Thread: First attempt at honing...Yikes!

I recently purchased a Norton 220/ 1K/ 4K/ 8K and a Naniwa 12K to give honing a try. Well, it seems honing is not easy. I used an old W&B I have laying around and pretty much started the way most around recommend.

The blade did not have a good edge to begin with. So I took it to the 1K for a some time. I could see a bevel forming but it was not even along the blade. (I used electric tape along the spine.)

Then I moved onto the 4K and did some X strokes and some up and down strokes. Then I moved onto the 8K until I could see a nice shine on the edge. The edge still wasn't even along the length of the blade. Then I used the 12K. It is sharp but not good enough to shave with.

I tested with some shave cream on my arm and the razor cut hairs off but left some. I went back over the area and the razor couldn't cleanly cut the remaining hairs off.

Gotta watch a ton of tutorial movies and practice, practice, practice.

But on the "bright side" (total pun), the edge is practically mirror shiny!

By the way, after I finished up I used the Norton lapping stone to flatten the stones and clean them up.

I hope I am heading in the right direction.

Paul,

That 1K stone of yours needs to become your best friend. Put the razor back on it, with a piece of electrical tape, and do Lynn's circles and/or X strokes until the WHOLE blade shaves arm hair. You should be able to saddle up to a hair on your arm with any portion of that blade, and with a little push the hair pops right off. When you get to this point, change the tape and move to the 4K.

Setting the bevel takes time, but it's the most important part of the process. A shiny edge with a poor bevel will shave poorly.

I hope this helps a bit.

You mentioned that you noticed the edge wasn't consistent when you left the 1k. Just as in hand sanding, it's essential you don't move on until you're satisfied with the entire bevel. There's no sense putting a nice polish on an uneven edge. As mentioned above, stick with the 1k until the bevel is nicely set.

You hurry too much, razor honing is not a race, especially if you are new to it. Use sharpness tests! TNT, AHT, you will find them in the wiki good explained. Don't leave the 1k until you don't have an even bevel along the full blade that shaves arm hair easily. If you move up before that, than the work you do after it is wasted time. Make the TNT and AHT pass on the whole blade, than do a honing pyramd on the norton starting from 25 (wiki too), and be sure that your hones are lapped flat (wiki). If it looks sharp, than give it a good stropping, and test shave. If the shave was nice and smooth, do 15 light laps on the 12k. Don't move to the 12k if you didn't get a good shave off the 8k.

Originally Posted by Maxi

Paul,

That 1K stone of yours needs to become your best friend. Put the razor back on it, with a piece of electrical tape, and do Lynn's circles and/or X strokes until the WHOLE blade shaves arm hair. You should be able to saddle up to a hair on your arm with any portion of that blade, and with a little push the hair pops right off. When you get to this point, change the tape and move to the 4K.

Setting the bevel takes time, but it's the most important part of the process. A shiny edge with a poor bevel will shave poorly.

I hope this helps a bit.

I did use electric tape on the spine and it left some sticky residue on the razor. No biggie, should just come off with some goo remover.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by jeness

You hurry too much, razor honing is not a race, especially if you are new to it. Use sharpness tests! TNT, AHT, you will find them in the wiki good explained. Don't leave the 1k until you don't have an even bevel along the full blade that shaves arm hair easily. If you move up before that, than the work you do after it is wasted time. Make the TNT and AHT pass on the whole blade, than do a honing pyramd on the norton starting from 25 (wiki too), and be sure that your hones are lapped flat (wiki). If it looks sharp, than give it a good stropping, and test shave. If the shave was nice and smooth, do 15 light laps on the 12k. Don't move to the 12k if you didn't get a good shave off the 8k.

I'll give this another go this week when I have the time to sit there for I don't know how long it will take. I promise not to move on until it is sharp at the 1K level.

It shouldn't take too long to do, plus you can always just set the bevel one day and finish up with the pyramid another time.

Originally Posted by PaulCam

I recently purchased a Norton 220/ 1K/ 4K/ 8K and a Naniwa 12K to give honing a try. Well, it seems honing is not easy. I used an old W&B I have laying around and pretty much started the way most around recommend.

The blade did not have a good edge to begin with. So I took it to the 1K for a some time. I could see a bevel forming but it was not even along the blade. (I used electric tape along the spine.)

Then I moved onto the 4K and did some X strokes and some up and down strokes. Then I moved onto the 8K until I could see a nice shine on the edge. The edge still wasn't even along the length of the blade. Then I used the 12K. It is sharp but not good enough to shave with.

I tested with some shave cream on my arm and the razor cut hairs off but left some. I went back over the area and the razor couldn't cleanly cut the remaining hairs off.

Gotta watch a ton of tutorial movies and practice, practice, practice.

But on the "bright side" (total pun), the edge is practically mirror shiny!

By the way, after I finished up I used the Norton lapping stone to flatten the stones and clean them up.

I hope I am heading in the right direction.

Good start... you have all the tools.

In quickly reading this thread the one tip I did not see
was the magic marker test and a 10x magnifier.

When you are setting the bevel or putting a new
razor to a set of hones the magic marker test
can save lots of time and trouble.

Take a magic marker.. the color can be black, red, blue, green....
and mark the edge and spine. Then give the razor
a single up and back hone stroke on the 1K hone.
Next inspect... you should see where the hone removes
the magic marker. That removal should extend
all the way to the edge. If you see a thin red line
(red marker) on what should be the sharp edge the
bevel is not yet set. Use the 10X glass to inspect
the edge. You should see the thin magic marker line
get thinner and thinner then vanish. After it vanishes
give the razor five to ten additional smooth strokes
and more to a finer hone.

Another 1k trick is to lightly run a toothpick down the edge.
It should grab where the edge is sharp and slide where
the bevel is not set all the way to the edge. You can
use a thumb nail instead of a toothpick. With practice
you can use a hair to probe and feel the edge. A hair
will not be cut as much as it will grab and bend on the sharp
bits and slide on the dull places. At 1K you may also
find a burr, the burr is also an indicator that the bevel
has extended to the edge. A burr will feel sharp but
is not durable enough to shave and should (must) go away
with finer honing and stropping. Some knife folk like to see
a burr and probe for it with a needle. It grabs the needle
because it folds and bends one way or the other. Look
for a burr from both sides.

In an ideal world the edge will be the same from toe
to heel.

Once the 1K bevel is set honing can begin...

Originally Posted by PaulCam

I did use electric tape on the spine and it left some sticky residue on the razor. No biggie, should just come off with some goo remover.

Are you sure that your electric tape is not really old? Normally it should not leave much of a residue on the blade. If it's new, then maybe try some better quality tape, like 3M or something.

Also, keep checking your tape, and when it gets really thin while you're setting that bevel on the 1K, then replace the tape again with a new piece. When you've honed right through the tape, it just leaves the hone messy when it starts breaking apart.

Sounds like you're on the right track! Keep it up man, you'll be there in no time.

PaulCam,

These video tutorials by GSSixgun are probably the best I have ever seen :

YouTube - gssixgun

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ