natural stones initially make the edge less keen, but then bring it back after so many passes. I don't know. I'm half tempted to stick with the 8K followed by Chinese then chrom ox...

How do your razors shave after the 8K?

Jordan

How do the shaves compare off the Norton and off the Coticule/Escher/Ch12k?

Edit: see this thread: http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...tml#post331073

The same thing happens to me fairly often, too. I don't use the TPT as a guide, though, because my hands shake. I have to use the HHT instead.

When this happens to me, I continue through my honing progression, then strop the heck out of the blade. This will usually get me back to HHT positive. If it is, then I'll do a test shave.

I wish I could tell you why it seems like the upper grit stones occasionally cause a loss in sharpness, but I can't. All I can say is to go ahead and finish your honing progression, strop it like crazy, retest with TPT, then shave.

Not much, but I hope it helps.

I know what you mean. I've been wondering if i start the slurry too thick & that causes the problem. Keep meaning to find out how the slurry should look at the beginning.

I would suggest some magnification and watch what's happening with the scratches. Are they getting polished out from what's left after the 8k?

Also, make sure your strokes are even, with [very] light even pressure. I'd just choose one of your hones to work on at a time to ease troubleshooting. Make sure the surface is smooth, and make sure you're not catching an edge on the stone. I bevel all my stone edges when I lap them, to avoid this.

I have found what your saying i even loose the hht on the coticule. After the 4k 8k i don't perform the tpt because i think it can damage the fine egde.Once i have stropped the hanging hair test if my razor as been honed good the hanging hair test flys back into action i then no i will 9 times out of ten get a good shave and if i do i then hit the polising paste for a few laps and it normaly gives me a nice shave even still. Because i'd loose the the hht on the 12k kitiyama or my bbw or yellow coti i thought i'd ruined my edge but i think it just smothed things out that much that is why i could'nt pass hht and tpt did'nt feel aS STICKY BECAUSE EDGE IS MORE SMOOTH. having said that the shave will tell you if you have deteriated the edge by using that extra hone test shave at 4k 8k and then hone with your coti and your next shave should tell you if better or worse with 12k finishers.

It would seem to me that you should just stop after the 8K, strop the razor and go on. That's what I do.

I am on the same page as Gary, I stop testing the edge after the 4k, I just don't want to dull the edge by bouncing my thumb up and down the edge.....
At some point in time in your honing, you just have to have the confidence that you are doing it right.. Polish it out, strop it up, try the HHT if you must, then shave... After enough successful test shaves you will just quit second guessing yourself....