Thread: Honing a Barlow wedge

I bought a Barlow "The Old English Razor" which has cleaned up pretty nice, but I am having a hard time getting a shavable edge on it. I started with a DMT 1200 and progressed up to my J-nat. But I am not satisfied with the edge. I shaved with it last night and got an OK shave, but I had much higher hopes. It just didn't seem sharp enough. Do I drop back to the 1200 and start again? Do, I just stay with my coticule with slurry until I am happy and then move up?

This is only the 3rd wedge I have honed so any general wedge honing tips would be appreciated.

Here is the auction I won it on:

http://rurl.org/1rop

I assume if you take that blade to shave bevel should be set already. have you taped the blade when you sharpen?
I don't know what stones you have beside coticule. Do you have pastes? if you let us know we can help more.

I was kind of hoping to avoid telling much of what I did. I used enough different combinations of stones it is hard to remember and kind of embarrassing.

Here goes:

When I started, there was a nick in the blade that didn't extend across the bevel. So, I taped it and honed it on the DMT 1200 until the nick was pretty much gone (thinking the rest of the honing would get rid of the remainder. I wanted to finish up with natural stones so I skipped the DMT 8000 and went to the BBW with slurry.

Being an impatient soul, while honing on the BBW, I thought this might go a little faster if I went to my pink coticule with slurry. So I switched.

While honing on the coticule, I thought (too much thinking time with all this honing is all I can say), I have this fairly fast cutting J-Natural I got from Zethlent, this would be a good time to see how fast that REALLY cuts.

After some time on the J-nat. I think this isn't going like I hoped and I probably should have switched over to the DMT 8000 in the first place.

After a while, I checked it and it is kind of sharp and so went to polishing it on the J-nat and then the butterscotch hone (which I think is a translucent Ark) but the nick isn't completely gone, but this has been going on too long doggone it.

It seemed sharpish, but I hadn't really gotten that dang nick out, so I said "Py you should have spent more time on the 1200 in the first place." Of course I was right and had wasted a bunch of time. so I went back to the 1200 and finally got rid of that nick.

I then went up to the 8000 and then bounced between the J-nat, the coticule, and the Olivia hone for a while and she polished up nice and shaved OK.

So tonight I went back to the 1200 DMT and when I was satisfied with the sharpness, I went to the coticule, on to the J-nat and finally the butterscotch hone. Shave was better, but again, not where I want it to be yet.

More honing tomorrow.

Oh and here are some after shining up pics of the razor in question. Hopefully it shows it is worth the effort:

I find myself looking more at your Nakayama than your razor. It is a nice looking wedge though.

Originally Posted by Pyment

I was kind of hoping to avoid telling much of what I did. I used enough different combinations of stones it is hard to remember and kind of embarrassing.

I should say This is not embarrassing at all. This is learning and i had worse times.
Pyment from picture edge doesn't look bad at all.
it seems like great edge.
Please go back work on dmt 8k until it will cut hairs very easy. Then next you can go to your coticule(i am not sure what quality coticule you have ) or your next best one will be Japan Nakyama. last use 20 laps on chro2 pastes and try to shave again.gl.
let us know and most importantly don't give up.

I find almost all of the time my problems relate spending too little time on the lower hones. I can get a great polish on a blade and not be sharp enough because of too little time on the DMT's

I am just too impatient to get to the coticule and Nakayama. I just love the feel of honing on them.

If the razor does not pass the TNT at the bevel setting stage, then the higher grit hones (no matter what they are) will be of very little use... you will simply be "going through the motions" as they say.

I spent some time on the 8K DMT with it last night. and still haven't been satisfied. Next I will try it back on the DMT 1200 (with soap) and after that I will send it off to a honemeister.

Did they use some special hard steel on these things?

Maybe I can barter some fresh roasted Kenyan for honing.

first make sure 1200 dmt is already brake in. then go head try it. This is a little confusing .if you haven't set bevel i don't think you would be able to shave? But you said you have already shave with that blade ones. lets us know result. gl