Thread: The razor that just won't get sharp or operator that isn't that sharp

Hi gents,


Okay so given I don't know jack about sharpening but c'mon. So I'm trying to sharpen a vintage Reliance 'Germany' Birck & Zamminer New York 5/8 Full Hollow. It was in decent shape to I started off on the 4K Norton. Did tons of circles then 50 laps easy pressure. Wouldn't even cut my arm hairs. Well I saw 1 or 2 that got cut but it was pretty sad. I saw gssixgun cutting his arm hairs off a King 1k so I'm confused and thought that after all the work I did on the 4k the razor should have no prob cutting my arm hairs off. After an hour messing with the Norton 4k and imo 'no results' I gave up.

Should I have gone to my Norton 8k even though I couldn't cut arm hairs off the 4k? Am I correct I thinking that the 'arm hair cut test' is a good indicator?

I guess I was trying to 'set a bevel' on the 4k but figured it should be fine had lots of slurry and did lots of circles and passes and started with a decent edge in the beginning.

Should I really have started on a 1k then gone to the 4k?

Is the razor just crap lol?

If the 4k is the lowest grit stone you've got, stay there until the razor cuts hair. Moving up won't help if the bevel isn't set. On a 4k without slurry, it could take a while to set a bevel depending on the state of the razor. I honed a razor earlier tonight, and I spent 30 to 45 minutes cleaning up and setting the bevel using a 1k stone with slurry. I'd still be working on it if I'd been using the 4k alone.

I do not have a lot of experience in this, but have had similar problems in the beginning. Make sure you set the bevel. You can start on a 4k, might take a few more strokes than starting on a 1k but you can do it. I have a norton 4000/8000 and a shapton 16000 and get by just fine.

Yea a Norton 4k is my lowest right now. I just eyeballed the edge and it looked sharp enough I guess. No chips or anything of course and it looked like new Swiss army knife sharp. I guess I better get a 1k stone then for bevel setting. I'm expecting a bunch more vintage straights to show up in the mail soon and suspect from this experience that most of them will need time on the 1k then.

It's just a little decieving because the Norton 4k side is white and I can easily see steel being removed but I guess just not enough to get a proper bevel set.

From what I understand you need to use some moderate pressure when setting the bevel. Not so much that you're bearing down into the stone, but a pretty firm press. Lynn has a video or two about bevel setting and another about using the Norton 4/8 that I found extremely helpful.

Without seeing the razor in person, I am goign to say your bevel is not set.

Are you using circles or the half x/japanese/whatever strokes?

Do you have some type of lapping plate or diamond plate you can use to raise a slurry for the initial bevel set?

Unless it is too late, I would tape the spine so you do not flatten the spine into oblivion while learning.

1k. Save your self the pain..... You don't hammer a nail with a screwdriver..

It is hard to say without see/feeling the razor, but it sounds like you need to re set the bevel, and a 1k would be the correct tool for the job.
If your main goal right now is to get the razor shave ready, I'd send it out and have it honed professionally. You'd also have a bench mark for future honing. You'd know what shave ready feels like. If your goal is to learn how to hone, then I'd invest in a 1k. 1k, 4k, and 8k would be the bare minimum imho.

When learning to hone you want to use the bare minimum. Too many stones you'll just get frustrated trying to figure out which ones you did right and wrong. I'd get a King 1k, and you already got the norton 4/8. But until you have a good bevel setter you can use slurry on the 4k and a little pressure to speed it up.

I saw it touched on, but make sure you are using a well lapped hone. I learned on the 4/8 as well, and I did not get good results until I took a good layer off of each side. The JaNorton tread will help, if you haven't referenced it already. Good luck, and update with progress.