Thread: Problem Honing

I have recently been trying to hone a razor that was made in germany, and is approximately 100 years old. The razor is very thin when compared to my other DOVO razors which are 5/8 in width. It took me a long time, several hours in fact to set a bevel where it was cutting my arm hair with relatively ease, but not as good as my DOVO's. So I continued to hone on the 1000k, but no matter how long I tried, It would not get any sharper. So I figured I try the 4000k and the 8000k using the pyramid method, and it did cut my arm hair better, but it just did not want to get sharper no matter how many strokes I did on the 4000k and the 8000k. Do you think it is not getting sharper because the bevel is not set correctly? Could the razor have some imperfections causing this delema? Maybe I am not doing the x pattern corerectly; that is the only thing I could think of why I'm having poor results.

Originally Posted by conan

I have recently been trying to hone a razor that was made in germany, and is approximately 100 years old. The razor is very thin when compared to my other DOVO razors which are 5/8 in width. It took me a long time, several hours in fact to set a bevel where it was cutting my arm hair with relatively ease, but not as good as my DOVO's. So I continued to hone on the 1000k, but no matter how long I tried, It would not get any sharper. So I figured I try the 4000k and the 8000k using the pyramid method, and it did cut my arm hair better, but it just did not want to get sharper no matter how many strokes I did on the 4000k and the 8000k. Do you think it is not getting sharper because the bevel is not set correctly? Could the razor have some imperfections causing this delema? Maybe I am not doing the x pattern corerectly; that is the only thing I could think of why I'm having poor results.

A beginner... pyramids are a good thing to explore. Search the WiKi
for info on them.

Old thin razors take a light touch. As for thin: any
pressure will flex and deform the edge making it hard to get it right.
Lighter and smoother hone strokes count a lot. Lap your hones so
they are equally flat.
Try 10 at 1000grit
25 at 4K
10 at 8k.
strop on canvas 30
strop on leather 30
shave test.

The jump from 1k to 4k might be a bit big.

If this does not improve the edge try it again....
If improved but not ideal try some short pyramids
with only your 4K and 8K again with a very light hone stroke.

Once the bevel is set leave the 1K hone on the shelf.
The magic marker trick to see that the bevel extends
fully to the sharp edge helps.

be gentle and light...

When you say the razor is thin compared to a 5/8 Dovo do you mean it is less wide than 5/8 or that it is finely ground ? Is it a wedge maybe ? I can't imagine taking several hours to set a bevel on a thinly ground razor

if you can post the pictures of the blade will help.
what stones are you using it?

Originally Posted by conan

I have recently been trying to hone a razor that was made in germany, and is approximately 100 years old. The razor is very thin when compared to my other DOVO razors which are 5/8 in width. It took me a long time, several hours in fact to set a bevel where it was cutting my arm hair with relatively ease, but not as good as my DOVO's. So I continued to hone on the 1000k, but no matter how long I tried, It would not get any sharper. So I figured I try the 4000k and the 8000k using the pyramid method, and it did cut my arm hair better, but it just did not want to get sharper no matter how many strokes I did on the 4000k and the 8000k. Do you think it is not getting sharper because the bevel is not set correctly? Could the razor have some imperfections causing this delema? Maybe I am not doing the x pattern corerectly; that is the only thing I could think of why I'm having poor results.

Is this your problem razor, or is this your FIRST razor that you have honed? It sounds like my first efforts, I was using much too much pressure....