Thread: Hair Popping Honing Help.

Originally Posted by daflorc

I am positive anybody who really knows what they're doing won't need a microscope. Which is why I need a microscope

HA HA HA! Guess that means I need one too!

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

sorry to say what you are doing is wrong. why in the world you are moving from 4k to 10K?

I have a 220, a 500, a 3K equivalent, a 4K equivalent, and a Barber Hone that's the +/- 10K and the reason for the +/-. Glen's a beast of a honer, but he can set a bevel at 4K and I don't trust the 500 to do it. Maybe the 3k would be a better choice, but this is like spitting in a tornado.

BTW, the 220/500 is lapped perfectly flat...so is the Barber Hone. The 3K/4K is a wet/dry paper setup mounted on glass and rolled on, but I'm less confident about it, and might try re-doing it with a press instead of a roller.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

Now if you are unable to get that level then problem with your strokes.
... or even set the bevel correctly on 1k level.
hope this helps.

Heheheh...if you only knew all of the variables at hand. I don't have enough time to get into all the outside factors that have led to this situation, but suffice it to say, I agree with you. And it does help. And I appreciate the input. I may just have to wait out straight shaving until I can get through the moving/baby/etc. valley and acquire the tools I need to do it right.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

The length of the edge should be all the same.
If you have 1" that grabs and pops hair then
ask what is different.

I agree. I don't have magnification to see what it might reveal. But, there's no indication of a smile, so what I believe is different is that the one sharp spot is the half an inch of the razor that didn't get beat up quite as much as it sat in a shoe box under the table in the antique store.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

Use the marker trick to see if there is a bevel issue.
I like a red marker I can see the thin red line better than
a thin black line.

Try using a blue marker. The wavelength of blue light (which is what is reflected off of the blue marker) is registered more readily by the human eye. Red is up there too though. Black would be just about impossible to see I think. BTW, I did this on the Wosty and discovered a serious bevel issue there.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

Use a pin to feel for a burr, a burr can catch hair but will not shave well.

The blade did have a burr on one side when I got it. I took that off in a few circles. I'm certain there's no burr/wire edge now.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

Use a light stroke.Tests against hair are an individual thing.They work for some folk and not for others.

Definitely using a light stroke...and no longer seeking to learn much if anything from the HHT...it simply doesn't seem to work for me.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

You can try a sharp DE blade to compare.
If a good DE does not pass then it is likely the hair.
Oil on the razor messes it up. And sure
try the HHT on a dull DE before you put it in the dead
razor save.

By the time I got home to wife and kids and dinner and bedtime and so on, I forgot about testing the DE blade on the HHT and TPT. I'll do that tonight for the education it might bring.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

If you only have one straight switch to a tossable and do not punish your face.

Dropped the Sterling and shaved with the Fatboy DE last night. Had a little burn remaining this morning, but it's already disappearing.

Originally Posted by Kees

You must remember though that many vintage razors were sharpened on narrower hones by their previous owners so when you take them to a 3" hone you'll find the cutting edge won't be making contact with the hone along its entire length. On many razors you'll have to remove a lot of metal to adapt the edge to 3" honing. Most vintage hones are less than 3", many of us like to use them, I do as well.

My 220/500 Norton is 2", my Barber's Hone is 2", my Strop is 2.5", My 3K/4K setup is 3" but I use an X stroke on them anyway. That's how my grandfather taught me to sharpen knives...probably carried over from his father teaching him to sharpen knives/razors. Sure wish he was still around for this kind of stuff.

Thanks again for the input and advice. I'll play around with it some more, as there's just nothing to play around with on the Fatboy, and I'm not the type that can sit watching the news or what have you, and not be doing something with my hands.