Thread: Honing at the 1k level

I've been reading through the Wiki and have found various "benchmarks" for moving past the 1k stone and wanted to get some clarification.

Are you done with the 1k once:
a) the razor shaves arm hair easily when actually touching the skin.
b) The razor "pops" hair when the razor is just above the skin.
c) The razor pass TNT.

I assume if B is true, then A and C also will be. So do you need to get to B before moving on, or is A sufficient to move onto the 4k? (Again, with the mindset that if A is true, C would also be true)

Or are there any other benchmarks I should keep an eye out for?

What I do is make sure I can easily shave arm hair at skin level off the 1k stone. I use the TNT to see how the bevel is developing as you can feel if there are any dull spots on the razors edge.

If a bevel is developing the razor sort of drags on your nail and digs in a bit (if the bevel is dull theres no drag and the edge doesnt dig in) and once I'm getting an even drag the whole way along the edge I keep honing until I can shave arm hair.

If you do the TNT right before moving off the 1k stone you could actually dull the edge slightly, so I tend to avoid that and stick with shaving arm hair at skin level.

I find the razor doesnt start to pop hair floating above the skin until I come off the 3k (or 4k if I'm using Shaptons) and by the time I come off the 8k it will easily pop lots of hair floating above the skin. Then I just move on to the 12k (or 16k with Shaptons) and then a natural finisher, then strop and test shave.

The bevel set is the most important part of honing though, and all the other stones are just refining and polishing that initial edge. So if your bevels not right, you'll end up with a very shiny but dull edge..!

Good luck and keep us posted!

+1 Can't add anything to what Stu wrote

Sweet, so the 1k process should pass 2 tests. Nail test for bevel adjustment, then actually cutting hair at skin level for basic sharpness.

I assume once the bevel is developing properly and has passed the nail test, it will only get sharper so long as you dont screw anything up too bad which leads to the cutting hair.

Then it's just a matter of making sharp, into razor sharp with the 4k and 8k stones. (I use these numbers since that's what I have for honing stones.) 4k being popping hair above skin level, and then 8k+ using HHT/Actual Shaving to test.

That helps a ton. Thanks so much!

yes i do the same thing thing. a nice even drag across the nail. then shaving arm hair at skin level then i move to my coticule for the rest. i also check the edge with 30k loop just to make sure there are ni tiny chips etc.

Great post, Stubear.

I have a question on the other end of the spectrum.

I've found through reading that the HHT doesn't necessarily tell you anything until you've found a consistant way of reading how you do it, what you do it on and the consistancy to which you do it.

Which is why the shave test is the only "true" method of testing how sharp a razor is.

My problem right now is that my face is pretty beat up from using my current razor. It's gotten bad enough on my neck and face that I couldn't even use an electric shaver on it last night. I'm a bit scared of putting the blade back up to my face until all the bumps and burns go away.

I'd like to take it to an 8k or even a 4k stone to get back a nice edge, but is there some other way of testing it once I'm done at the 8k level? This way I don't continue aggravating the skin that's already in bad shape.

Originally Posted by thorxes

I have a question on the other end of the spectrum.

I've found through reading that the HHT doesn't necessarily tell you anything until you've found a consistant way of reading how you do it, what you do it on and the consistancy to which you do it.

Which is why the shave test is the only "true" method of testing how sharp a razor is.

My problem right now is that my face is pretty beat up from using my current razor. It's gotten bad enough on my neck and face that I couldn't even use an electric shaver on it last night. I'm a bit scared of putting the blade back up to my face until all the bumps and burns go away.

I'd like to take it to an 8k or even a 4k stone to get back a nice edge, but is there some other way of testing it once I'm done at the 8k level? This way I don't continue aggravating the skin that's already in bad shape.

STOP !!!!!

Relax, take a step away, and let everything settle down, then start slowly again...

Seriously, this should be fun , not a torture test...

If it hurts just stop ... the more you push it the worse your skin will get

Basically you have to get shaving first then learn what a comfortable edge feels like then take your time learning to hone to achieve that

Originally Posted by tmac123

I've been reading through the Wiki and have found various "benchmarks" for moving past the 1k stone and wanted to get some clarification.

Are you done with the 1k once:
a) the razor shaves arm hair easily when actually touching the skin.
b) The razor "pops" hair when the razor is just above the skin.
c) The razor pass TNT.

I assume if B is true, then A and C also will be. So do you need to get to B before moving on, or is A sufficient to move onto the 4k? (Again, with the mindset that if A is true, C would also be true)

Or are there any other benchmarks I should keep an eye out for?

The quest for a sharp smooth edge has come a long way since I started reading and posting here on SRP and the quest is never ending. To start wit, the TNT is used to gauge the first level of sharp and there are miles to go when that test is satisfied. I found that the difference between sharp and extra sharp is a minuscule distance that can take anywhere from one lap to a bunch. My scene of feel is not sensitive enough to notice the different levels of sharpness past a certain point using the TPT. For that reason I do not use it to gauge the finished results on the 1k hone. I don't have enough arm hair to test the cut above the skin or to do a lot of at skin level testing so I go after one arm hair at a time. With this test I can notice and gauge numerous levels of sharp. Does it take several tries to cut a hair, does it make any noise, does it send the hair flying? I know I reached the best the 1k can do when the hair cuts w/o a sound and just falls dead on the spot, no popping or/or flying away. In fact, if the hair just falls over when trying to line up the test I know I'm there for sure. The rest of the hones are used to reduce the scratch pattern hence smoothing out the shave. If you move to the next hone before you get to this point the next hone will require even more laps to get there and if you moved to that hone too soon the odds are that you will not have the patients to get there on the finer hones. While the normal hone progression is to double the grit rating for the next hone the nunber of laps is not in that same ratio. One extra lap on a 1k hone does not equal 2 laps on a 4k and so on. Also remember that the edge may not come to the same level of sharpness over it's entire length at the same time. This is where you need to be aware of where the edge is and not produce a wire edge in the areas that come to sharp first and not leave some areas lacking.

Do note that the majority of razors I hone are vintage and come from anywhere on earth except directly from the factory.

Patients is the name of the game here as well as minimal pressure when finishing up on a hone or getting the blade ready for a test.

Good luck

Originally Posted by Joed

Does it take several tries to cut a hair, does it make any noise, does it send the hair flying? I know I reached the best the 1k can do when the hair cuts w/o a sound and just falls dead on the spot, no popping or/or flying away. In fact, if the hair just falls over when trying to line up the test I know I'm there for sure.

Originally Posted by Joed

The rest of the hones are used to reduce the scratch pattern hence smoothing out the shave. If you move to the next hone before you get to this point the next hone will require even more laps to get there and if you moved to that hone too soon the odds are that you will not have the patients to get there on the finer hones.
Good luck

Amazing and Amazing.

This is exactly the level of detail that I was looking for. And something I think a lot of people can use as a guide.

Thanks so much Joed. Now I just have to make sure my hand is steady and smooth when lapping.

When I was honing my grandfathers blade before it broke on me, I kept feeling myself over adjusting in order to keep the spine and edge in full contact with the stone. Especially towards the end of the X stroke.

It seems like focusing and going slower around this point is the key?