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  1. #1
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    This tip was too good not to try. BTW, I picked up a (free) piece of scrap plate glass from a local glass shop about 3" x 12" x 1/4" thick & used that as a flat reference surface underneath 1 sheet of newsprint. I have no way of measuring but I think I can feel the difference w/my thumb (feels scary sharp). This is certainly cleaner than mixing cocoa abrasive. To recap, my sharpening procedure is now:

    1. remove the factory edge w/600 grit silicon carbide stone
    2. smooth it with white Arkansas stone
    3. polish the cr@p out of it w/polishing compound on denim on glass (several hundred strokes)
    4. more polishing w/newspaper on glass
    5. strop on leather

    Assuming that the cocoa & the newspaper are roughly equivalent, I am doing (5) before each shave and (4) about twice / week. I have not yet had to repeat (3) or (2), and will probably never have to repeat (1). I am guessing that I will need to do (3) once a month, but that's just a guess. Also, my beard is very tough & is hard on blades (I only used to get about 3 decent shaves out of a disposable).

  2. #2
    Senior Member Korndog's Avatar
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    I have heard of Japanese sharpeners using newsprint on knives. I believe it's a fairly common practice.

  3. #3
    Senior Member superfly's Avatar
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    booga, if you used to get only about 3 decent shaves out of a disposable, you can now try working on your lathering technique. Read the posts here about the shave prep, and try the ones you like the best. You will see that your razor will last longer between honings. Also, there is no way you will maintain the straight razor without good honing stone. You'll have to get one eventually, so better get it now. It's a once in lifetime buy (if your not into collecting). Norton 4000/8000 3" synthetic wetstone is favorite combo here. It's the only one you'll need. Some people refine their razors with fine abrasive pasted strop, or finer hones, but you can shave straight from the 8000 side of the Norton. I do.

    have fun,
    Nenad

  4. #4
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    Really? Because my razor was like a butter knife out of the box & I created the edge from scratch using this method. I assumed when the edge was worn out I could just do the same thing again. Granted, I had to do a lot of work with the polishing compound due to the big difference between the white Arkansas stone & the compound, but it did work.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Tony Miller's Avatar
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    Not sure if was mentioned yet but a good tip if using sandpaper on glass is to wet the back of the paper first and squegee it down to the glass. This will make it stay put and prevent it from bunching up.
    We do this at work with wet/dry paper stuck onto a granite surface plate to lap small parts perfectly flat. Without the water on the back the paper tends to have a mind of it's own.

    Tony
    The Heirloom Razor Strop Company / The Well Shaved Gentleman

    https://heirloomrazorstrop.com/

  6. #6
    Senior Member Joe Lerch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by booga
    Really? Because my razor was like a butter knife out of the box & I created the edge from scratch using this method. I assumed when the edge was worn out I could just do the same thing again. Granted, I had to do a lot of work with the polishing compound due to the big difference between the white Arkansas stone & the compound, but it did work.
    You certainly could, and for you maintenance and refreshin the edge a baber's hone and pasted strops are fine. I have the Norton 4/8K and I only use it for groups of razors, because it's a mess. For a single razor, I can work with regular stones, baber hones or even pasted strops and do the work at my desk instead of the sink.

  7. #7
    Senior Member superfly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by booga
    Really? Because my razor was like a butter knife out of the box & I created the edge from scratch using this method. I assumed when the edge was worn out I could just do the same thing again. Granted, I had to do a lot of work with the polishing compound due to the big difference between the white Arkansas stone & the compound, but it did work.
    booga, assumption is the mother of all screw-ups. Wethern's Law ...

  8. #8
    Senior Member Joe Lerch's Avatar
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    Superfly, booga is a pretty saavy guy and came right back at you with the right answer. He doesn't need a Norton.

    He has a hard Arkansas which is pretty fine. It's used on surgical instruments. That's what got him to the makeshift pasted strop. The fact that he finished the razor fine disproves your suggestion.

    We need to be careful what we suggest to newbies. Some other guy might just run out and buy an expensive Norton to maintain one razor.

    All booga needs is barber hones or pasted strops. There are plenty of guys who maintain razors with just barber hones. A simple two sided barber hone would give him a very nice progression of grits. Tell Hal Wilson he needs a Norton. He can hone circles around both of us with his barber hones.

    So, there's my concern. Be more careful about what you tell newbies.

  9. #9
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    Actually, Joe, the white Arkansas stone is a soft stone, which is why it took so much friggin work going from the stone to the polishing compound--the huge difference in coarseness. But it did work. So far it looks like I have to use the newspaper on plate glass every 3 or 4 days. This is expected: I have a heavy, fast-growing beard & have to shave twice a day (i.e. before going out at night or I look like a wino). I destroy disposables at about the same rate. I expect to have to break out the polishing compound monthly. I think next time I'll smear the compound over newspaper on the plate glass (instead of using denim) to make sure the angles remain true. We'll see how it goes.

    Edited to add: assumption is the mother of screw-ups, but screw-ups are the mother of invention Just ask Edison. Right now I'm working with a $10 razor so I don't mind performing experiments on it. If I ruin it, OK, next time I'll know what not to do. So far everything is working great but I wouldn't necessarily do this stuff to some expensive vintage razor with pearl inlays & mahogany handles or whatever. A razor like that, if I ever get one, will go to Lynn
    Last edited by booga; 10-19-2005 at 06:13 PM.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Joe Lerch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by superfly
    there is no way you will maintain the straight razor without good honing stone. You'll have to get one eventually, so better get it now. It's a once in lifetime buy (if your not into collecting). Norton 4000/8000 3" synthetic wetstone is favorite combo here. It's the only one you'll need. Some people refine their razors with fine abrasive pasted strop, or finer hones, but you can shave straight from the 8000 side of the Norton. I do.
    I don't know what your basis is for this conclusion, but there are plenty of people who maintain their razors with only barber hones or pasted strops. The Norton 4/8K is only a necessity if you're restoring Ebay razors. Booga already has plenty of stones to do an occasional fix on a razor. The baber hones and/or strops will maintain it for a very long time.

    I used to go to an old time barber who maintained his razors on with a baber hone(s). He was a shaving specialist and was always doing shaves. One time we happened to talk about is razors and he told me he used only barber hones and sent a few razors out for service once a month. I didn't know enough about it to ask more, but I'm willing to bet they weren't the same razors.

    With a rough calculation I could estimate that he probably got the equivalent of 6-12 months of use on a razor by an individual using only baber hones.

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