Newbie with a new TI 6/8, After First str8 Shave (pics of edge)

Well, I did my best honing the TI 6/8 that I could and yesterday decided to shave with it. I did not think it was sharp enough, but could not wait to try it.

It pulled quite a bit, I made sure I used about 30 degree angle. It felt like it was bogging down in the beard. Forget about letting the blade to all the work. This puppy required noticeable force to get through the beard. Overall the blade pulled like a really old DE (I am extrapolating, I usually replace my DE blades after 3-4 shaves so never had one pull this bad).

I only made 2 passes. No nicks, no blood but got one hell of a razor burn. But overall got much further ahead than expected. Both cheeks and under the nose & chin. Could not do the jawline, too sensitive and a much tougher beard. Also skipped the neck, did not feel comfortable putting that much force on a blade this close to major veins and arteries.

Here is what I found in the microscope today (nothing was done to the razor since the shave):

x200 (back of the blade):

http://www.winpte.com/str8/TI68KW_Post1stShave_01sc.jpg

x200 (face of the blade, with hair for reference):
http://www.winpte.com/str8/TI68KW_Post1stShave_02sc.jpg

Generally the edge looks a bit roughed up, but this looks like a tiny nick (50um or 2 mils wide and 25um or 1 mil deep). It also happens to be on the part of the blade that would pop a hanging hair (1/4 down from toe) where as the rest of the blade would not. It is the only nick that I found.

I don't think stropping will do the trick. I will have to hone. I am suspecting that I overhoned last time. I will try to use less laps and more sharpness tests in between.

I thought once honed the blade would only need stropping for quite a while. Is this kind of nick on the blade normal? :confused:

I also have a tough beard, so a very fine edge would be easily damaged by coarse hair. Is this what caused the nick in the blade? :confused:

If that nick was not there before the shave then that indicates the steel was weak, probably from overhoning. The waek steel has to be honed off and a fresh bevel formed. Or your hone or strop were dirty and the blade was nicked on those. keep those tools clean

Second, don't shave with a razor that does not pass your sharpness tests.
As you have found out that will result in your having to use excessive force and you will end up with some really good razor burn or maybe some nasty cuts.

Third, that shiny edge has got to go. It may be the predecessor to a wire edge or indicate that your bevel has not reached all the way to the edge of the blade.

What hones do you have?

I had the same nicks on both of my brand new DOVO's out of the box. I think it has to do something with the sharpness factory test?? I think you are off with the measures, 2mm wide and 1mm deep is not a nick, it's a chunk:) I didn't hone out the nicks on my razors, but did some 5/5, 3/5 2/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 pyramide, and got superb shave...

nenad

Not 2mm and 1mm it is 50 um (micro meter) and 25 um. Converted to inches they are 2 mil and 1 mil respectively. I checked with my 50x handheld scope and could see the nick very clearly. The handheld also has a mil (1/1000 ") scale so I did verify the dimensions too.

I am in the process of honing it out. Going slowly on a 4k and checking with the scope every 10 laps or so.

I honed the TI again, this time the whole blade is sharp: pops hanging hairs from heel to toe.

This time I used the 50x handheld quality scope every few laps of Norton 4k and every 5 laps on Norton 8k.

Several things came out of this:

1. My honing technique was off. When flipping the razor over the spine I would imperceptibly tilt it on the edge then flip over the spine. This caused a slight depression in the edge around 1/4 from the heel. Saw it in the scope and realized what was causing it. Afterwards I could see it unaided by playing the light off the edge.

2. Checking the edge visually after only a few laps allowed me to correlate what I was doing on the hone and the result on the edge. I could see some micro nics in the blade get smaller and smaller.

3. The last time I overhoned since I was not looking in the microscope and just kept on honing. I could also see when the edge started showing breaks as the wire was forming.

This is my first str8 and my first hone. I should emphasize to all who are also beginners that you are not aware of what you do when you hone. Imperceptible twitches and shifts in pressure can mean the difference between success and failure. For example, the depression in the blade would take about 5 laps on the 4k to even out. One lap error, five laps to correct.

Looking the the microscope every few laps gave real feedback to my honing actions speeding up the learning.

Thank you for the great advice and I will see if this is a fluke or begining of real understanding once I try it on some e-bay razors when they get here.

Now, I am off to try shaving with this beauty.

Nicely done!:) That is exactly the way we learn, by paying attention and sharing information and ideas. Glad your on board with us!

The shave with the TI was better today. I read Lynn's post (to someone, somewhere) recommending doing a couple of 1/3 to get the edge sharper. I did that about 5 times. I also stropped 20 laps on the canvas and 30 on the leather. Much better feel, almost no pull when shaving. This is what I imagined a str8 shave to feel like.

I also got 3 of my e-bay specials today. Lucky I had a 240/1000 Yoshikin hone, otherwise they would not be salvageable.

1. A write-off 5/8, but I practiced honing with it for about 2 hours. Its edge was pitted and developed holes as I honed it. Took over an hour on the 240 hone to get all but the last nick out of the blade.

2. The blade is a touch bigger than 6/8, nice & heavy. Again, had to use 240 hone to get 1/100" of the edge ground away due to pitting on the edge. Followed by 20-30 laps on 1000, then the 4k/8k pyramid. Now pops hairs heel to toe. Will try shaving with it tomorrow.

3. A 6/8, looks like it was never honed or used. Just some scratch marks on the tang from opening and closing. I guess it was looked at a lot. It too had micro pits along the edge. Did not look bad to the naked eye but the pitting was deep. Pits became holes as I honed and required about 60-80 laps on the 240 hone to get past (7/1000 ") the pitting. Followed by 20-30 laps on 1000, then the 4k/8k pyramid. Pops hairs but the blade feels more flimsy than the number 2 razor but will try it out tomorrow also.

Overall, I honed 2 razors in about 5 hours today and I am starting to feel more confident about honing. I must say the 50x scope after 10-20 laps is a must. It takes the guessing out of the process.

Congratulations!:)

I am glad that the 240 hone worked for you. Those rusted edges are a real PITA to remove. Usually using that coarse of a grit will create almost as many problems as it removes. It results in chipping of the edge.
I suspect that the reason it worked for you is that the 240/1000 is a soft Japanese waterstone.

Correct?

Glad to hear you're progressing so quickly. That's attention to detail working for you I suspect. Well done, brother.

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