Thread: My First Hone Job

Hey Folks, Well I performed my first Hone job on my Jemico Blue Steel Razor. Was very nervous while doing it but it come out somewhat decent. Using Randy's method, It now can cut an arm hair by the weight of the razor without no hanging up. But I still feel its not sharp enough at all. Almost still seems dull But hey I tried. I may need to send it to one of you fellas for a better job if its possible. Any takers? and how much would you charge for sharpening it back up? It was honed on the Norton 4K/8K new hone. And stropped 30 laps on my Illinois 127 strop. Thanks in advance! This was the method I had followed:

Since your razor was shaving OK then start with the 8000 side of the hone.
Try 5-10 laps on the 8000, then strop for 30-40 laps on the plain leather strop and shave.
Repeat this just once.

If that is not sufficent then try the following
3 laps on the 4000
5 laps on the 8000
1 lap on the 4000
5 laps on the 8000
1 lap on the 4000
5 laps on the 8000
strop and shave
The notation we use here is
3/5
1/5
1/5

Originally Posted by Techy

Hey Folks, Well I performed my first Hone job on my Jemico Blue Steel Razor. Was very nervous while doing it but it come out somewhat decent. Using Randy's method, It now can cut an arm hair by the weight of the razor without no hanging up. But I still feel its not sharp enough at all. Almost still seems dull But hey I tried. I may need to send it to one of you fellas for a better job if its possible. Any takers? and how much would you charge for sharpening it back up? It was honed on the Norton 4K/8K new hone. And stropped 30 laps on my Illinois 127 strop. Thanks in advance! This was the method I had followed:

Since your razor was shaving OK then start with the 8000 side of the hone.
Try 5-10 laps on the 8000, then strop for 30-40 laps on the plain leather strop and shave.
Repeat this just once.

If that is not sufficent then try the following
3 laps on the 4000
5 laps on the 8000
1 lap on the 4000
5 laps on the 8000
1 lap on the 4000
5 laps on the 8000
strop and shave
The notation we use here is
3/5
1/5
1/5

Now that you have your feet wet and hte above was insufficent its time for a more aggressive honing sequence.

try the following
15/5
10/5
5/5
3/5
3/5
1/5
1/5
strop and test shave

Then let us know how its going or if the razor needs a bit more than try
5/5
3/5
3/5
1/5
1/5
strop & test shave

By the end of these three sequences you will begin developing a feel for the rate of change that occurs with each and you can judge what, if any , additional honing is required.

Let us know how it goes!

I jumped in with both feet and started dog paddle honing right away, before my first shave even. I think it should be mentioned that you (almost) can't go slow enough, pay enough attention OR use too gentle a pressure, although this last is a little misleading. I'm finding that by paying very close attention to gently rolling the pressure from the heel to the tip it focusses my attention, and moves the honing pressure from too gentle to just right, for my Double Duck at least. That's the one I've had the most success with. What say you, Honemeisters?

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