Thread: What Next?

Greetings all,
I've gotten some great advice from everyone concerning honing. I've been working on a razor I got off ebay (Dixie Co.). It passes the thumb, thumbnail, and hanging hair tests; but seems to pull the whiskers as it goes, rather than cutting them. It does shave, in other words, but kinda hurts in comparison to a razor I got offa Lynn, which glides smoothly. I've heard microscopes help, but I don't have one... What might the problem be with this razor (or me!)?

MMMM, probably just not sharp. If you had a microscope you'd probably see all kinds of intense serrations on the edge of the blade and you might see a nick or two. I personally would run the razor over a soaked 8,000 hone about 30 passes, or .5 micron about 30 passes (or heck maybe even both). Got a barbers hone? Maybe 20 passes with that. Maybe even consider cutting all those numbers in half and trying to shave with it then finish with the other half if its still pulling a little. Well ofcourse, the sensible thing is to put it away and go to Radioshack and buy a microscope for $10. I'd be too worried that I'd spend the afternoon with a razor and an 8,000 side of a Norton only to find a wicked nick and realize I wasted my afternoon.

Originally Posted by marciaga

Greetings all,
I've gotten some great advice from everyone concerning honing. I've been working on a razor I got off ebay (Dixie Co.). It passes the thumb, thumbnail, and hanging hair tests; but seems to pull the whiskers as it goes, rather than cutting them. It does shave, in other words, but kinda hurts in comparison to a razor I got offa Lynn, which glides smoothly. I've heard microscopes help, but I don't have one... What might the problem be with this razor (or me!)?

It sounds like it needs more work. The shave test is the only one that counts.

I've had razors that shaved better, yet under 100x magnification the edge showed tiny chips and unevenness. When I evened it out the razor shaved much better. You can get a pocket microscope from Radio Shack for $10.

Before you work on the razor any more look at it under a microscope and see what kind of work it might need. it won't help for you to work blind.

On the other hand. Your razor is in pretty good shape, so the first thing I would try is more stropping on plain leather, then try shaving again. That should improve it. If not, try a little refreshing on a fine barber hone (something around 12K) or on a .5 micron pasted strop. It may take a bit more work on the pasted strop. Then strop on plain leather and try shaving again.

If this doesn't do it, work the razor until there are no more chips or unevenness of the edge under the microscope. get it to pass the test, and then try shaving.

I took the suggestions and got a microscope. Under it, the edge looked jagged with a couple nicks. So, should I now keep honing with my premier (med./fine) hone, or consider a more coarse grit? I wonder if I should just say "to heck with it," since the razor itself was an inexpensive, not too nice one that I bought to practice honing on. What do you think?

Originally Posted by marciaga

I took the suggestions and got a microscope. Under it, the edge looked jagged with a couple nicks. So, should I now keep honing with my premier (med./fine) hone, or consider a more coarse grit? I wonder if I should just say "to heck with it," since the razor itself was an inexpensive, not too nice one that I bought to practice honing on. What do you think?

Since you bought it to practice, practice. Since the razor is shaving, it won't take a lot of work.

Put it on the hone and see what effect 20 round trips have. Go back to the microscope and see if the edge is getting more even. Keep working. As you get close check more often. If you do it this way, when the edge is even you won't have to form it again (if you did it on a coarser hone you would). You can then move on to finer grits and stropping. When it tests sharp now, it should shave much better. This is exactly what happened to me. The goal is to void overhoning.

I would agree with Joe but with one minor change. Try reducing the nicks with the fine side first, but don't waste your time if there is no appreciable change. Use the medium side of the hone and check for the rate of change in the nicks. Just how deep are the nicks? 1/8th of the bevel, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4? Let us know. It does make a difference.