Thread: First time honing. Vintage Genco.

Ordered a vintage Genco on the cheap from eBay. I'm determined to get it shave ready if it kills me (which it might). It had two small chips in the blade and was pretty dull. I spent about 45 minutes on a Norton 220 to get the chip out... then spent a solid two hours on the 1k. I have a sneaking suspicion that I've made an uneven bevel. It shaves arm hair fairly well on one side, and just barely after 20 passes on the other side. Any way to correct this? I also think the spine may be screwed up to the point where it isn't guiding the angle properly. Here's a pic... I know it's nowhere near detailed enough to give perfectly accurate advice, but maybe you honemeisters out there will have some advice.

The spine on the side you showed looks fine to me. It does not appear that you have significantly worn the bevel so "guiding the angle" should still be just fine. Did you use pressure during this two hour marathon? Did you do straight strokes, X-strokes, circles, or your own newly invented stroke?

If the razor shaves arm hair good on one side, and only barely on the other side, you most likely have created a burr. Did you make a magic marker test on the blade? Do both sides touch the hone on the full lenght of the edge? Also, you sould tape the spine before you put a lot of honewear on that razor. Judging from the pics the honewear isn't significant yet.

I used mostly straight strokes. I did a few circles but didn't feel like my technique was good enough to use it often. Also did some x strokes here and there. I did use a fair amount of pressure early on and eventually used less. I'm not familiar with the magic marker test.

Originally Posted by MisterSensitive

I used mostly straight strokes. I did a few circles but didn't feel like my technique was good enough to use it often. Also did some x strokes here and there. I did use a fair amount of pressure early on and eventually used less. I'm not familiar with the magic marker test.

Now, thats a big problem! Not because you don't know what the test is, but because this tells me that you didn't read too much about sharpening here. The wiki is you friend, and a lot of things will be much easier if you read first, and only start to hone after. Saves you a lot of time, frustration, and razorsteel, and gives success and happyness in return. I am fairly sure that you will have much less questions if you learn the basics that are written in the wiki, and your learning curve will be shorter too.

Originally Posted by Utopian

The spine on the side you showed looks fine to me. It does not appear that you have significantly worn the bevel so "guiding the angle" should still be just fine. Did you use pressure during this two hour marathon? Did you do straight strokes, X-strokes, circles, or your own newly invented stroke?

+1 And what does the other side look like?

Originally Posted by MisterSensitive

I used mostly straight strokes. I did a few circles but didn't feel like my technique was good enough to use it often. Also did some x strokes here and there. I did use a fair amount of pressure early on and eventually used less. I'm not familiar with the magic marker test.

Originally Posted by jeness

Now, thats a big problem! Not because you don't know what the test is, but because this tells me that you didn't read too much about sharpening here. The wiki is you friend, and a lot of things will be much easier if you read first, and only start to hone after. Saves you a lot of time, frustration, and razorsteel, and gives success and happyness in return. I am fairly sure that you will have much less questions if you learn the basics that are written in the wiki, and your learning curve will be shorter too.

Agreed! Please listen to people here! They will help you if you let them. You seem to want to shoot your foot then complain about it. Change your method by listening first doing second!!!

Originally Posted by Str8Shooter

Agreed! Please listen to people here! They will help you if you let them. You seem to want to shoot your foot then complain about it. Change your method by listening first doing second!!!

First of all, I'm not complaining, I'm asking for advice. Second of all, I've done enough reading and YouTube watching on honing to make my head explode. Missing reading about a technique doesn't mean I haven't read anything or I'm not listening to people.

Third of all, your little and icons aren't much help to me. I don't know if that means you think I shouldn't use pressure, or that I shouldn't use certain strokes when honing, or that I should know about the magic marker test. I thought this was a place to help those new to the world of straight razors, not to insult them with little icons for not knowing everything right off the bat.

Originally Posted by MisterSensitive

First of all, I'm not complaining, I'm asking for advice. Second of all, I've done enough reading and YouTube watching on honing to make my head explode. Missing reading about a technique doesn't mean I haven't read anything or I'm not listening to people.

Third of all, your little and icons aren't much help to me. I don't know if that means you think I shouldn't use pressure, or that I shouldn't use certain strokes when honing, or that I should know about the magic marker test. I thought this was a place to help those new to the world of straight razors, not to insult them with little icons for not knowing everything right off the bat.

We are here to help, this is the reason of this forum. But a lot of knowledge is already in the wiki, which answers a lot of questions. If you are familiar with the various tests, honing strokes etc., than you will find a lot of answers before you could even ask. And, most importantly, if you know the basics, than it will be easier for you to ask more specific questions, which we can understand better, so we can give a better answer. If your head hurts from all the videos and the wiki, than take a brake, and start all over a few times, and only after it start to hone.

Don't rush, it will only make things worse. Straight shaving is not a race, take it easy.

Originally Posted by MisterSensitive

First of all, I'm not complaining, I'm asking for advice. Second of all, I've done enough reading and YouTube watching on honing to make my head explode. Missing reading about a technique doesn't mean I haven't read anything or I'm not listening to people.

Third of all, your little and icons aren't much help to me. I don't know if that means you think I shouldn't use pressure, or that I shouldn't use certain strokes when honing, or that I should know about the magic marker test. I thought this was a place to help those new to the world of straight razors, not to insult them with little icons for not knowing everything right off the bat.

My point and frustration is that others have suggested you send a razor off to be honed properly so you have something to gauge off of. It seems as if you want to keep honing away and not listen. I only meant to convey your need to slow down. You will not become Jackie Chan with one martial art class.
You have nothing to base as a point of reference except one trashed razor and now slamming away for two hours on a second. Slow down. Technique is everything. I do not claim to know 1/10 of the Honemeister's here but I have a long background with knives which (pun intended), may give me an edge. Start by learning to shave, then slowly learn to hone. Otherwise you won't be able to see what a good edge really is.
(don't hate the icon's, they are fun)

Oh and again, what does the other side of the blade look like?

Originally Posted by Str8Shooter

My point and frustration is that others have suggested you send a razor off to be honed properly so you have something to gauge off of. It seems as if you want to keep honing away and not listen. I only meant to convey your need to slow down. You will not become Jackie Chan with one martial art class.
You have nothing to base as a point of reference except one trashed razor and now slamming away for two hours on a second. Slow down. Technique is everything. I do not claim to know 1/10 of the Honemeister's here but I have a long background with knives which (pun intended), may give me an edge. Start by learning to shave, then slowly learn to hone. Otherwise you won't be able to see what a good edge really is.
(don't hate the icon's, they are fun)

Oh and again, what does the other side of the blade look like?

I'm sending the razor I shave with off to be honed by Lynn so I can get a good idea of what a sharp razor looks and shaves like. I'm practicing honing on a cheapo eBay razor that I don't really have too much invested in. I've read a great deal about razor honing from reading and watching videos and felt it was OK to give it a shot. I can say I've already learned a lot from the little honing that I've done, so I don't see it as a problem or "moving too fast". I didn't have high expectations from my first honing experience, in fact, I was sure I'd make mistakes. But making those kinds of mistakes is something I've found to work for me in terms of learning a new skill. The experience was enjoyable and educational, not frustrating or discouraging. If anything, it has given me first hand experience of how important careful technique is while honing. I can read about that until I'm blue in the face, but I won't FULLY understand it unless I experience it. On the other hand I can understand other people's frustration if they see me jumping into something I may not be ready for. Especially if I'm asking basic questions that can be answered by reading up. So I get where you're coming from.

In the meantime, I shall be visiting the Wiki regularly.