Thread: Honing angle

WOW !!!!
We certainly have a whole lotta definite answers here....

I'm going to give you some advice, they are very few definite answers in shavedom there are however many "expert" opinions....

I gotta ask before I voice my "expert" opinion,,,, What razor are you honing??? What shape is this razor starting in???? and what stones are you using????.....

Just some preliminary info here might help.....

As to Taping the razor??? Two schools of thought there, but that comes later down the road , first we need to figure out what is happening with the edge.... I would be very very surprised if someone created a "double bevel" on your razor, that technique is not all that easy to do correctly and about 10-20 laps would erase that anyway....

Well after taping it today, trying different amounts and angles I went upto 4 layers of electrical tape, didnt feel like it was really sharpening. about 2 hours spent messing with wrinkly sore fingers... my razors blunt as hell...

Okay to answer your questions... My razors on the list of sh*t ones... its "best brand", its definitely better than the first one I got, which was light as a feather.
when it came it was popping hairs on my arm..

its not really a wedge in that its slightly concave, but not fully like some pictures...
I dont have a camera to take a pic....

My hones, a 10,000k water stone and came with a 8,000k slurry stone....

Help?

Oh and I did the marker thing, draw a line on the edge, gave it 50 strokes, looked fine, it came off evenly and on the cutting edge about a millimeter...

I'm sorry man, but "Best Brand" is a waste of time.
Somebody once said that the pakistanis invented a fool proof method to keep a knife dull forever.
Better shoot for an old Solingen on e-bay, then start honing with the ideas from above.

maybe you needa 4k to get the sharpness and then your 10 k to polish.

Pakistanis are crap. You also need a stone at about 1k and then 4k to set a bevel and then your higher stones will polish and refine the bevel. The stone you are using now is too fine and would take forever to sharpen a good razor unless it was already sharp and just needed touching up.
As for taping the spine, I do it to protect the razor and /or make up for a worn spine.

Let's take the example of an experienced and competent honer who has a new razor. It comes from the factory with a decent edge but not really shave ready. He knows what he is doing and is experienced with his hones. He does not tape the spine and in short order sets a bevel and then sharpens and finishes his razor with minimal wear to the spine.

If he only has the one razor or has a few it doesn't often get back to the hones and when it does it is quickly refreshed with minimal wear. It will take a lifetime to show significant wear.

Take the same situation with an inexperienced honer. He doesn't tape the spine either. Depending on how well he studies the tutorials and his aptitude for honing he may successfully sharpen and finish the edge with minimal strokes but chances are he will have to do a lot more then the guy who knows his stuff.The new guy could put years of wear on the spine in one or two sittings while learning to hone.

One layer of tape is not going to be a significant change in the geometry of the razor. In the example above we are talking a new razor. How much more wear would the neophyte cause to the ebay special with chipping to the edge and that sort of thing.

IMO a person learning to hone should definitely use the one layer of electrical tape. Once they really know how to hone it is optional depending on the razor. Just my two bits.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

WOW !!!!
We certainly have a whole lotta definite answers here....

I'm going to give you some advice, they are very few definite answers in shavedom there are however many "expert" opinions....

I gotta ask before I voice my "expert" opinion,,,, What razor are you honing??? What shape is this razor starting in???? and what stones are you using????.....

Just some preliminary info here might help.....

As to Taping the razor??? Two schools of thought there, but that comes later down the road , first we need to figure out what is happening with the edge.... I would be very very surprised if someone created a "double bevel" on your razor, that technique is not all that easy to do correctly and about 10-20 laps would erase that anyway....

Post all the pertinent information and you will get answers from very experienced members ( I am not one ). It sounds like the razor you are using has a factory set double bevel.

Originally Posted by mrjynx

Well after taping it today, trying different amounts and angles I went upto 4 layers of electrical tape, didnt feel like it was really sharpening. about 2 hours spent messing with wrinkly sore fingers... my razors blunt as hell...

Okay to answer your questions... My razors on the list of sh*t ones... its "best brand", its definitely better than the first one I got, which was light as a feather.
when it came it was popping hairs on my arm..

its not really a wedge in that its slightly concave, but not fully like some pictures...
I dont have a camera to take a pic....

My hones, a 10,000k water stone and came with a 8,000k slurry stone....

Help?

Stop !!!! Your wasting your time...
Even on a quality razor a 10k stone is for finishing /refreshing.....

Speaking of which, PM me your address I have a nice 5/8 Barber's Notch, Worcester Razor that is in near perfect condition that I will hone out for you tonight and send in the AM so you have a real razor to shave with.... Later down the road you can use that 10k to refresh the edge on this one....

Pass it forward later when you find a new guy in need....

These razors came to me from an anonymous senior member here to do these type of give away's with.....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Stop !!!! Your wasting your time...
Even on a quality razor a 10k stone is for finishing /refreshing.....

Speaking of which, PM me your address I have a nice 5/8 Barber's Notch, Worcester Razor that is in near perfect condition that I will hone out for you tonight and send in the AM so you have a real razor to shave with.... Later down the road you can use that 10k to refresh the edge on this one....

Pass it forward later when you find a new guy in need....

These razors came to me from an anonymous senior member here to do these type of give away's with.....

<----- the look on my face when I read that..

That would be a real lifesaver, didnt think such acts of kindness still went on. tho you may reconsider when you learn I live in England, so I`ll understand if shipping would be too much.. I`ll pm you. and either send it back or pass it on, cos you probably come into contact with more newbies that me.

Refreshing a blade is the same as maintaining a blade? I`m okay with my 10k and 8k slurry to maintain a shave ready blade.
dont make me regret buying the 10k...

If I decide to buy some more stones, would the norton 4/8k and a 1k be okay, those tend to be the ones I hear refered to most.