Thread: Fromm trouble

God Knows how much i want to help You.
Problem is you just don't want to listen.
Your blade has quality issues. you can make it shave ready for a 1 shave and next couple of shaves you would run in to hones again.
if you are trying to learn honing then please do this.
you can use some pressure while you set the bevel and move to until 4k level.
After that there is should be no pressure at all.
hope this helps.
if i were you i would listen to the people and get cheap ugly blades from bay start to hone and learn.
Someone honed 1000s blades has issues to put proper edge DARN Fromm .
gl

Originally Posted by q31

it's just hard for me to figure what I'm doing wrong. When the Fromm was fresh out of the box I stropped it and shaved. From that shave on it's been all down hill. Let me ask someone this question. When Honing how much pressure are you fellas talking about? Some guys say no pressure, some guys say little pressure, but pressure is such an impossible thing to explain through writing. It's like trying to describe a color to someone that they've never seen before. Pressure. What kind of pressure should I be putting on the blade when honing? Just under it's own weight or just push on it lightly enough to still have color under my fingernails or push on it hard enough to make it white under my fingernail tips? I'm just not doing something correctly and it's going to drive me nuts. As far as video goes, if you search on the USA version of youtube and put in "straight razor ToxikWaste" he's the guy I'm doing my best to copy.

Originally Posted by q31

it's just hard for me to figure what I'm doing wrong.

You are probably not doing anything wrong. Bad steel, bad grind, bad razor.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

You are probably not doing anything wrong. Bad steel, bad grind, bad razor.

I agree, you have given this a very good try. Now it is time to move on.

wellllllllll, shit!!!

I recently got two razors of ebay, a kropp and a turner both circa 1920 era give or take a decade or so, both blades were worn, i set up a 1k hone with water and spent 10 mins on each one using just blade weight and a tad of hand weight ( if it drags to much, too much weight) you have to feel your way, i dont have a 4 or 8 k hone yet so i am at an impasse, no money for a couple of hones, so will have to send em out to be finished, but

With stropping and the 1k i managed to get better edge than a new cheapo blade supposedly shave ready.

looking at the blade i would toss it, remember the phrase you cant polish a turd. quality in quality out, crap in crap out.

But i must take my hat off to you for your perseverance.

I got in contact with the fella that sold me the fromm and he told me that he sells 100's of these and has never had an issue with one. He will swap it out for me though, if I ship. SO I guess we'll see if it was me or not wrecking blades!! Toxikwaste, gave me a good reference of pressure when honing. He told me, about the same amount of pressure it takes to put a light crease in a piece of paper. Now I'm working with that. I was using WAY too much pressure before.

At the risk of sounding repetative... send it to a honemeister!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The biggest sign if stupidity is doing the same thing and expecting different results!
Try working on a POS first. LOL get a Kriegar and work on that and then try again! Take a feather and run it down the hone. if it bends down then too much pressure!!!! Hone skills will come but learn to shave first!

I'm going to do just that. I have my dads blade, a union, which I believe is a good blade and have that sharpened and shave with that do see how good it can get. I'm also going to have my crap wade and butcher just to see how sharp that can get and then work on it. I'm going to see what comes of the fromm return and maybe I'll wreck that one again. =( Would anyone like to help me with this??

Originally Posted by q31

so I've gotten a 4k stone and even another blade. I got an old wade and butcher from ebay. It's warped a little but I'm not too sad about it. I just wanted to get another blade to see if I'm doing the same thing to that as I am my Fromm. I'm not, yet I can't get the fromm flat. Anything I should try? I'm wondering, I only have a leather stropp so I'm curious if I need something else. When I'm done with my 8k stone should it pass the hanging hair or does it need to be stropped for a bit? I'm really lost.

You don't have to get the bevel 'flat' or even try to. I assume you mean even ? You only need the 2 sides to meet it doesn't matter if parts are really wide & other bits really narrow. You can have the ugliest uneven bevel but still have a mind blowing shaver. The 2 sides just have to meet & form an edge.
See the pic below. The wear on spine & edge is the exact opposite on the other side , wider in the middle, narrower at both ends. This blade is warped but because both sides meet properly...& it is good steel, it shaves like a dream.
Re the HHT after 8k, well that depends on your hair & your skill but it is possible tho not essential.

Thi is EXACTLY how the wade and butcher I bought from ebay looks. I'm willing to chalk my blade problems up to my lack of skill, or maybe patience. I can get them to shave arm and leg hair but it wrecks my face!