Thread: Honing with PHIG

I just got my PHIG a couple days ago and used it last night for the first time. I am a new honer and have never used a natural stone and need a little help or advice to see if im on the right track. I have the Norton 4/8 and have been getting good results with it. When Im done on the 8k it will cut my arm hair mid length (most of them) and after I use crox and ceox and regular stroping there is a good increase in how it cuts my arm hair mid length. Last night I used PHIG after 8K and there was a decline in my hair cutting tests. I have it lapped flat and used slurry then diluted to pure water and it never felt as sharp right of the stone as the Norton. The edge also looked different to me as it was not as polished as it is of the norton. I went ahead and stroped it on the crox (15 laps) and ceox (20 laps) and then 60 on linen and 80 on leather and after that it was back to cutting my arm hair as well as the it did off my Norton. Should I see a noticable increase in the sharpness of the edge after using the PHIG compared to the Norton or is the shave where you would see or feel the difference in an increase in the smoothness after using a natural stone. I know this stone is not one of the expensive coticule or other naturals but thought any other users of it might be able to help me a bit. I have not shaved with my razor that I honed on it but will tonight.

Thanks
Glenn C

It is possible that you got a bad stone, but I'm not sure I've actually heard of a bad one. How much slurry did you start with? Too much can dull the edge. Have you tried with no slurry at all? Also, what did you use to create the slurry?

It is possible that you got a bad stone, but I'm not sure I've actually heard of a bad one. How much slurry did you start with? Too much can dull the edge. Have you tried with no slurry at all? Also, what did you use to create the slurry?

I used a DMT 325 to make slurry and had quit a bit. I even washed the slurry off the DMT onto the PHIG to make sure i got it all. I did not try and use no slurry at all except for when I got to the point of diluteing it out to plain water. The slurry that it made was white in color. Im betting that it is not the stones fault. I can try it using no slurry at all If you think this would be of some help to me. If I get it right will it look as polished as the Norton or do all natural stones leave a differnt kind of a look to the edge. It almost looked to me like there was no scratch pattern at all on it but it was just not as shiny as 8K and not as sharp.
Glenn C

I look at the edge with a 15X radio shack loop

5-8 figure 8's with your dmt 325 Double N should be about right for slurry... Remember this is a finish technique the razor is already sharp from the N8k....

Do about 20 of those pigtail strokes I showed you at the meet, then dilute out to pure water over the next 30-40 laps as a starting point then work it to your strokes and your face...

Yes the edge will look different off of just about every Natural stone vs Synthetics, and try the shave test, as the other tests can get a bit wonky when you are comparing a Synthetic edge to a Natural edge... Heck the tests get wonky when you are using Naniwa SS hones too hehehe

I can see that I had way to much slurry, I could have made mud pies with it. I will do the 5-8 figure 8igts and have another go at it toinight. I also was not doing that many laps. I do remember your pigtails Glen and have been pracitcing those so Im off to my Daughters to tile her floor for her then home for the BBall games and off to the hones after that for round 2. Thank you for the replys, I have new hope for these newb honing hands.

Gle doubleNN C

Sounds like you tried with much too much slurry to me.

Just to put it into perspective for you, slurry is a solution of loose particles of the stone. That means your fluid that flows up over the edge is carrying cutting materials over your edge. That means that some of them may be eroding your carefully crafted edge and reducing your sharpness.

As for my (limited) experiences with the PHIG, it is going to polish off the minimal scratches left by the Norton 8k. It's not sharpening, merely smoothing. You should not notice a real, quantifiable difference in how it cuts hair, only how smoothly (or harshly) it glides over your face/skin. We use the PHIG to make shaving comfortable, not to make the razor shave-ready. All your sharpening should be finished by the time you leave the 4k/8k.

Well I went back to work on my razors after the help I recieved from your posts. Thank you to all who replied. I headed in to shave with three razors in hand to try out. I only did a one pass shave but tried to use all of my razors to see if I could tell a difference and I really think there was an increase in the smoothness of them. I am trying to learn the sycthing thing and can do that on parts of my face but a little leary on areas around the chin but it was a very comfortable shave. Having alot of fun with this and getting a better understanding of the whole thing thanks to alot of help.

Glenn C

IGWAPHIG?

I give, what's a PHIG?

People's Hone of Indeterminate Grit - it was a name I came up for the C12k to appease Ron / Utopian. It seems to have halfway caught on.

Out of curiosity, I searched for PHIG and I first posted it 9/09. I guess I'm not much of a trend-setter.