Honing and maintenance questions

Pardon my ignorance, I am fairly new to straight razor shaving. I purchased a Dovo straight edge "shave ready" from classicshaving.com about 6 months ago. It wasn't the comfort I had come to expect when shaving with a straight razor, but it cut hair fine. It recently started to pull more than usual so i figured it was begining to dull. I purchased a Norton 4k/8k stone and did a normal pyramid pattern. After stropping the next day and shaving, it cut some hair but was still pulling. Does that mean my razor is still dull, or did I over hone? I do not own a finishing stone at the moment. Could this be why I am not getting a decent edge? Classicshaving.com has a sharpening service. Would you all recomend I send my razor in to them and get a professional honing done? My final question is do I have to wait 24 hours after honing to strop and do a shave test, or can I strop and test immediately after honing?

I asked a lot, so thank you for taking the time to review my questions.

Sincerely,

Ron

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Originally Posted by BigRon

I purchased a Norton 4k/8k stone and did a normal pyramid pattern. After stropping the next day and shaving, it cut some hair but was still pulling. Does that mean my razor is still dull, or did I over hone?

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It's extremely unlikely that you overhoned it. Be sure that you are not putting pressure on the blade when you do your pyramids.
I think one reason that the pyramid works so well is it all but eliminates the possibility of overhoning.
Just be sure you're not using pressure...

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Originally Posted by BigRon

I do not own a finishing stone at the moment. Could this be why I am not getting a decent edge?

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No. Realize that this site is full of people who are crazy about hones and about getting the absolute best edge possible out of their razors. Your Norton 8k will give you good shaves - a finisher will add a tiny little bit to the quality, but not much.
See this thread for evidence, and some tips: http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...on-2012-a.html

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Originally Posted by BigRon

Classicshaving.com has a sharpening service. Would you all recomend I send my razor in to them and get a professional honing done?

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You can probably do it yourself with your Norton.

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Originally Posted by BigRon

My final question is do I have to wait 24 hours after honing to strop and do a shave test, or can I strop and test immediately after honing?

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No need to wait. You can hone and shave test right away.

Good luck!

Thank you HNSB for all the information. I will be following the Janorton 2012 thread closely to pick up some tips. I do have another question if you do not mind? If I find that the sharpness of the razor is not up to snuff after the first shave test and I think it needs more sharpening, what is the next best course of action to use? Should I do another pyramid pattern, or just do a few more passes on the 8k side and go from there?

Thanks again,

Ron

Hi Ron,

Try 3-5 No pressure X strokes on the 8K side of your Norton and then test shave and see if there is less pulling. If it is better but not there, try 3-5 more. No pressure is key. If it goes from pulling to simply gliding over the beard and not removing whisker, go back to the Pyramid at 5-5, 3-3, 1-3, 1-5 with the 4K/8K using no pressure and see if that gets you there. You should be able to get a comfortable shave off the 8K Norton. Give it a few tries as you can always send it out to be re-honed.

Keep us posted.

Have fun.

Ron, make yourself a good cup of coffee and start reading here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...on-2012-a.html

That should give you quite a few pointers how to use your Norton and make your razor singing again. :)

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Originally Posted by Blix

Ron, make yourself a good cup of coffee and start reading here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...on-2012-a.html

That should give you quite a few pointers how to use your Norton and make your razor singing again. :)

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12 pages in and on my fourth cup :D

Lynn, Thank you so much for your help, I will definitely give that a try! I will keep you posted on my progress.

Ron

Just a question: did you lap your Norton before you used it?

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Originally Posted by deighaingeal

Just a question: did you lap your Norton before you used it?

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No, I just used it new out of the box. To be honest, I didn't know what lapping was until I searched it after your post. I just read hone lapping 101 and realized I should have lapped...I would have thought a new hone would have already been flat. :gaah:

Ah that explains a lot. The rough texture of an unlapped Norton is not usable for honing for sure.

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Originally Posted by BigRon

No, I just used it new out of the box. To be honest, I didn't know what lapping was until I searched it after your post. I just read hone lapping 101 and realized I should have lapped...I would have thought a new hone would have already been flat. :gaah:

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Well you know what thought did

As Blix said, while trueness is important I was more thinking what everyone has been referencing regarding the Norton's surface from the factory. While I don't own a Norton I have helped new honers with theirs and have found similar results regarding the first 1/16" or so.

Well I didn't lap the stone before I sharpened my razor today. It still cut fairly well, but it probably could use a few more passes on the stone. At the end of my shave, I was left with a few rough patches here and there, but that is more than likely the cause of my shaving inexperience and not razor sharpness. In the next day or so I will follow the instructions on lapping 101, lap my stone, and then give another 3-5 passes on the 8k and see where that gets me.

Thanks for the info

Ron

Thanks Avatar1999, unfortunately I do not have the funds for this at the moment. I am just going to follow the instructions in lapping 101 and use sand paper for now. Thank you for the advice, I am sure when I have the funds it will be a good buy. :D

Sandpaper on a flat surface will work fine--300 or so grit should work, but you may want to pick up 1 or 2 sheets of 120 for the initial 1/16" or so & then go to the finer paper. Make sure you use good brands of paper (Norton & 3M are pretty reliable)--the cheaper grades can leave grit embedded in your stone.