Thread: Playing with Striations

Ok, so today I grabbed up an ebay special and honed it up focusing only on creating striations. I decided against using an already sharp razor, it feels like cheating. I used the little Carborundum, its the only hone I've had good success with this method with so far. I used an angled side to side motion. I forget what we call that technique (just woke up from a nap). Anyway, I was able to keep the razor very dull, it feels almost like a spoon...LOL. And it shaved pretty well. Not great, but pretty well. I've always thought the best edge was either hyper sharp or somewhere between sharp and retaining striations. This razor is just plain dull. Anyway, it shaves pretty well. Not super close or anything but here are some interesting things I discovered shaving with it. One, its smooth and comfy. I like that. Two, scything motions are almost required with it to cut close. Three, scything motions are really easy with this method. Four, and this one was a big surprise to me, shaving against the grain was easy, really easy. I'm at a complete loss to explain why this is. . .next good prep is essential with this method. I"m thinking hot towels here may be needed. Fourth, its really hard to nick yourself with this kind of blade.

So, I'm going to play around a little with this method for a while and see what I can get out of it. I'm afraid though when I get it shaving really well it'll just be at the pretty darn sharp level and that striations will not be an obvious cutting tool anymore. It'll shave like any other mid-grade honed razor. But I'll keep working and try it out. I suppose I need to whip out the microscope and start seeing what I can do. I thought that was exactly the info provided in the barbers manual, but maybe I read it here. That is that, you want to hone down the striations as small as possible.

Vlad-you've got one of those computer scopes don't ya?

Anyway, after having shaved with this razor I'm really reminded of all the things in the barbers manual. It wouldn't surprise me at all if barbers used razor honed like this instead of ultra sharp with 6 different hones or 4 different pastes. In other words, it really responds the way a razor seems like it should based on what I read in the barbers manual.

I can say at this point that the ultra sharp method shaves closer than this blade will. Its just too dull at this point. But this shave is smooth and comfy already and I'm convinced the blade is no where near sharp yet. And since an against the grain pass was easy I think it deserves the chance to be used like that. I have no experience shaving against the grain with a straight. Never needed to.

One thing I need to try is to run it over the 8K side of a Norton and see what happens, but I'm going to keep working on it. Ironically, I have been working on taking all my blades the the hypersharp area so all my razor are a little too sharp for these tests.

Is there a reliable way to dull out a razor that doesn't take 20 years and then selling it on Ebay? LOL

I don't know why I didn't stray upon this method of honing earlier, its exactly as they discuss in the barbers manual, and yet you'd think I would have stumbled on it on my own somehow. Maybe I did and I just know how to shave better? Anyway, its cool playing with it.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Is there are reliable way to dull out a razor that doesn't take 20 years and then selling it on Ebay? LOL

Try dragging it edge straight down along the 8000 side of the Norton. That should do it. NOT joking.

I'm glad you're doing this BTW. Adds some context to some of our recent discussions.

X

Alan, I only have a QX4 with poor optics and 200x magnification. You can see striations but they show up as lines and you can't see the structure of the edge (the serations). If I can find someone with a 1000x or 2000x and better optics it might show the serations. I know that to see the filaments that make up the edge you need at least 10000x.

When you say side to side do you mean a honing stroke and backhoning stroke? Do that on one side then flip and repeat on the other?

I can't wait to try. Just shaved so will have to wait at least until tomorrow.

Yea, I set the angle just the way I think it should be and then using a short stroke I push forward and then move it back. There is a term for the stroke but I don't remember it. Essentially, though I am trying to add striations without over sharpening or overhoning. This stroke just seemed to be the easiest to maintain an exact angle with. I'm very concerned (for the first time in my life) about sharpening the razor too much and nullifying the striations effect. I'm using a 45 degree angle on the blade, but I think a perpendicular x pattern would be fine too (and allow me to see the angles easily compared to the side of the hone. I have even considered laying lines down on the Norton for the exact angle while moving down the hone with permanment ink, but I think I'd be redoing them constantly. Anyway at the moment I'm using a back and forth movement as this is the stroke I was using when I accidentally created the best shaving, smoothest razor I've ever produced, and thought..."wait a sec"

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Yea, I set the angle just the way I think it should be and then using a short stroke I push forward and then move it back. There is a term for the stroke but I don't remember it.

Washboarding, courtesy of Blade Welder...

YEA....thats it, thanx!

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Ok, so today I grabbed up an ebay special and honed it up focusing only on creating striations. I decided against using an already sharp razor, it feels like cheating. I used the little Carborundum, its the only hone I've had good success with this method with so far. I used an angled side to side motion. I forget what we call that technique (just woke up from a nap). Anyway, I was able to keep the razor very dull

I'm sorry. I can't understand what you're doing. Are you using just a medium grit without going to the 8K. I can't understand how a dull razor can be smooth unless it's not cutting, and I can't understand how it can cut against the grain. There are places on my face where I can't even do it with a keen razor.

I used to go to an old time barber and he used only a baber hone and a strop. I'm thinking it must have been fairly fine. In any case, his razor was super sharp. I could barely feel it on my face.

Joe, honestly I'm not really sure what I'm doing. Experimenting would be the only true comment. What I think I'm doing is honing up a razor by using only one grit and applying it with a method that simply focuses on applying striations. The second the bevel is created your done...and I believe I'm shaving on what feels like an ultra smooth edge and somehow cuts amazingly well. You can hardly feel the edge. Its weird. The edge seems to go through whiskers effortlessly without the edge being really sharp, or rather, feeling really sharp. I'm cautious with these comments because I've heard someone once say a sharp blade doesn't actually feel sharp. But I'm finding that a lower grit can shave effortlessly with this method. Not a real epiphany or anything just a different approach to the same end without trying to make the blade ultra sharp.

Ultimately, what I'm trying to do is discover whats making razors honed like this shave so effortlessly and leave my skin feeling so smooth. I believe, without any evidence at this point that its the striations that are doing it.

I'm finding one method is to hone one side at a time, not flippng the edge over, and striate one side, then the other.

I'm still honing a blade though, so when I say its dull thats an overstatement. Its a little honed, but not where most (I think) take the edge. In this mornings shave, it was pretty dull....LOL. But it still shaved off all the hair on my face. Strangly though, it pulls on a strop like no blade I've ever honed.