Thread: Can't get the toe sharp

Hi everyone,

I have been trying to get a Griffon XX Carbo Magnetic sharp after getting it from a flea market with a barber hone. I know this would be a long process, however the honemeister in my area is taking a break.

I've been going at it for a while, doing angled X strokes, and somehow the tip just won't get sharp. For the TPT, the heel really digs in, but the toe end does not. The heel easly pops hairs, the toes hardly does.

I've been laying the blade flat on the stone, and put a finger on the spine at the toe end just to make sure the edge stays flat all the way so I don't go at an angle during my stroke. I put as little pressure as possible.

Anyone knows what I'm doing wrong? The stone has been lapped as well.

Check out this PDF from the SRP wiki help files here. It is an excerpt from a 1961 barber manual. The chapter on honing and stropping. I have had good results from following the instructions to do 4 strokes on the heel only and 4 on the point end only. Follow that with full strokes and repeat intermittently.

I am very new to honing and had the same issue but using a rolling X pattern worked for me, I'm not sure if thats what you mean by an angled X but as the toe is one the hone you lift the heal a little but keep the spine still touching the stone and vice versa for the heal.

HTH

Nic

I'll give that a try...

Funny I went to see a barber who showed me also how to use the barber stone and he was going edge first and spine first on it, says that's how he was shown during barber school.

JF

Originally Posted by brockoli

I'll give that a try...

Funny I went to see a barber who showed me also how to use the barber stone and he was going edge first and spine first on it, says that's how he was shown during barber school.

JF

If you're setting a bevel and want fast metal removal you might do circles interspersed with back and forth strokes. Also known by some as Livi strokes. He does them on a video that has been posted. Some guys do spine leading strokes at the end but I've not tried it. When I do circles/back and forth strokes I always follow with X strokes. Just the way I do it, not necessarily the only way.

You might want to read this thread and watch the Vid in there too...
The thread covers a few "tricks" that might helps you out...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...rber-hone.html

Thanks for posting that, G. I tried the pigtails on my Asagi this morning. Not only did it do a great job redistributing the slurry, it also cut down the number of strokes needed on that slow cutter.

Originally Posted by RayG

Thanks for posting that, G. I tried the pigtails on my Asagi this morning. Not only did it do a great job redistributing the slurry, it also cut down the number of strokes needed on that slow cutter.

LOL Great minds brother, I re-freshed my Nichiri King Pelican doing the same on my Nakayama this morning... Can't stop stroking my face

It is amazing just how versatile the circle strokes are. You can hit a specific area of the edge and then blend it into the rest of the edge without problem, once you get proficient.

Another thing, on these types of requests, a picture really does help so that we can see the spine and general wear of the razor.

Have fun,

Lynn

Thanks again for the video Glen,

Finally got around to try that pigtail technique on my barber hone and it didn't take long before my blade got into shaving sharpness. It went from a scraping the skin off feeling to a very smooth shaving feeling in less than 10 minutes of honing (I was going slow).

I just tried honing this way for the second time on an Edelweiss Boker I bought today at the flea market and got an awesome shave once more.

JF