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An 800 grit stone may well be *creating* the microchips. Go ahead and move up to 2k grit and see if they disappear. I've got some razors that microchip even from 4k or 8k hones. I have to hone those a step or two above where I'd hone a normal razor, so on those razors I'll start a touch-up at 16k instead of 4k.
Bill:
I moved this to it's own thread so you can get even more opinions other than just mine...
Bevel setting questions ...
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So, I have a 800 grit stone that I use to set the bevel. Once the bevel is set I am wondering if I use a bit of a Nagura slurry to bring the honing up a notch to 1k level. Am I wrong thing this? Also I have the bevel set on the 800 grit but in some areas there is some microchipping that I see under a 30X scope. Should I keep going on the 800 grit till all of the mc's are gone??
Thanks,
Bill
Ok the first question on the slurry, that would actually do the opposite, using slurry on a stone in essence lowers the grit rating, and ups the cutting power...
What kind of razor are we talking about ???
The razor in question I have no information on it. It is a 6/8ths wedge with a swayback spine and the only markings on the tang says:
SILVER STEEL
WARRANTED
There is also a small crown mark with a V and R on each side of the crown it too.
The blade has had some brutal restoration work done on it prior to me receiving it. The scales are bone with a lead or pewter wedge.
I have spent the last few nights working on getting all of the razors I have to a shave ready condition and this is the next to the last blade.
Wait I'm confused. Where's the original post that I was replying to?
Inside of post #2
In the middle of this move I had to Mod a thread over in the Workshop and somehow the original post from Turbine got dragged along so I lost it.... but luckily I had a "Copy and Paste" going so I added it to my post #2...
Did that make any sense at all????
How about this, I suck at computer crap and I did the best I could...:D
I agree with Mr Paker right up until you said the blade was restored, which means that these might not be microchips from the hone, but rather a ragged edge from the restoration process.... I hate to say this but I would do just some very, very, light breadknife strokes on the back of a stone to smooth down the edge, then start again on the 800 and see if they come back, if they do then follow Mr Parker's suggestion...
Ok I will start at the beginning. I received this blade from a friend who said he did not touch it. Where he got it from I have no clue but this blade had some resto work done on it with a dremel cuz I could see swirl marks on it just like a dremel would do. The blade was so dull that it would not cut air LOL.
First I used some 400 grit wet.dry on a glass lapping plate with 2 layers of tape to set a bevel. Once the bevel was all along the edge of the blade I moved to 800 grit water stone. After using the 800 I looked at it under the scope and saw that in several areas the was microchipping. So I was wondering if I should keep on the 800 till all the chips are removed or would doing a slurry help out? Or, would moving up to 4k and see if the chips go away. I understand what has been said about 800 grit used as setting a bevel but is it for also setting the edge??
Bill,
It's possible that the chipping you see could be old, rotten steel giving out from the stress of abrasion. A while ago I fought with a Torrey which seemed to exhibit the same problems. I'd work on the bevel, gently but on relatively coarse stones - chipping. I'd do it some more - chipping, but in different places on the blade. I'd do it some more - same story. I never got to where I thought I ought to be with my "reasonable" effort and put the razor away to consider its sins. I should drag it out again and work it with some finer hones to see if anything - my attitude or its recalcitrance - has improved.
cheers,
Not sure what you're asking about setting the bevel vs setting the edge, but the first step in honing a razor of that age is to simply get the two sides of the bevel to meet in the middle all along the length of the blade. That can be done on sandpaper or a very coarse stone. Then you move to sharpening this edge, which is done on 2k-4k hones. By the time you're done here the edge should be as sharp as it's gonna get. The next step is to polish the edge, and this is done from 8k on up to as high a grit as you can afford.
I wouldn't use a slurry. If the microchips were left over from a previous step then 800 grit should get rid of them in short order. But if the microchips are coming from the 800 grit hone then a slurry is likely to make things worse.
Personally if the bevels are meeting to form an edge then I'd go ahead and move to the sharpening phase, off the 800 hone to a 2k or so hone, and see if the microchips don't disappear during the normal course of sharpening. I don't really consider microchips at that low of a grit to be any cause for alarm.
Edit: the previous poster is right, sometimes you just get rotten steel. But that coarse hone is likely putting so much stress on the edge that even good but hard steel would have a tendency to microchip.
Well I think I have found the problem with this blade. After going back to 800 grit, and looking at the bevel, I noticed a faint line going horizontal along the bevel. I then proceeded to do 50 more laps and see what is going on. After 50 laps and looking in the scope, I saw the line was a crack in the blade. Not only in one area but 2. Both areas are where I am getting the micro chipping. I now suspect that the cracks are making the edge of the blade flex and causing the problem. I believe that Bruce is correct in saying the cause my be from "rotten steel".
Thanks for all the information everyone and I guess this razor will now become my shop knife.
Thanks again,
Bill Wilcox
Good News you solved the mystery :)
Bad News The blade was bad :cry:
Sorry to hear about the bad news
Well it is better to have found this on a blade that was given to me to see how my honing skills are progressing and not a blade I had paid for and wanted to use in my rotation. Still I would have liked it to turn out well. At least I learned from it with all of you guy's help.