Thread: My embarrassing Honing questions

I feel like I should know the answers to these, but here goes:

a) I have a problem when taping the spine. Not only do I seem to get a lot of adhesive on the blade, I get black gunk on my hone. I figure this is either due to the age of my tape (several years old) or re-using the tape on subsequent blades. I suppose either way this means there are limits and I should stop being such a cheap stupe and buy new. Any particularly good brands?

b) I have noticed some of my blades seem to be sharp when honed (I make sure my blade is ready to go before retiring at night), but overnight they seem to lose the edge without stropping or anything. Bad steel? Bad honing? Bad stropping? Bearded pixies shaving with my razors while I am asleep?

Originally Posted by Pyment

I feel like I should know the answers to these, but here goes:

a) I have a problem when taping the spine. Not only do I seem to get a lot of adhesive on the blade, I get black gunk on my hone. I figure this is either due to the age of my tape (several years old) or re-using the tape on subsequent blades. I suppose either way this means there are limits and I should stop being such a cheap stupe and buy new. Any particularly good brands?

b) I have noticed some of my blades seem to be sharp when honed (I make sure my blade is ready to go before retiring at night), but overnight they seem to lose the edge without stropping or anything. Bad steel? Bad honing? Bad stropping? Bearded pixies shaving with my razors while I am asleep?

a) Get some cheap tape from harbor freight or walmart. doesnt leave much residue. mineral oil will remove the residue.

b) Were you drunk?

1)It wont be that expensive to change the tape regularly, at least change it with every razor. The more the tape abrades, the more gunk is going to be left on the hone.
3M is the best for this, it doesnt abrade as quickly.
2) The bearded pixies are hell. Always strop properly before the shave, if it is a freshly honed razor double the laps. On a sharp blade I will do 30/50 linen/leather, on a freshly honed blade I will increase it to 60/100, maybe more.

b) Too much pressure when honing?

Like I said I should know this stuff.

new Tape (stop being so cheap) - check

Mineral oil - check

Abstain from alcohol when stropping - check

I have tried varying the pressure - I went lighter and lighter to "improve" my technique and stropping wasn't doing all that much. Now I may be too hard. I did better when I didn't think about it all that much.

I have thought about shaving off the cotton strop for that is when it feels the sharpest.

I may bring back stropping on newsprint with Chrome Ox.

I remember another question. My glass hone wants me to use a slate pencil for abrasive. These are made from "Binota shale" in which the abrasives are quartz/silicates. could I use chalk?

Actually, the only thing you need to remove tape residue from the blade is the tape itself. Just dab the sticky side of the tape, that you just removed, onto the residue. It will pull off every bit of the residue with just a few dabs. I am a big fan of the 3M tape. It costs more but I don't care. A roll lasts a long time, and I change tape repeatedly as I progress up the hones. In fact, I color code it. Black for bevel setting. Brown for sharpening. Red for polishing. That way I can assembly line the honing and keep track of where I am with a given blade.

The bearded pixies might be at fault.

Alternatively, are you stropping right after you hone? If you looked under a microscope, you would see that rust forms on a freshly honed edge within FIVE MINUTES! For this reason, it is critical to get that edge dried immediately after honing. I always strop and oil immediately after honing.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Alternatively, are you stropping right after you hone? If you looked under a microscope, you would see that rust forms on a freshly honed edge within FIVE MINUTES! For this reason, it is critical to get that edge dried immediately after honing. I always strop and oil immediately after honing.

I didn't know a freshly honed edge was so susceptible to rust! Luckily I do always strop after any honing, but I had no idea it was so crucial. Thanks for the tip.

Oh, and about the tape residue, one thing that I find worked very well was just some rubbing alcohol on a tissue.

I like the color coded tape idea! excellent!

Well ya got the tape thing sorted out...

But I will tell you a story, about mystery dullness on razors....

One year about X-mas time the wife and I are upstairs wrapping presents, and I says "Honey, sweetness, darling, where are the scissors to cut this plastic stuff on this package".....

Now guess what the B ch says back, "Oh you don't need scissors, your razors work way better, and they are right there in the bathroom"

AAAAAAAAaaaaaargh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Make sure there are no "Gremlins" at yer house.....

Like "Oh it won't shave? Worked well on the linoleum though"