Thread: First time honing was a success or sorts

Living near Dallas, I have a Woodcraft store near by, and I decided to drop by to pick up some honing gear earlier today. Not having a ton of extra cash at the moment, all I purchased was a Norton 4k/8k combo stone and a DMT 325 for lapping and raising slurry. After getting home and getting the stone lapped, I proceeded to try to refresh a dulled razor that I recently purchased. Everything went swimmingly, and after finishing up on the 8k side, the razor would easily pop arm hair well above the skin. So I finished up on a pasted balsa plank, 10 laps on the CrO side and 10 laps on the FeO, and then about 75 laps on leather. The results: HOLY COW! Talk about a close shave. However, the blade is a little fierce. I liken the feeling my face has right now to the first time I used a Feather blade in my safety razor; not burnt, but definitely a little raw. If I wanted to tame the edge a little without killing it could I use cork like the DE guys do sometimes? Despite the final result, I'm quite surprised I got a blade that sharp my first time out.

Great job on the honing. Woodcraft is a great store.
I don't know how long you have been shaving, but could you have been applying too much pressure, due to the fact you were testing an edge that you were unsure of?

I've only been straight shaving for about three weeks, and I think I got a little too aggressive with my angle since it was shaving so well. This thing was like a hot knife through butter.

If it removes hair nicely, then more than likely it's angle and, or pressure.

Congrats on your success! I labored for days without producing a decent shaving edge when I first tried. I think I posted every day for a week, asking for help. lol. I'm unfamiliar with the cork thing. I'd be interested to hear about it though. I'm still new so I wont suggest much, as in another month I'll probably not think that way anymore. Progressive opinion forming seems to be a part of the learning curve. But I will suggest getting a linen component. It made all the difference for me, with regard to harsh edges. I don't know the science of it. I'm just confident it removed the harshness from my edges. Something to think about anyways.

congrats! Its a great feeling to shave with one that you honed.

Congrats on your first-time success with the Nortons, Myers! As you have discovered, shaving off your own killer edges is a big part of the fun of this addiction. It sounds like your stropping regimen should tame any harshness, though I might agree with Joe that a linen step couldn't hurt before the leather. Maybe I've missed something, but I don't know of any str8 users 'corking' an edge. A properly-honed str8 edge is a very delicate proposition, I'd be afraid to try it. YMMV. Do any more experienced members do this?

The razor burn is common when you first get started, as there is a tendency, even if unconsciously, to try and "force" the blade through the whiskers with a bit too much of a 'death-grip' on the razor using too much pressure. I remember being red and raw after shaving when I first started a couple of years ago, even with a new Lynn-honed Dovo, so I know the edge was not to blame. With time and enough shaves, your fingers and hands will soon develop the confidence to glide lightly over the whiskers for a smooth, irritation-free shave (usually!). More creative stretching helps get those hairs standing at attention, which helps with this. Myself, I hardly ever get razor burn anymore off my own Norton/CrOx edges (though I strop a lot on linen/leather (about 40-80 per shave), and sometimes a 100 or so strokes on colored newsprint. Keep us posted! Aaron

Since I don't have a linen strop, could I use denim or duckcloth? I've got an old pair of jeans that I wouldn't mind repurposing if you guys think that would help. I was a little worried that maybe the edge was just harsh due to my noob sharpening skills, but the closeness of this shave is like nothing I've ever experienced. Two WTG passes and I couldn't find hair anywhere on my face regardless of the direction I ran my fingers. Normally there's a little drag with the other blades that I've used, but this was like butter. Couple an extra sharp blade with the fact that I've shaved more in the last week than I normally do in two and it was a recipe for a little rawness. I'm coming up on 12 hours since shaving and my face is still completely smooth WTG; very slight stubble ATG. Definitely going to take the weekend off from shaving and hit it again on Monday morning with some uberlather and a light touch. I've also realized that I haven't been stretching the skin like I'm supposed to. Coming from a safety razor, I'm still in the mindset of putting the blade to my skin and going to work instead of making sure the skin is pulled good and tight before starting.

Denim/blue-jeans makes a great stropping surface if pulled taut; in fact, I often strop pocket knives on my jeans. Honestly, probably all that extra shaving you've been doing is probably what's got you tender and red; that and dry winter air are not a good combination. I'd take a few days off, and make sure to use a good balm after your next go.

Oh, and "faceturbating" will cause you to go blind. Let your wife/significant other do it for you.

Well, after speaking with a few people via email, I've come to the conclusion that the harshness of the Henckels' blade was due to the way I finished it last night. So, I went back and did a quick pyramid on the 4000/8000 to knock the edge back a little. Then I went back to the pasted balsa, but I only did 5 laps on the CrO side and didn't touch the FeO side at all. I followed that up with 100 laps on leather. The first 85 were with moderate pressure and the last 15 were with very light pressure. The draw on the strop was noticeably less this time around than it was last night after doing the initial hone. It was grabbing like mad last night; today it was sliding merrily along with a nice amount of draw.

After all that, I took the razor and compared it to another that I got from Larry at WhippedDog. Both felt about the same on a dry beard, and they performed equally on the HHT which was quite a change from before. The Henckels was literally splitting hairs earlier today. Now it will pop hairs pretty easily with the root-end out. With the root-end in, it might catch once or twice in every 10 tries.

Long story short, I don't think I'll be using FeO to finish off a blade any more.