Thread: First time honing

So I got a used razor and of course after disinfecting I find that the blade is quite dull. I bought a Norton 4000/8000 stone set and honed with the 4000 side for quite a while then switched and used the 8000. While I was shaving I noticed I had a little bit of pulling and final results were 5 o clock shadow with a couple, ok a few, minor nicks. So here is my question: do I rehone the razor from the beginning or should I just polish it off with the 8000 side? I apologize if this question is answered in another thread. Also, I have a canvas and leather strop set that I used before shaving.

First of all welcome to the site! Its a challenge to try to learn a new blade and hone it at the same time. If you got a passable shave out of it then all the better, most dont!

Theres a couple of reasons why you may have had some pulling, and this is also the reason why we say dont learn to hone and shave at the same time. Either your blade is shave ready but your technique is off, resulting in pulling or nicks, or your blade isnt shave ready and your technique is ok but the poor edge is resulting in pulling or nicks. Or it could be both, and most likely it is both.

I would guess that if your end results are five o clock shadow then its probably more than technique and the blade isnt as sharp as it could be. With a shave ready blade the razor should remove stubble easily on your cheeks as most new guys can get that pass down pretty easily. If it didnt then I would say the blade needs more work.

The 8k stone is really for polishing and the 4k is for sharpening, so you want to get the maximum sharpness out of the 4k before you put the final polish on the blade with 10-20 strokes on the 8k. Doing more than 20 strokes on the 8 wont add any more sharpness or smoothness and if the edge isnt there by the time you go on to the 8k then more strokes on the 8k wont get it where you want it. so to answer your question, back onto the 4k until you can easily shave arm hair at skin level with minimal pressure and only then go to the 8k.

The best thing to do though is have a look on the members map and see if theres anyone near you who can help you out with your honing. That really is the easiest way to learn for sure! I taught myself how to hone and whilst it wasnt as hard as say teaching yourself Chinese, it would have been a lot less painful had I been able to sit down with someone one on one.

The other thing I would recommend if you can do it is picking up a second blade and sending that out to someone who knows what they're doing. Then you have a benchmark to compare your honing against.

Hope all my rambling was some help!

Good luck and keep us posted!

I'm new here too, but I just finished honing my Wade and Butcher so I'll add what I just learned to the mix.

As Stubear said, I didn't feel like the 8000 was taking anything off the blade, so if your bevel is off, you're going to need to hit the 4000 a few more times. Second, are you doing the pyramid technique when honing? I found that worked like a charm. My razor originally wouldn't take arm hair off without pulling it really, really bad. After honing it for a good while (Take your time and be careful not to put the edge into the honing stone like I did a few times with uneven pressure), and stropping it, it takes my arm hair off with alarming ease.

Biggest thing. Take your time, watch what you're doing, don't bugger it up. Otherwise you're right back to square one again. Hope that helps a little.

The other thing I would recommend if you can do it is picking up a second blade and sending that out to someone who knows what they're doing. Then you have a benchmark to compare your honing against.

I spent some time honing my first razor (an old W&B). Then ordered a Dovo Best Quality from SRD, tried it out, and said:

. . . Oh -- _That's_ what a sharp razor feels like!

A blade from the Classifieds would have worked as well, to show me what "sharp" means.

Charles

Originally Posted by brandon215

So I got a used razor and of course after disinfecting I find that the blade is quite dull. I bought a Norton 4000/8000 stone set and honed with the 4000 side for quite a while then switched and used the 8000. While I was shaving I noticed I had a little bit of pulling and final results were 5 o clock shadow with a couple, ok a few, minor nicks. So here is my question: do I rehone the razor from the beginning or should I just polish it off with the 8000 side? I apologize if this question is answered in another thread. Also, I have a canvas and leather strop set that I used before shaving.

You have a Norton so:
Visit the Wiki and search for the pyramid method.
Also view the youtube videos by gssixgun. He has
one specific to the Norton Combo.

Also take advantage of the magic marker test.
Use a marker that is easy to see and wipe it
on the blade's edge and spine, let it dry, take
one or two hone strokes and inspect.

If you see ink where the edge should be
sharp the bevel is not well set and you need
to spend more time on the 4K side of the combo.
In some cases a razor is so dull that a 1K or
coarser hone is needed. In such a case
it can be less expensive to send the
blade out for honing.

There is such a thing as a "short pyramid" method
that has value refreshing an edge.

Strop slow and smooth. Speed is not needed
to get a sharp edge.

have fun...

gssixgun Honing on a Norton 4-8 - YouTube