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I've spent at least 5-6 hours on honing a new never-been-sharpened 6/8 Solingen half hollow using a Norton 4/8K stone followed by a 12K chinese stone. There's finally a bevel showing and it just barely cuts. I'm not satisfied with it. I'm running out of patience with the process.
Any ideas? I don't know what sharp is for this razor since I don't have anything to compare it to. Does a 6/8 half hollow ever get as sharp as a 5/8 full hollow? (That's all I have to compare with.) Thanks.
Not the answer you're looking for but I do know a couple of things.
- You're better off starting on a 1K, a 4K will work but it takes longer. And will greatly increase your frustration.
- Don't go past your bevel setter until it cuts arm hair along the entire edge or you're wasting time
- If you've run out of patience you should definitely put it down for a while; maybe even a week
- There is no comparison between whatever 5/8 and whatever 6/8, that's dependent on the quality of the steel and the skill of the honer
- I got a 6/8 Dovo Best Quality professionally honed when I started, I couldn't even see the bevel without looking real close and getting the light just right. It doesn't have to be all that visible to work like a dream. Perplexed me too in the beginning, now it's something i partly strive for. But even that doesn't have anything to do with how sharp an edge is.
So here's the answer and my suggestions: Slow down, be patient, read everything, watch all the videos, read all the other posts. Because it's sad but true, practice, there is no substitute.
Try reading through this thread
http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...on-2012-a.html
It is about using only the Norton 4/8 to hone and there is quite a bit of info in the 500+ posts :)
+1 on both deadrift and Glen. The only problem you are facing at the moment is the lack of a sufficient bevel. Once the bevel is established, you need then to start polishing with the 4k, 8k,12k,strop,shave.
Simple as that................
JERRY
____
Grab a decent 1k stone and you will set the bevel much faster than with a 4k.
4 times quicker...Quote:
Originally Posted by mainaman
I think it's more like "16 times quicker".
I suspect (can't prove) that the speed of removing metal varies with the inverse square of the grit size. Very roughly:
. . . A 100-grit particle will make a groove 0.01" wide and 0.01" deep.
. . . a 200-grit particle will make a groove 0.005" wide and 0.005" deep.
The volume of the 100-grit groove is 4 times as large as the 200-grit groove, not 2 times as large.
Charles
PS -- I think I'm over-tired and should go to sleep. 'night all . . .
If you're trying to set a bevel on a 4k, you'll find it a lot easier if you use slurry. You can work up a slurry with a DMT, but a slurry stone (like an artificial nagura) is better IMO. Keep the stone wet, and keep doing sets of circles until it cuts hair. Once it does that rinse the stone then lighten your pressure for another set of circles followed by X strokes. Flip to the 8k side and do about 20 light x strokes, strop and test.
+1!!
Like he said.Quote:
Originally Posted by myersn024
Take a good break from honing, frustration tends to be more destructive. While your break read the Janorton thread, when you eventually get comfortable edges off the 8K then you can start playing with the C-nat. Then you can start learning here http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...nat-athon.html but make sure you master one stone at a time.
But most importantly make sure you get a good set bevel off the 4K, it's ok to use pressure when setting a bevel. Just make sure you don't put so much pressure that the blade flexes.
If you are trying to hone quickly you're missing the entire point. Slow down and do it correctly. Put on a good bevel, not a fast one, then hone it up. As time goes on you'll learn how to put on an edge with just a few strokes, then you'll really wonder what you were doing with your past honing.
If, as you say, that after 5-6 hours there is NOW a bevel showing you've got some serious issues going on that I don't understand.
Well I finally got an acceptable edge. It took 2 more sessions of about an hour each using the Norton 4/8K. I discovered that I was undoing my work by using a Chinese 12K stone from Woodcrafters as a finishing stone. These last sessions I only used the 8K side of the Norton and the blade seems to like that stone. After stropping, the edge is acceptable and I love that big 6/8 half hollow Solingen now.