Thread: 7 laps on Crox did the trick?

I have better results using a TPT but that's me

Yes, I have 2 professionally honed razors. They are very smooth shavers indeed. I have found the razors I honed to be harsher. So, I suppose I will have to develop that fingertip feeling with the TPT. The whole question is really, when can you stop honing on the 8000 side, start stropping, and know that it will be a decent shave. More experience will help, I hope! I will keep trying!

Originally Posted by 2dutch4u

Yes, I have 2 professionally honed razors. They are very smooth shavers indeed. I have found the razors I honed to be harsher. So, I suppose I will have to develop that fingertip feeling with the TPT. The whole question is really, when can you stop honing on the 8000 side, start stropping, and know that it will be a decent shave. More experience will help, I hope! I will keep trying!

Thats the main thing..practice Its hard to tell when you stop and move to the strop..every razor can vary depending on steel, grind etc.
One thing that I found that helped me is one of the cheap pocket microscopes.

I'm with you brother, I never know when enough is enough. I rely on the TNT a lot more than the HHT. When the edge catches just right I figure it's good to go on. I repair the damage the TNT does and move on. That's the only thing I have found that gets me off the 4k. Once I'm on the 8k, then I test on arm hair.

Funny thing is, I'm about out of arm hair to test on!! LOL. SWMBO asked me once why I kept shaving my arm hair, hehehe.

I'm probably the biggest offender when it comes to over honing, cuz the edge just never feels right, and I have the face to prove it too!

The second I start to shave with it, I know if it's good or bad. Bad, then back to setting the bevel, cuz I must not have it right.

Good luck mate!!

M

If you don't already have some sort of magnification device, I'd highly recommend one especially when starting out. Radio Shack has a small battery operated microscope that can be purchased for less than $15, and it helps a lot. Just keep checking the edge to see when all of the previous grit scratches are removed. Once they are, move on to the next stage. I have a fair collection of stones now, and, for the moment, the microscope is still the most valuable tool in my honing arsenal. Radio Shack microscope link

Thanks, that is a really good idea. It made me think of this thread: http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...sses-pics.html
where you can see the different scratch pattenrs that the various hones produce.

Hello Dutch!

First off, stay away from that Radio Shack microscope. The resolution is terrible. Get one from Ebay that is 30X and longer in length.

30X ILLUMINATED LED HAND HELD MICROSCOPE MAGNIFIER | eBay


Second...use whatever test that suits you. It may be the HHT, TPT or arm hair test. Just be sure to learn it well.
HHT1-HHT5, if you can use this test on your hair then great. Thats what I do and also the TPT. The combo helps me a lot but is not guarantee of a great shave. It does tell me if the edge is ready for a shave TEST.

Expectations..... for about 200 years guys have been trying to devise a test that will guarantee a great shave. So far, that test has not been developed. You are left with using tests that will indicate but not guarantee.
A more reasonable expectation is that you will have to go back to the hones in between shaves to "dial in" the edge to suit you.

Glad to see that your still in the game.

Hi Randy!

Thanks for the advice. Without your help I don't know that I would still be in the game!
I remember from your honing workshop, that we used both the TPT and HHT.
The TPT seemed so easy for you. You could tell the difference in sharpness after a couple more laps on the norton 8000. I realize I have to develop that skill.


Do you remember we honed 2 Bokers? One, the King Kutter, was a bear to hone, took 2 hours, and seemed to have harder steel. It shaves like a dream now.
The other one was easier and was honed up in 20 minutes. That is the one I used for my personal "JaNorton" experiment.

So, here is the difference. You kept honing both razors on the 8000 side until they were sharp enough (and passed the HHT).
I "cheated" by using the Crox to get it to pass the HHT. That resulted in a nice enough shave. Not super great, but nice enough. So, I‘ll have to practice some more and get it sharper off the 8000 side. I am happy to be at this level, but I hope to get better at it.

Here are my tests:
When setting the bevel on whatever you use, it should cut arm hair easily at skin level the entire length of the blade, at 4k it should do the same but more effortlessly, 8k even more so than 4k at skin level and also the will start to "tree top" arm hair, finisher even easier tree topping arm hair, CrOx 7-15 laps should tree top arm hair very easy and pass HHT, after stropping, tree top nearly every hair it comes in contact with.

As to how many laps, for me I don't count laps on lower grit stones, I go till it passes my test, 8k and above, I do 25 no pressure laps and test, then decide how many more using 10 lap increments.

This works for me, I've never been able to do the TPT as everything above 4k feels the same to me.

X2 on the "treetopping" test. That seems to be a good indication of a possibly shave ready edge.
I have recently incorporated a Frictionite hone into one of my progressions with a Suiita and a Nakayama as finishers. This definitely puts me in treetopping territory.

I think the treetopping test gives me the best idea of when I have the best edge.

JERRY
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