Thread: Leo's Daddy Learns to Hone (picture heavy)

Originally Posted by olafurson

Question: Can I fix what's wrong with this edge at this point by continuing to do taped water-only strokes working on the second bevel, or do I have to start over again with the slurry?

At the condition that the bevel was good, as in "shaving arm hair along the entire edge", here's what I would do:

hone on a very thin "misty" slurry, without tape, for 50 laps. This will reduce the size of your secondary bevel. (You can keep track with your magnification device).
There's no need to undo the entire secondary bevel, only to reduce it a bit. Then, reapply the tape.

It does no harm to follow the advice not to stick it onto the shoulder, although I don't really see the point of it. Before taping the tang is thicker than the spine. A layer of tape beefs them both up with the same amount, so I wonder what the problem should be. But, by all means, safe that small bit of tape if you like.

Once the tape is back on, perform 10 laps on equally thin slurry and 60 on water again. Keep a close eye on the wave of water in front of, and running up, the edge. At the start of your X-stroke, it must run up the heal and gradually start running over the middle all the way to the toe by the end of the stroke. If it runs over all parts of the edge in contact with the hone's surface, at once, that's fine too. Don't be shy of checking with the microscope: as soon as you have done some polishing on water, it's easy to see the boundary that divides both bevels.

Best regards,
Bart.

Grrrr...

Honing Day 6 sucked.

I hadn't read Bart's reply yet, so I reapplied tape to in front of the shoulder as suggested, and did another 50 gentle laps on water-only.

And DULLED the razor again. Dammit! How did I even DO that?

Barely a two-pass shave this time.

<sigh>

I'll try again tonight.

Originally Posted by olafurson

Grrrr...
I hadn't read Bart's reply yet, so I reapplied tape to in front of the shoulder as suggested, and did another 50 gentle laps on water-only.

And DULLED the razor again. Dammit! How did I even DO that?

It's very unlikely, next to impossible, that those 50 extra laps on water could have made your edge less sharp than it was. Maybe you should examine your stropping. It's the first thing to consider when you achieve inexplicable dulling of a razor.

But in any case, if it's any consolation: that's how it goes with the learning curve of razor sharpening. There are good days and bad days. I'm sure you won't let the bad days get you.

Keep up the good work,
Bart.

Bart - out of interest what happens if I attempt the Unicot method without adding the tape to create a second bevel - or does this method work without the second bevel?

Thanks

I also wondered the same thing, but I guess Bart missed my post earlier in this thread. I like using Unicot, but don't want the 2nd bevel So far I've done it without the 2nd bevel, then moved on to my C12k and CrOx balsa then leather, and it they shave really well for me, but I wonder what Bart would think about the edges compared to the 2nd bevel...

Originally Posted by Scipio

Bart - out of interest what happens if I attempt the Unicot method without adding the tape to create a second bevel - or does this method work without the second bevel?

Thanks

Without the secondary bevel, I call it "Dilucot". "Dilu" is short for diluting slurry.

The fact is, when you set a bevel on a Coticule with slurry, the edge is simply not sharp enough for finishing on water.
The layer of tape at the end of the honing process deals with that by diverting all abrasive power from the Coticule on water to a very small seconday bevel, that does sharpen up where a wider bevel would simply not respond.

But there are 2 other options for dealing with the gap between the Coticule-on-slurry and the Coticule-on water.

One option is to include another hone with the right specs for refining the edge. You could do it on a BBW with a light slurry, or with 30-50 laps on a Norton 8K, or any other hone that could take the edge left by slurry and hand it over to water. Basically that gives you a 2 hone set-up: Coticule/slurry - go-between hone- Coticule/water.

Another option is the aforementioned "Dilucot" method.
It's what I prefer to do myself.
This relies on slowly diluting the slurry of the Coticule too plain water, by adding drops of water as you hone along.
It's not easy, because there is so little to explain. You just need to develop the right feel for the hone and the method. If you go real slow, and I mean real slow, you can't really fail, as long as you can keep making consistent strokes. But the art is to do it within a reasonable time frame. But if you go too fast, the edge will not follow.

If done well, there is zero difference between the edges delivered by any of these approaches. Using a Coticule, I am convinced that the "Unicot" procedure with the tape is the easiest and quickest method. But the "Dilucot" is the most fun.

There's a whole world of possibilities for sharpening razors. I've kind of restricted myself to only one type of whetstone, but don't let that keep anyone from trying other options and other hones. I am personally convinced that a good shaving edge is 95% or more defined by honing skill. The tools and methods used are primarily a matter of personal preference (as long as you pick tools that are up to their task).

Bart.

I'm pleased (and, I confess, a little surprised) that you went with the Unicot method. There will be bumps along the way. Any setback will, after some reflection, deepen your understanding. I remember one razor that just would not get sharp on my "heavy" slurry. I left it alone for a couple of days, until the thought hit me that maybe the slurry was too thick, and was dulling more than sharpening that particular blade. 30 passes on a slightly diluted slurry solved the problem.

You will master the Unicot strategy, and then you will begin to think like a honer. You will be able to transfer those skills to other hones, be they Nortons, Shaptons, or whatever you have. I favor the coticule, but I go to other hones often just for the fun of it. Once you know how to play the Star Spangled Banner correctly, you're free to riff Hendrix-style, if you want to.

Someone much wiser than I once noted that the basis of freedom is discipline. Until we have learned to discipline ourselves, we really need someone else to tell us what to do -- although we may bridle at the thought.

Keep at it.