Thread: The Famous/Infamous Norton 4/8 "JaNorton 2012"

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

It can matter.
If you want to grind an initial spherical curve in glass to make a
telescope mirror the mirror blank goes on top. The top blank
will get concave and the bottom blank (both are glass) will get
convex. Grinding optical flats is terribly difficult.

This is why a large DMT or largish lapping plate is used to
flatten a waterstone. The good news is that as long as
all honing surfaces have the exact same shape you are good to go.

A DMT is a winner because it is so much more durable than a
water stone that it wins. It is possible to round a hone by
sliding a DMT too far over the top so yes waterstone on top
under running water is best. BUT having said that:
consistency is more important.

Oh, great, very informative, I'll try it with the waterstone on top. The new lapping stone is larger than my last one, so may be better in that regard, to.

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Hi Blix.
So you did 20 laps without water? How did that go? I haven't yet heard of doing any laps without water...

It's not dry, you just do one swipe with a finger, so there's a bit of water left. When finished the hone is damp. It's something Glen does in his videos.

For the record, the Gotta delivered a nice shave today as well.

Well, with the late start... it's only the second day in, and I'm looking at this drawer full of rocks and starting to wonder why I bought them all in the first place.

Late reporting. Second shave had to wait till the face healed up from the irritation from shave 1. Last week, shaved with my favorite little Robeson. that shave was nice and smooth. I could feel the dif between the 8k and the finer finishes, but it was still rather comfy all around. Last night, shaved with that big ol Joe Smith wedge again. I could feel the irritation beginning almost immediately. I am fairly certain that this is my own fault, as I seem to be putting more pressure on my face when using this hefty chunk of steel. (its the heaviest blade currently in my lineup) Being new to such a big beasty, I might have the same problems no matter what I honed it on. Is it allowed to switch razors in mid test? a smaller , lighter, wedge might suit my shaving style better.

Originally Posted by Blix

It's not dry, you just do one swipe with a finger, so there's a bit of water left. When finished the hone is damp. It's something Glen does in his videos.

And would you recommend doing that, did you see an
improvement?

I use the damp-stone technique quite regularly when finishing on the 8k side. I like the results I get, and they're consistent, which I feel is really important during honing.

Ok so my DMT325 arrived today and I got to lapping my 4/8 nice and flat and smooth.. (Or so I hope LOL) After that I took the Genco Master Barber I bought on Fleabay and got it ready for honing. (It had an edge that shaved, but nowhere near as well as my other Genco's) I should point out this is my first time on the hones....ever

After soaking the stones for 20 min or so, it was time to begin..

20 circles left firm pressure
20 circles right firm pressure
5 x strokes firm pressure

Check, Nope won't pop hair..

another 40 left, 40 right and 5 x strokes and this time it's popping hair, YAY

20 left 20 right medium pressure
20 left 20 right NO pressure

Then went for a Pyramid of 5-5 3-3 1-3 1-5

After that it was popping hair quite nicely and under the loupe (to my untrained eye) it looked pretty even and I didn't see any chipping etc in the blade..

100 Passes on felt
100 passes on Latigo Leather

after that I hopped in the shower for a quick prep and a shave...

Lathered up with some nice Uber (TOBS Sandalwood and T&H 1805) and went for the shave....

And the verdict is.......OUCH this is the harshest edge I have ever tried Did the WTG pass on my cheeks and didn't feel confident on trying anything else, so I finished with my Genco GoldEdge (which is a Damn fine shaver )

Oh well, I was hoping for beginners luck, back to the stones for more practice..... Practice and even more practice

Originally Posted by Martin103

And would you recommend doing that, did you see an
improvement?

I am still experimenting myself, but this is worth trying!

Tim

This is what I did for this exercise:

Did 10 figure eights on both sides of the Norton using my DMT 325;

Then, with both Hamburg Ring (Rogers) and Otto Busch Weltmaster on the Norton 4000
a.) 3 sets of 40 circles heavy,
b.) 3 sets of 40 circles medium,
c.) 3 sets of 40 circles very very light

Then on the Norton 8000
a.)one set of 10 circles – no weight

Then progressions 3x5, 1x5 and 1x10 on the 4000/8000

Stropped on Kanayama 20 linen and 60 leather.

Both razors have surpassed my expectations!!!!

Have shaved with both razors, alternating each daily, and have used different soaps including MFW.