Thread: The C-Nat-athon

I have a cnat and I used to find it quite effective but nowadays the edges I get from the 8k are really sharp and I find it hard to improve the edge on the cnat.

Originally Posted by AndrewK

I'm bummed about my DMT 325 4x10" lapping plate too. There is an imperfection and it leaves visible little tiny scratches in the stones. I hope I can take it back!!?? It's brand new

DMT plates have to be broken in, many of them have high diamonds,, Take a long screwdriver and rub the round part of the shank over the DMT a few times with some pressure and that should do it .. Sharpening a Knife or other tool will do the trick too...

If there is a visible imperfection on the plate, forget what I said and take it back though...

I honed up a Joseph Allen & Sons this morning using a borrowed set of Nortons. I now remember why I sold my Nortons in the first place and kept the King's. It felt like I was getting no feedback at all from the stones. Don't get me wrong, I had a nice, shaveable edge after the 8k but the feel while honing just didn't feel right. I also had to do nearly twice the laps on the PHIG that I would use to get a comparable edge when using the Kings. I guess this is why so much of this hobby falls under the YMMV banner. The shave went quite wonderful. Hard to get a bad shave from Sheffield steel.

Originally Posted by Theseus

so much of this hobby falls under the YMMV banner.

Good call.

Originally Posted by Theseus

I honed up a Joseph Allen & Sons this morning using a borrowed set of Nortons. I now remember why I sold my Nortons in the first place and kept the King's. It felt like I was getting no feedback at all from the stones. Don't get me wrong, I had a nice, shaveable edge after the 8k but the feel while honing just didn't feel right. I also had to do nearly twice the laps on the PHIG that I would use to get a comparable edge when using the Kings. I guess this is why so much of this hobby falls under the YMMV banner. The shave went quite wonderful. Hard to get a bad shave from Sheffield steel.

The Kings are darn good stones for the money. I know what you mean, after using a smooth stone like my King 1k the Norton 4ks feedback feels grittier even though it's not. The 8k Norton seems to be the magical stone they make, it's strange because it says on my Norton 4/8 the 4k side is made in Italy and the 8k side is made in the U.S.. I read that the kings feel smoother because they add a certain percentage of clay to the abrasive to make them feel more natural.

Well I got a shave test in today, tested both my Wolff Lane Boker, and my Torrey.

Stones used: King 1k, Norton 4k/8k, C-nat

I honed my Boker the same as usual but just for kicks right as it was about done I added 2 layers of tape and finished lightly to put a small micro bevel on the edge.

The Torrey I honed was the same as my usual routine as I posted before also (without micro bevel).

Stropping: One thing I learned today that isn't mentioned very much is speed of stroke when stropping. The faster the stroke it seems the less laps are needed. I finished differently with my Boker by doing 30 laps cowhide and 100 horse hide. The Torrey was the usual 60 denim, 30 cowhide, 100 horse hide.

The Shave was one of the smoothest shaves ever. No pressure it wiped the whiskers off nice and clean with both razors. The micro bevel wasn't needed I just wanted to test it out. The shave off the Norton 8k is a great comfortable edge, but finishing with my c-nat gives it that little extra something that turns a good shave into a great shave.

Hi all,

I finally got the Robeson I've been going on about sharpened and ready!! I had to start the bevel on the 800 before moving on to the 1k to get a decent even bevel going. From there on it was all the same with the addition of some extra laps on the diamond and CrOx paddles. I managed to get the feel from this one that I've been looking for all along. Sharp as heck, but buttery smooth on the face.

It seems the routine I've been using is good, just wasn't quite finding that 'sweet spot' that I'd been looking for all this time. By working thru this over the last few weeks, I think I have it.

A sad discovery I made while working this though is that a brand new Giesen & Forthoff razor I bought just a few months ago, but never could get to take a bevel has made it's problem apparent to me.

I worked it for a few hours last night only to finally see for myself that the edge is actually slightly warped at the heel and the toe. I knew something was strange by the way the bevel was deep on one side in the center, but very narrow and un-sharp at the heel and toe. On the other side of the razor the heel and toe are deep (or wide) and the center is narrow and un=sharp. I was finally able to actually take a good close look at it and realized that it is bowed in the center one direction.

I've been pulling my hair out over this darn razor since it ran me over 80$ only to discover a couple of months after I bought it that it was warped right out of the box.

So sadness at the new razor, but happiness at the honing success...

Now that I've attempted to hone it a dozen times at least, no going back now...

Any suggestions other than put it up and look at it once in a while, just to remind myself how pretty it is, but how easily a new razor can suck???

Glad we had this thread mates, it has paid off for me in a big way!! Now I'm a honing fiend, and I have no dull razors to work on anymore.. (Again, sadness...) I don't want to dull and re-hone one just for the heck of it, but I may have to just to satisfy this craving for more honing. It's so relaxing...

Lata!!

M

Originally Posted by mjhammer

Hi all,

I finally got the Robeson I've been going on about sharpened and ready!! I had to start the bevel on the 800 before moving on to the 1k to get a decent even bevel going. From there on it was all the same with the addition of some extra laps on the diamond and CrOx paddles. I managed to get the feel from this one that I've been looking for all along. Sharp as heck, but buttery smooth on the face.

It seems the routine I've been using is good, just wasn't quite finding that 'sweet spot' that I'd been looking for all this time. By working thru this over the last few weeks, I think I have it.

A sad discovery I made while working this though is that a brand new Giesen & Forthoff razor I bought just a few months ago, but never could get to take a bevel has made it's problem apparent to me.

I worked it for a few hours last night only to finally see for myself that the edge is actually slightly warped at the heel and the toe. I knew something was strange by the way the bevel was deep on one side in the center, but very narrow and un-sharp at the heel and toe. On the other side of the razor the heel and toe are deep (or wide) and the center is narrow and un=sharp. I was finally able to actually take a good close look at it and realized that it is bowed in the center one direction.

I've been pulling my hair out over this darn razor since it ran me over 80$ only to discover a couple of months after I bought it that it was warped right out of the box.

So sadness at the new razor, but happiness at the honing success...

Now that I've attempted to hone it a dozen times at least, no going back now...

Any suggestions other than put it up and look at it once in a while, just to remind myself how pretty it is, but how easily a new razor can suck???

Glad we had this thread mates, it has paid off for me in a big way!! Now I'm a honing fiend, and I have no dull razors to work on anymore.. (Again, sadness...) I don't want to dull and re-hone one just for the heck of it, but I may have to just to satisfy this craving for more honing. It's so relaxing...

Lata!!

M

You should try a rolling X stroke, very light rolling X stroke should provide an even bevel and honing. Even though we would like all of our razors to be perfectly flat, that is rarely the case. The only razor I have that is truly flat/straight is my Torrey, my Boker is fine there is just a tiny spot on the tip that needs a little attention from time to time. Just do not try bending the blade to straighten it out, you will break hardened steel trying to bend it. I wont know for sure without a picture but I'm sure some practice at a rolling X stroke will iron out your frustration.

Originally Posted by xMackx

You should try a rolling X stroke, very light rolling X stroke should provide an even bevel and honing.

+1 on that comment. You've already got it the razor, might as well teach yourself how to hone funny-shaped blades.

Another +1 on learning to hone the warped blade. I found that my honing abilities grew by leaps and bounds when I started to learn how to hone warped and twisted blades. Just remember that the magic marker is probably one of your most important tools when honing these.