2 steps forward 1 step back

oh yes, its a regression day. it seems my learning goes 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

i have my 1 good razor that i had honed by one of our nice hone'ies here on the boards. this razor is fantastic. ofcourse i dulled it my first week of stropping but when i figured that out i took it back to my 12k wetstone for a couple laps, then restropped and now its back to superb sharpness. hairs just melt away.

so, as aquisition disorder kicked in and the clarity that 1 razor wasn't enough due to rotation/honing/size i picked up an ebay special. it is a smaller razor only 2 1/2 inch blade 5/8 but it feels great in the hand. as it was my first restoration razor i gave it a go and got some gunk off it, then honed it...and honed it..and honed it, trying to learn honing. after many days i got it to a point that it would shave my arm. so i stropped it up and shaved with it a couple times. it worked actually quite well. never has it been as sharp or smooth as the original razor i sent away but it worked with slight pulling. i would use this razor 2x a week as it went ok.

then my taste refined. i have seen some of the most spectacular razors/handles/mirror/satin finishes imaginable on this board. thus, looking at my first and feeble 1/2 ass attempt to restore the ebay special i decided it was time to do it right. since day 1 i have added any more steps of sandpapers, a dremel and polish to my arsenal and so i went to work on my ebay baby. after couple hours of work last night it turned out quite well. shiney, no more gunk and looks respectable now. thus i am happy. i go to bed knowing that this morning i would work some honing on the puppy. i assumed that the edge had dulled from my restoration the night before but figured it woudln't be nearly as bad as the state which i had recieved it off ebay.

so i woke up this morning. put the norton 4/8 and my chinese 12k into a bath of water. went to starbuck to get my daily galon of coffee and came back to work the hones....... its now an hour later and i need a break. my coffee has run out, my patience is in question and i definitely feel like i didn't hone very well. the edge is not even as sharp as it was prior to last nights restoration! it won't shave my arm worth a darn and just to make sure i wasn't going crazy i pulled out the original honemaster sharpend razor and well, i just felt even worse when i compared. i am sure ill try the stones again in a few hours but for now i needed to relax and de-stress.

so, i definitely thought i could hone better then i obviously can. perhaps its 2 steps forward 1 step back in the learning process. i won't give up, ill learn this technique even if i have no thumbnail left! perhaps i need a sacrifice to the shaving gods.

~J

ps. when you guys use your stones, do u make a slurry with a nagura stone before using them or no slurry during honing?

I never created a slurry but I should try it one of these days. In any case I get great results without it...

When you restore the blade, you generaly ruin the edge. To re-establish it (without showing hone wear), this is what you do.
1) Put some tape on the spine.
2) Do about 40 trips with gradually reduced pressure on the 4k
3) 25-30 trips on the 8k
4) A pyramid
That should get you where you want to be or at least fairly close to it. Once the blade is sharp enough, you can move on to the 12k or maybe even a variation of the pyramid b/w the N8k and the C12k.

I think that's a sound approach Ilija. The only other thing to add is to try and be as even in pressure on each stroke. That's no more on the heel than the middle or the tip, nor vice versa. This way whatever you are doing is the same along the entire edge and you can simply go from wherever you find yourself with consistent results.

X

Great point X. J should focus on consistent pressure and a good stroke. Speed will come on its own, with experience.

Some really good advice here you've been given. The only thing I would emphasize is to go really slowly and don't spend too much time honing per session. You will only get fustrated and start speeding up and using pressure and thats a very bad thing.