Thread: One edge is sharper than the other

Originally Posted by hendersr

I have a soft Arkansas stone and a Kasumi #3K/#8K ceramic block. I have been doing most of the honing on the Kasumi

I am not familiar with the stones you are using. My guess is that they are not ideal for setting a bevel and getting a razor up to speed. I know a soft Arkansas is slow and while good on pocket knives is not great for razors. I don't know the other stones.

If you have a magic marker paint the very edge, do a few strokes and see how your edge is making contact by what is removed. Also for the wire edge a few back honing strokes might help on that.

I would put my focus on the 3k doing circles to set a bevel and having some magnification would be a big +. Do the TNT to get an idea of where you are on your bevel set. Once 'there' don't use the TNT anymore and do x strokes in a pyramid with the 3/8. That is what I would do having those....

Gotta plus one with Jimmy here...

I don't know those stones either, but I think Jimmy gave you a great game plan...

You also might try a PM to Onimaru or Jimbo maybe they are close to you there down under....

Kasumi provide a stone and i used that to lap the hones.

Pretty sure i didnt lift the spine when i was stropping. Its pretty easy on the strop i have as its a leather stuck on wood. So its easy to ensure the spine doesnt lift.

I have a razor that I bought 18 years ago and didnt use until recently. I was able to hone this to a respectable sharpness to shave with. I cant seem to get this one right though.

This isnt a link about the Kasumi stones its to purchase them but you can get an idea of what they are http://www.everten.com.au/product/kasumi-whetstone-30008000.html.


I will certainly try the magic marker idea and maybe a few backstrokes.

The hardest lesson I had to learn while learning to hone was to use light pressure. What I thought was light pressure when I started turned out to be a lot heavier than what I use now.

Holli4: I can't quite get my brain around this. How could the bevel be present on one side and not the other? Thanks.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

It is also possible that your bevel only extends to the razor's edge on one side.

Originally Posted by pcb01

Holli4: I can't quite get my brain around this. How could the bevel be present on one side and not the other? Thanks.

Maybe if it looked like this?

The bevel would look different on either side, but there would still be a bevel. Reminds me of : What is the sound of one hand clapping? You need two sides meeting to have a bevel....

Originally Posted by JonnyBoy

Maybe if it looked like this?

Originally Posted by pcb01

The bevel would look different on either side, but there would still be a bevel. Reminds me of : What is the sound of one hand clapping? You need two sides meeting to have a bevel....

Indeed, but if the edge looked like my pic, with the flat side on your face, it would feel pretty normal, but with the round side the edge would likely be held slightly off the skin making it feel duller... just a theory.

Just wanted to update everyone on what i have found so far. I had a look around at comparison chart for hones and it may be that the kasumi 3k/8k is not the same as a nortons 4k/8k (http://straightrazorpalace.com/attac...aug-6-2009.pdf taken from Abrasive Grit Comparison Sheet - Straight Razor Place Forums).

So after doing this i went back to the paddle stop i got when i bought my original razor and the results are much better i can almost shave off it now. The paddle stop is made by dorko (i believe that this may be dorset and sons co.) in soligen. One side is a strop and the other is a fine black hone. Its about 1"x8".

Does anyone know if the attached comparison chart is correct and if i should be looking at maybe getting a nortons hone?