Thread: Anyone in the UK hone a razor for me.

Hi,

Is there any one in the UK who is offering a honing service like Lynn,
I have a ICE TEMPERED Stainless razor that I can not get a reasonable
edge on. To be honest it has never had a great edge. So is there any
out there who would be willing to give it a go.

All the rest of my razors are OK and shave well.

Many thanks.

Peter

Tell us what hones you have and we will see if we can help you do it yourself. Also, what kind of razor is it? Size? New, Old, never used ?????

Randy,

It is a Dovo Micarta razor with a Stainless Steel ICE Tempered blade, it was new about 2 years ago. I have managed to get it sharp enough to perform a HHT but only against the grain. That said it will shave about half my face and then will not shave any more. I do have another Stainless razor that I can get sharp enough to shave.

I have a Norton 4000/8000 combination stone, purchased last week.
A dovo hone/strop combination.
A Ilinois 127 hanging strop

I have been using a disposable straight for about 2 years and so my honing skills have almost died. That said with some helpful advise I have managed to get a couple of my razors to shave again.

Peter

It is stainless and ice tempered. In that case you have a razor with "hard" steel.
My guess is that you need more time on the 4000 hone.
I belive that your bevel has not yet been formed.

I would put some tape on the spine before doing any more honing. That will reduce the wear pattern on the shoulder.
If you use scotch tape ( I do) then replaceit every 20-25 laps.

Use the thumbnail test so that you have a starting point for future comparison. Then peform 15 laps on the 4000 and perform the thumbnail test again. Repeat until the change is noticeable. When it is smooth and bites into the nail for the entire length of the blade than take the tape off. Next perform
a pyramid of 3/5, 3/5, 1/5,1/5,1/5. Now use either the HHT, the thumb test ( not thumbnail test) or the paper towel test.
When you are satisfied with the results of the test then strop the razor for 30-50 laps and have a test shave.
If it still needs work then you can either repeat the pyramid or if its really bad then go back to the 4000 and start over.

The one thing that is for sure is that you will get the razor shaving sharp by using this approach. But it may take some time. Be patient and persistent and have reasonable expectations.