Thread: beggining to hate loathe and despise honing

I have been trying and trying. Putting in 30 minutes to 2 hours every night honing on razors and can not get them sharp enough. Its to the point now that not long after i sit down i have to get up because i am so frustrated i want to take my straights and my norton and chunk them all in the woods!
I get the razors just that close to passing the HHT then a few more strokes and it is duller. I feel like I can't win!

It sounds like you have over honed razor...on norton 4/8 do 3/3 3/13/1 on a cott 12000 do 20 strokes...make sure you do x stroke on norton 4/8 on cott much shorter and more exag x stroke... no pressure on blade on stone think Glide...Ifyou dont have a cott call tony at well shaved gent...dont hone again until you get cott belgum...and forget about hair test...a joke only real test shave if blade looks good under microscope...If you really want to hone get micro and belgum cott

You are putting too much into it. It shouldn't take that long. You might want to consider asking Tony about a pasted paddle strop to sharpen with. I just got one and am trying it. The HHT is just a guide, the real test is how does it shave?

What I would suggest is that instead of becoming obsessed with these tests strictly follow the pyramid scheme and then try shaving with the razor. If it doesn't shave well and you only need one straight stroke on your face to judge then you need practice with your technique.

Remember, no pressure other than the weight of the razor on the hone. Make sure the entire blade is receiving equal contact with the hone. If you having problems with the X pattern try straight honing (if you have a 3 inch hone only) with the heel leading. Make sure your not lifting the blade during your strokes or tilting the blade as you hone and watch your transitions as you change sides of the blade.

keep at it and you will succeed.

You can also keep checking your edge. I mean after each lap! That includes thumb test and hanging hair test. It sounds a little time consuming until you compare it to two hours of honing the same mistake over and over again.

I also (currently) think that the standard pyramid puts slightly too much emphasis on the 8k and not quite enough on the 4k. I'm not saying that I'm right of that you should necessarily change the pyramid as a new honer out of the gate, but keep it in mind as you check your edge on its progress.

X

i probably need to clarify that im working on a selection of about 7 different razors. I am not putting 2 hours into a single blade.

The reason I use the HHT is because it is something i can use as a baseline. I do not trust myself to judge a razor by feel. On top of that I had my hands in mortor the other night doing some DIY home improvement, now the feelings in my thumb and fingertips are muted.

as far as how they shave. the save cheeks and jaw line with no pressure. My neck takes just a little pressure, nut enough that i feel any pulling but enough to hear the wiskers gettign sheared. Where i run into trouple is around my lips. The hairs there are thick and seem impervious to water. I run into problems wiht the razor tring to "skip" over the short stubble in those places.

I use a microscope and my edge looks smooth, the beveled area itself looks black after the 8k.

Get one of the 12000+ grit Chinese Waterstones from www.WoodCraft.com for finishing. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to find how much more effective and nicer the shave from a razor with a highly polished edge, such as you can get from the 12000 grit waterstone. It's not nearly as aggressive as the Norton and I can't imagine anyone overhoning with it, either.

In my opinion, the 2 biggest problems people have when honing are

1. Inadequate honing. They baby the whole thing along too much and are so afraid of "overhoning" that they never get the "honing" done before they strop and torture their faces with the blade.

2. Expecting very fine results from a stone as coarse as the 8000 grit Norton. It will give "good results" with a good touch, but it's not as fine as a quality finishing hone such as a coticule or 12000 grit waterstone - or even a number of fine finishing barber hones. You can't get a finer edge than the hone you've got will allow.

Try leading slightly with the tip of the blade during the shave. that gentle forwrd motion, even just 5º makes a great difference for me.

X

I concure with Robert on the biggest honing problems. I use light pressure when starting and reduce the amount as I go. I do not own a Norton hone, but do have one of Tony's paddle strops. For those tough too please area's on your face the paddle strop can and will make a big difference. As for hones I have a couple of Tilly's barber hones that I lapped with 2000 grit paper and get great results.

Glen

Just two comments. First, the fact that you're getting to the edge and overshooting means you're working with too fast of a hone at the end. You need something that will give you slower changes and more opportunities to test at the end.

Second, your standard may be unrealistic. The moustache area is the worst for me and I have never found a str8 (even those honed by our best) that will allow me to go against the grain in that area. Only the Fether str8 and a few DEs with Feather blades can do it. For me it becomes a sharpness issue, because the sharpest str8 blades still require too much pressure in that application. The edges that work are so sharp that they cut against that grain with no pessure and do the trick. So, if your razors are working well except fot the one area, that may be the best you can do.

Your frustration reminds me of mine when I first started out. At the time I had two shaveready razors and I bought a Feather str8 so I could keep shaving while I learned stropping etc. I was able to shave with the Feather over night because of decades of experience with a DE. As I got new razors and developed my honing technique I reached a point where I was as frustrated as you. No matter how hard I worked No razor was as good as the Feather and I ended up finisheing with the Feather.

Then I got a new shaveready razor from one of our best and, wow! it didn't meet my standard either. It was better than mine but it wasn't as good as the Feather. As soon as I adjusted my standard my frustration went away and I began honing razors that met my new standard and shaved well. If I had kept the Feather as my standard I probably would have given up in frustration.