Thread: J.A.Henckels honong problem

Recently I bought J.A.Henckels 7/8 straight razor from e-bay. It was NOS and not shave ready, but guy that sold it to me try to hone it out and did not have luck so he decide to sold it. As he told to me he try to hone it using Norton 4k/8k pyramid with electric insulation tape on the spine.
So my questions for you, much experienced honers are:
1. Is it possible to set bevel just using Belgian Yellow Coticule stone or I need coarser stone for doing that job (I have Naniwa 1k stone)?
2. How to deal with fact that guy before me using insulation tape (I do not want to use it in early phase of honing such bevel setting)?
All sugestions are welcome.

Given that the guy tried to hone it, there is no way to know what the current state of the edge is without actually being able to see it in person. Since he tried to use tape and did whatever he might have to it, you will have to completely reset the bevel. his is doable on a coticule with slurry, but I do not think that learning how to set bevels on a coticule is ideal. I think it would be much easier to use a 1k stone to set the bevel, and then either continue on with synthetic hones or switch to the coticule. Really, anything that involves slurry on a hone is going to be more difficult to learn (especially if you are a new honer) because it adds in so many variables.

Originally Posted by king1976

1. Is it possible to set bevel just using Belgian Yellow Coticule stone or I need coarser stone for doing that job (I have Naniwa 1k stone)?
2. How to deal with fact that guy before me using insulation tape (I do not want to use it in early phase of honing such bevel setting)?

If you have the 1k, then by all means use it to set the bevel.

Tape slightly raises the spine, but it also protects it. If a bevel is set with tape, it doesn't take all that much to then re-set it without tape. Since you are new to honing, I would strongly suggest that you do use tape. Beginner honers have a tendency to trash their spines. You can avoid this by doing the bulk of the bevel setting with tape and then removing it to finish the bevel and proceed with the rest of the honing.

both holli4pirating,Utopian are correct.
will better and easy if you use 1k set the new bevel.
Now God knows what type Coticule you have.
is your coticule fine enough to put final edge or it is one of course one?
We don't know until someone tests and find out.
with Norton you will have more luck .
hope this helps.

Get a naniwa 1k, it is great for this situation.
Then use the norton 4/8K
Then finish on something better than 8k, like your coticule, or a naniwa 12k.

I do NOT recommend a full honing on a coticule for a beginner, it leads to disaster.

(1,000 post!)

Do yourself a favor, send it to one of the hone guys here for honing.

Thx guys for usefull informations.
I must say that I am not excellent honer but also I have some experience in str. razor honing :-).
Also, anybody know something about J.A.Henckels 7/8 razor (down photo)


After buying I heared story that these razors have spine problems and that they are poorly ground. What you think about that?

Originally Posted by king1976

After buying I heared story that these razors have spine problems and that they are poorly ground. What you think about that?

i have never heart this.
Interesting spine has nothing to do with the sharpness of the edge?

That's a Fridour---have you checked whether it's made of stainless or carbon steel? The stainless will take longer to hone. If the term "inox" is on the blade, it's stainless.

Originally Posted by king1976

Thx guys for usefull informations.
I must say that I am not excellent honer but also I have some experience in str. razor honing :-).
Also, anybody know something about J.A.Henckels 7/8 razor (down photo)


After buying I heared story that these razors have spine problems and that they are poorly ground. What you think about that?

I've honed several of those exact same razors and none of them had any issues with the spine or grinding. Realistically though, I often encounter old razors with uneven grinding that had nothing to do with some mistaken honing attempt in the past. Difficulties with the grinding or the spine can both be overcome by a decent honer.