Thread: Will a Shapton 16k take off enough to fix a tiny nick?

Hello. This is my first post, but I've read countless threads which have saved me from a ton of sore, bloody-faced headaches, so thanks.

I have a shapton 16k ceramic on glass stone on the way that I initially ordered to refresh the edge on my razor once in a while. Today I cut myself while shaving, and noticed that there is a barely visible nick in the edge of my blade near the heel. The damage is very minimal, and I'm wondering if the 16k will take off enough metal to clean it up.

Thanks,

Jon

JohnnyBoy,

Welcome to the SRP!

I don't think a 16K Glass will effectively remove any nicks in the edge. You may want to start back at at least 2K or 4K to work them out, then work back up to 16K.

If you don't have the required stones for that yet, maybe sending off your razor to one of our honing people would be the fastest and cheapest option.

wow thanks for the speedy reply. That's unfortunate... I don't mind working on the razor for a while. Do you think its possible to do it all on the 16k if i work at it for a long time (ie 100 laps instead of 10), or am i really asking for trouble?

I think you would be in for a rather long session if you tried to do that.

Theoretically, yes, with enough (a lot) of strokes, but the longer you use the stone, the greater the risk of error and stone wearing, IMO.

Depending on the size, place and severity of the chip, you could leave it as is, but I say that very cautiously.

Do you have a picture of the chip?

Unfortunately my camera has no macro setting so getting a pic is proving to be quite difficult, however I can say the nick is about .25 to .5mm and about 2cm from the heel. I really don't mind spending a few hours giving my razor some love, as it has given me so much joy.

Though I don't own a Shapton, just a chinese 12k-ish, all I can say is that I tried sharpening my str8s on it rather unsuccessfully. They demanded something more coarse to start with, and they didn't even have any chips - chinese is really just finishing stone, at least from my - very limited - experience. So my guess is that 16k will be even harder if not hopeless idea to try

You will need a coarser stone, i am a naturals man myself and only use coticules, but if you use synthectics I would reccommend 4k then 8k and finish on your 16k, if the chip is visible with the naked eye.
Also 100 laps is not a huge number IMHO, I would expect to do that to finish an edge that had no damage.
Hope this helps mate

It wouldn't work.

It's like sanding a scratch out of a table top with the wrong, too fine, grit of sandpaper. You could spend all day and still see the scratch. Same with your nick. Remember that honing can't produce new steel, but only remove it. Basically you need to remove all steel that protrudes the nick along the entire edge of the razor.
That calls for a 1 or 2K hone.

Best to tape the spine while doing the bulk of the work. Remember to work the entire edge. If you're going to support the blade with both hands, try to not have a finger pushing at the middle part of the blade all the time, because this in guaranteed to introduce a frowning curve along the edge.

If it is a cherrised (expensive) razor, I would not advice to try it for a first time effort in edge repair. Not that it's incredibly difficult, but it's not impossible to mess things up either.

Best regards,
Bart.

+1 to all the advice above. A 16k will definately not be enought to remove a chip as its basically a finishing stone.

The way I think about it is a 1k is a bevel setter, a 4k sharpens a set bevel, the 8k polishes and then something 10k+ finishes it.

So, as Bart says, if you want to get rid of a chip you'll really need to drop back down to a 1k or 2k level to remove enough metal to get rid of the chip. Then progress back up through the other stones to sharpen and refine the edge once the chip has gone.

Those Shaptons are fantastic stones though! I have the 1k, 4k, 8k and 16k ceramic on glass and I love them. I've put on edge on a razor that you could cleave atoms with using these stones.

If you dont want to sink the cash on the rest of the set then, as per the advice above, send it out to a honemeister. They'll do the necessary and it'll be back with you in no time!

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Ok... Anyone know where to get a 4k/8k in montreal? Maybe Norten Kitchen Supply? I have a wedding to go to this weekend, and I don't want to shave with a *cringe* disposable!