Thread: Why isn't this working...

It's frustrating because I know how good of a shaver this razor can be. I'm trying to figure out whether it's the bevel or the belgian blue or a combination..

I forgot to mention that the bevel on the razor is rather large and that the razor was honed with one layer of tape..Would removing the tape or adding some change anything?

Originally Posted by Dups

I forgot to mention that the bevel on the razor is rather large and that the razor was honed with one layer of tape..Would removing the tape or adding some change anything?

Honing wide bevels to sharpness can be a real pain. It not only takes an exponential amount of laps when compared to a narrow bevel, but the wide bevel also creates suction on the hone's surface. I sometimes notice how that can have a weird effect on the very tip to the bevel (where the final sharpness is defined). I don't really know why it happens, but I speculate that the suctions causes the very tip of the bevel to flutter on the hone. As a result, the final keenness always leaves something to be desired.

Narrow bevels hone that more easily. To work around a wide bevel, try this:

Set the initial bevel without tape. Once ready, apply 1 layer of tape to the spine and cut a new, narrower bevel with 10-15 laps on the DMT-E. It really helps to be able to inspect the edge with magnification. Don't do too much work on the DMT, or your new bevel will also become wide.
Leave the tape on and finish on the Blue with slurry and the Yellow with water.
Remove tape and strop on clean leather.

Good luck and keep us posted,
Bart.

the blue with slurry then with water then the yellow with water for about 50 laps the check it on the tpt.that should get you where you need to be.

Originally Posted by Dups

I forgot to mention that the bevel on the razor is rather large and that the razor was honed with one layer of tape..Would removing the tape or adding some change anything?

I've tryed the method of double bevel and as bart says i actualy find invisable realy thin bevel seem to shave so well and are alot keener. I have same razor as you and my bevel is realy thin and i have had it for a good two years now. i would start from scratch like i posted earlier and hone with out tape full stop. set bevel till marker is fully gone then the bbw and yellow strop and test. if that does'nt work add a layer of tape create a double bevel and see if it improves any . Even though you were getting good results befor with your 4k 8k. i'd only use tape on a realy old razor with big chip or somthing once bevel was passing tnt i'd take it of annd continue to set for maybe 20 laps maybe a thew more. i reckon with out tape you should get a good result

Hey Bart,

Followed your advice. I honed the razor on the DMT without tape and then added two (tried with one and it didn't do much) layers of tape did 18 more passes on the dmt and then proceeded to the belgian blue and yellow. The razor passes the HHT with ease. I will shave with it later and keep you guys posted. Also the edge feels a lot more sticky to the thumb pad than it used to.

Hopefully that fixed it!


thanks,

JF

back from the shave!

very good shave! I think what Bart was saying was correct. The smaller secondary bevel did it all! Gave a nice smooth shave! I'll probably try a few swipes on the Cr0 to see if I can bring it to another level.

Thanks Bart!!

JF

That's great news!

Well done.

Bart.

nooooo! I went back to touch up the razor and not it doesn't really pass the HHT test. I haven't tried to shave with it but. After I shaved I thought the heel could be better so I went back to the DMT for 14 passes and then followed that with the blue and yellow again.

Did I remove the secondary bevel or something? It still cuts hair fairly well off my arm but doesn't want to pass the HHT like it did before.

I probably got so many bevel on this thing that it doesn't know where or what to cut.

Would going back to the DMT without tape remove all the current bevels and reset the whole process?

thanks,

JF

Yes, you can restore the original bevel on the DMT-E.
Doing much experimentation with altering the bevel angle on a DMT-E, is guaranteed to consume a lot of steel rapidly. So I really urge you to keep good track of things.
I don't look at this a a "secondary" bevel, although strictly spoken is is one. It's just that most modern hollow razors are not meant to have a wide bevel. If they do, that usually means a serious portion of the spine is honed down, and/or the blade is becoming a lot narrower than original. A lot of guys always hone with a layer of tape, and this, under certain conditions, keeps the bevel narrow.
When in trouble it's better to set a narrow bevel with tape, than a wide bevel without tape. To monitor that, you could use magnification, or just color the entire edge black with a marker. The bevel is where the marker is removed.

It puzzles me that you lost the edge with doing a few laps on CrO.
How densely is your strop loaded with CrO?