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

Glenn.....these types of hints should be bolded and put in the Wiki...."New Honers, Read This" or something...

I found your bullet points to be very accurate. I hope many people read them. I know they're here and there, and that they come up once in a while in converstation, but you've put them all in one concise post.

Thanks!

Shaved with the Joseph Rodgers last night and like the CMon it shaved very well. The CMon seemed a bit more aggressive, that may be a result of the different steel. Again, I used much shorter strokes and had no weepers or problems.

Best shave yet!!! I did a little touch up last night and im happy to say the Puma shaves well and smooth this one wont see the norton unless it poops on me! OTOH i did touch up the Geneva as well and tested it and this one will need some work still....
probably do a small pyramid as the touch up i did last night didnt improved much.

Originally Posted by Maxi

Glenn.....these types of hints should be bolded and put in the Wiki...."New Honers, Read This" or something...

I found your bullet points to be very accurate. I hope many people read them. I know they're here and there, and that they come up once in a while in converstation, but you've put them all in one concise post.

Thanks!

Agree 100%. As a noob honer, I am absorbing as much of this as I can, but those are great bullet points to have on hand.

Originally Posted by jdto

Agree 100%. As a noob honer, I am absorbing as much of this as I can, but those are great bullet points to have on hand.

Originally Posted by Maxi

Glenn.....these types of hints should be bolded and put in the Wiki...."New Honers, Read This" or something...
I found your bullet points to be very accurate. I hope many people read them. I know they're here and there, and that they come up once in a while in converstation, but you've put them all in one concise post.

Thanks guys. I went ahead and added to the honing section of the wiki (Library for those newer). It is found here:
New to honing, Read this - Straight Razor Place Wiki
Thanks
Glenn

Originally Posted by Maxi

Glenn.....these types of hints should be bolded and put in the Wiki...."New Honers, Read This" or something...

I found your bullet points to be very accurate. I hope many people read them. I know they're here and there, and that they come up once in a while in converstation, but you've put them all in one concise post.

Thanks!

+ 1 on that! I think there's a whole bunch of good tips there for us beginners (and anyone I guess). I'm going to re-hone the Klas Törnblom this afternoon, probably just on the 8k, but maybe I'll take it back to the four.

A couple of questions, 'swarf' is like metal taken from the razor, right? Like tiny little iron filings? So one shouldn't see that on the 8k stage? Sometimes I see that on my Shapton 16k; but I know that's an 'aggesive' hone. Also, if I see scatches on the edge under a magnifying glass (no idea what magnification it is), does that mean it needs more work (i.e. it shaves my leg hairs really well, and it shaves my face really well, just trying to get it 'perfect' (I know there's no such think as perfect really, I could hone for EVER and it could ALWAYS need more work). But what I intend to do it take it to the 8k for maybe ten laps, and then see if the scratches are still there. if they are, I'm suspecting I didn't spend enough time on the four, and might need to spend some time on the four at the light pressure stage. Does this sound reasonable?

PS, I could just leave it as it is, as it does shave really well, but that would be boring...

Carl, you got it....swarf is the metal that comes off during the honing stage. Sometimes if floats on the water and looks like iron filings, and sometimes it mixes with the slurry and goes all gunky and grey.

I am one of the believers that if you've used your Norton 4k correctly, that there will be little to no steel embedded on the 8k side when you start. It is normal to see a tad after 10 strokes or so, but I don't like to see it at 1 stroke.

Each stone, regardless of grit, is going to produce scratches on the blade. The idea, like sandpaper grits, is that the hones will make the scratches narrower and shallower with each progressing grit, thus making the edge keener and smoother. It's the change in the scratch pattern that really is important. For instance, and just for fun...do 2 or three circles on the 4k and then look under your magnification....then do 5 strokes on the 8k and look again....did the circle scratch pattern change at all? Your fingers will begin to tell you when you're getting smooth on each stone. You'll no longer feel any bumpity bumps or rough spots. It takes some practice.....

JaNORTuary 7th, 2012.

Razor: W&B 7/8 full hollow

Back from the cottage, had a pile of razor stuff sitting at the door. I'll hone them tomorrow....I honed mine tonite.

I took the W&B back to the stones. I did a 1,3,5,3,1,1 pryramid on the 4/8 combo using 5 8k strokes after every number on the 4k side. Then I cleaned the stones, and did water only on the 8k side. Experiment time; 8 forward strokes, 5 back honing strokes, 2 forward strokes (similar to Glen's 321 on the Shapton 30).

Stropped on SRD Premium III, 40/80.

Shave: Interestingly, the end result is fantastic. As I'm typing here, five minutes later, there is no irritation or stinging. However during the shave the razor just felt "sharp". It lacked the smoothness that the Dovo currently has, or that one gets from the natural finishers. It was sharp though. It plowed through everything, and if I was to say it was uncomfortable it would be because it lacked the smoothness, not because it pulled or tugged as it did last week.

Back to the hones tomorrow...just to the 8k. Some no pressure damp-stone strokes. We'll see where that goes.

Beer O'Clock. Ciao!