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

One thing I was really impressed with is how smooth you can get an 8k edge if you pay attention. I really liked doing lather on the 8k after water for that last little extra.

Another thing I really liked is this proves conclusively that, despite how much we may love our new toys, we are fully capable of going back to basics & still getting good shaves. In some circles we (SRP) get IMO unjustly attacked as being unable/unwilling to do that.

I did not participate in this experiment but read it all the way through.

I'd be very very interested in reading people comments if they take their JaNorton razors and just finish them as they usually do (8k+ hones, pasted strops.....), in order to compare with the 8k edge they shaved with few days before...

Originally Posted by christophe

I'd be very very interested in reading people comments if they take their JaNorton razors and just finish them as they usually do (8k+ hones, pasted strops.....), in order to compare with the 8k edge they shaved with few days before...

I agree and also thought about this. The trouble for me is I have it shaving pretty well and I don't know if I want to change it.

As I mentioned a few posts ago I have become more interested in stropping. I have been noticing that it seems that it has been having a break in period. Maybe not the best terminology but it seems to be getting better/smoother each day. I have been doing about 40 strokes each on my fire hose and Latigo strops. Not precisely, I have been going until I get bored or loose count! I suppose I could do 400 each directly off the 8K but it is a little less boring to spread it over 10 days.

Anyway that has been my thoughts. If I decide differently or have anything that I think might interest the group I will certainly post it. I will probably post even if I don't!

Tim

I learned...
That there are many different methods to get a shaving edge off the Norton.
That I will return to finishing now that JaNorton is over.
That although I learned an amazing amount and improved my honing, I still have much to learn
That there can be a "sweet spot" after which you will want to "move on", else you might regress.
I need to get some better clamps/bases for the Norton.
There is still a better way to see the egde, and I'm not using it (I use magnifying headset, loop, 10x lighted magnifyer, lamp and flashlight--but I'm missing something--seeing the edge is awkward)
And lastly...
My fine and x-fine DMT's arrived last week, and as soon as the lapping papers get here I'm going to jump into a whole new world of learnin!

Thanks JaNorton!

Minor Update!!

I have now honed 7 razors using Lynn's circle technique with surprising success. I have honed 2 more Spikes, a Cosmo Silver Steel, an Ontario Cutlery 7/8 and a Hamburg Cutlery 6/8 along with re-honing my original 2 Spikes for JaNorton. I now have very little hair left on both arms having just about cleaned them off testing. I have found that the HHT just didn't work for me as I didn't really know what I was doing, but I could clean a spot on my arm with very little effort, testing across the blade as I went.

By far the smoothest edge right off the 8k was the harder steel in the Hamburg razor. The Spikes take an edge unlike any other razor I have ever tried. 2 layers of tape on the wedges and the bevels set like magic.

This time however, with the advent of February, I finished them on my C12k, went to a diamond felt paddle and them on to a pasted paddle strop. Man were these babies smooth and SHARP!!

I must admit great thanks to this effort. I had very little success honing on my own up until this process began. After all I learned in January, it was worth every minute of the learning experience that I would not trade for the world.

Now I just need to get a better finishing stone and I think I would be right in there with everyone else as far as edge smoothness. I impressed myself tonight with the success I had.

THanks to everyone for their input and advice. It paid off for me in a big way!

Happy Shaving All!!!

Mike