Thread: My razors won't get sharp...

I don't have the experience of the other commentators here, they have given you the best advice;
But-
We do have something in common, we are both new and we both can sharpen knives. I thought that straight razor shaving would be a cinch. What a foolish thought. As stated above, knives and straight razor sharpening is as different as night & day. I spent close to a month of day on, day off, sharpening of old razors before I could get one to shave me comfortably. I had read almost every thread here on honing and bought the best equipment.
With that said, forget about your knife skills here, they will only confuse and frustrate you with the straight razor. I did not see a remark from you about having a loop or pocket microscope to see the edge with. That sharpie is not going to give you a view of that edge with the naked eye. You think you see the edge, but you don't. I don't possibly see how you can see the true status/condition of the edge without magnification. My limited experience says that a possible answer is that you are cutting a bevel on the shoulder of the bevel that was there to begin with; there for you are never touching the real edge. You cannot see this problem without magnification. This problem kept me on one razor for almost a week.Thank God it was a wedge or it would be a metal toothpick now.
As one of the members said in a thread that I read, "You are flying in the dark without magnification"

Again take my advice with a grain of salt; I've only been doing this for 6 months. I hope I helped.
John

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I don't have the experience of the other commentators here, they have given you the best advice; "I don't possibly see how you can see the true status/condition of the edge without magnification."
John

+1 Amen to that, John.

I have read somewhere on this site that one does not get good results sharpening until having honed at least 100 different razors. Now that may sound a bit extreme, but the main point is this: Do not expect to become an expert on your first attempts at honing. At least that is my understanding. I'll leave to others suggestions to be followed. Good luck!!

I would compare looking at the edge through at least 10X magnification to looking out the windshield while you're driving. If you don't do it, you can't tell where you are and plan where you want to go. I don't trust my honing to tests or to feel. I have to see what I've got and that tells me what to do about it. If you get to the point where your bevel and edge look good under 10X, it's hard to go wrong. It can still be done, of course, but it's more difficult.

Are you wanting to shave with it or do cheap parlor tricks? If you wish to shave with it I would go from the 8k to a 12k and strop the bejesus out of it, 100 laps each linen then leather and go shave. You can get a good edge from the Norton 8k, but that takes a little experience.

If I missed it above, forgive. But, what are you using after the hones... diamond on felt, for example?

I've read over this thread several times and am becoming more and more suspicious that the original poster is using a jig to hold the razor and control the bevel angle. I am also strongly suspicious that this jig is designed for sharpening knives and so holding the razor spine substantially above the hone.

I could of course be completely wrong, but if I'm not then the sharpening angle is going to be completely wrong and until he corrects it he's never going to get a shaving edge no matter what he does.

My guess is that the OP is not using an x pattern. There are lots of other options too, like simply not having enough experience. The difference between good honing and okay honing, is the strop. :-)

I'm with Mick Russell. I think a knife jig may be being used by the OP. I had no problem honing my own razors once I read the info on the subject in the Wiki. Prior to that I was the typical 'knife guy' these blokes refer too. Mind you, prior to that I was in my early twenties and totally uneducated regarding razors and honing. When I finally got back into these things (In my 30's) and found info on the 'net, I was able to make progress. Once I found this site, I was able to become proficient enough to maintain my own razors to a level that is more than satisfactory for myself, and has also aided a few friends with their razors as well. I'm no guru honing expert, but I don't need to be.
My advice...Honing razors is easy enough if you take the time to learn the theory in the wiki first. The hardest thing will be relinquishing the pressure. When you think it is light, make it even lighter.


Mick

I took "built-in" to mean that the blade rests on the spine during honing, thus ensuring the proper angle. I don't read that to mean he's using a jig. The "jig" is the shape of the razor versus a knife. Am I taking crazy pills?

Alright, well the multi-quote button doesn't seem to be working for me right now. I'll try to address everyone's input (which I appreciate, by the way; thanks.)

@Larry: I'm using a bare horsehide strop. That's all.

Originally Posted by MickRussell

I've read over this thread several times and am becoming more and more suspicious that the original poster is using a jig to hold the razor and control the bevel angle. I am also strongly suspicious that this jig is designed for sharpening knives and so holding the razor spine substantially above the hone.

Not at all. When I said "built in jig," I just meant that you lay the razor down on the hone, and the spine and bevel sets the angle for you. The "angle jig" is "built in."

@AFDavis11: The X-Pattern is where you set the blade on the hone and during the pass, pull the razor across the width of the stone, correct? I am doing that.

I'll whip out my microscope and have a look at what's going on under the hood. Thanks.