Thread: Dilemma: Learning to Hone on Ebay Special

I think Glen pretty much covered it. But I would like to emphasize one of the things he has already said. Put some tape on the spine of your razor and do 20 laps on your DMT. If that wont set a bevel, I dont know what would. Hopefully you have already broken in the DMT.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

I think Glen pretty much covered it. But I would like to emphasize one of the things he has already said. Put some tape on the spine of your razor and do 20 laps on your DMT. If that wont set a bevel, I dont know what would. Hopefully you have already broken in the DMT.

So I started out with 20 laps on the DMT 325 last night without any noticeable results. I then proceeded to do another 20 laps on the DMT followed by an aggressive pyramid on the Norton and still nothing. I started to get a little frustrated and started doing circles first on the 4K side of the Norton and then on the DMT, which still did not seem to make a difference.

I then took a real good look at the bevel and noticed for the first time that the bevel was uneven, almost non-existent in the middle of one side of the blade. I assumed that meant the bevel still had not been correctly set so I continued doing laps on the DMT. I did maybe somewhere between 50 to 75 laps, periodically checking to see if the bevel was setting in the middle of the blade, which it was not.

About to give up in frustration, I decided to try taping the spine with 1 layer of black electrical tape and give it one more round of laps on the DMT. After I was done I ran the bottom 3rd of the blade across the top of my wrist, which immediately started catching and then cutting my hairs. The bevel still did not appear to be set in the middle of the blade so I did a few more laps on the DMT before calling it a night. The top and bottom 3rd of the blade now cut arm hair but it appears that the middle of the blade still has a ways to go.

When I removed the tape from the spine I noticed considerable wear on certain areas, especially around the heel and toe. I cannot say for sure how much was there before and how much was caused by me but I'm guessing that the hone wear was contributing to some of my difficulties.. Does anyone have additional tips or suggestions on how I should approach this blade (considering my basic equipment setup)? I definitely want to make sure I'm headed down the right path. I thinking it also would be wise for me to pick up a couple more old razors to practice one.

Also, I want to thank everyone for their input to my initial post!

Squash, a DMT 325 is good for lapping your Nortons and maybe removing extreme chips but I wouldn't use it for setting a bevel. A DMT 1200 or a 1k waterstone would be a better option.

To me any inexperienced honer is best off taping the spine until you feel confident in your honing. When you feel you know what you are doing than make the tape or no tape decision.

First you should use the marker test to determine what type of stroke you need to make contact with the blade across the entire edge. Sounds like a rolling x of a 45 degree angle to the hone may be in order for your blade.

Remember that statement up above where I said luck of the draw????

The good news is when you get this one sorted out I promise you will get a good shave and a huge sense of accomplishment...

Leave the one layer of tape on and keep it on the 325 until you get a bevel from heel to toe don't switch until the bevel is sharp don't cheat you will not catch back up later.... as the tape wears out keep replacing it. and stay with 1 layer through out the honing process take the tape off before you get on the strops...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Remember that statement up above where I said luck of the draw????

The good news is when you get this one sorted out I promise you will get a good shave and a huge sense of accomplishment...

Leave the one layer of tape on and keep it on the 325 until you get a bevel from heel to toe don't switch until the bevel is sharp don't cheat you will not catch back up later.... as the tape wears out keep replacing it. and stay with 1 layer through out the honing process take the tape off before you get on the strops...

Yup, you were right

Good to know that I'm on the right track, I'll keep everyone posted on my progress!