Thread: Rate my bevel & edge

An asymmetric bevel will still produce a sharp edge. The issue with the asymmetry is that either your stroke is different from one side to the other or the blade is warped, the spine eccentrically shaped or hone wear has changed how the bevel touches the hone. The asymmetry is not so much a problem in itself but a symptom of something else that is off.

I so gotta get me a USB thingy bobber...

One thing I am seeing and take it with a huge grain of salt because I don't like making statements off of pics as they tend to be wrong, but this is what I am seeing in both sets of pics...

When I do look at my bevels under magnification the striations (scratches) are never straight, they are always at an angle to the razor I always hone with a slight heel forward cant to the razor.. this is in addition to the X or the Swoop, when I see straight lines in relation to the razor I see straight strokes which leads to problems while honing



JMHO and as I said I don't trust pics but you guys know what is really there on the razors

I agree with Martin103 and Gssixgun.

A side from the asymetrical issue, the edge degraded way too much on the 8000k. Either the blade has an issue, your pressures too heavy or the hone's not clean enough for polishing. I suspect the later of the two.

By the scratch pattern in the blade and metal loss in certain areas, It looks like your mostly using the japanese style of honing and the stone is developing high and low spots. They might be miniscule, but not comfortable for shaving. Try x-strokes and lighter pressure and clean the hone during the polishing stage.

As you can see, the answers are all over the place. I want one of those "thingy bobbers" too!

Your very last pic in the OP is obviously at VERY high magnification, how high? When you are honing, do you swap sides on the razor with every stroke? I ask this because I have seen similar on some of my own razors during an experiment a year or so ago. The only time you need to do more than one stroke per side is at bevel set and then you need to do the same count per side no matter if circles or whatever.

My recommendation (yes, another one) to you is to stay with a set magnification when you are using comparisons so you can learn what is a 3/4K scratch & what is an 8K scratch. We are supposed to stay on a particular stone until the previous stones scratches are gone. Pressure while honing after 1K is counter-productive as well, but your and my pressure would vary...so I would recommend just honing with enough pressure to keep the blade flat on the hone.

My second recommendation is to try some x strokes. I personally have totally abandoned the straight swipe down the stone.

Lastly, spend more time one the lower grit stones as my view/opinion of your pics is that you haven't removed the gouges/scratch marks from the lower grit stones. The second to last pic in your op shows this perfectly, those are more than likely 1K scratch marks still showing.

I don't remember if I mentioned this but a vendor suggested to me that when the edge looks good under a microscope but still doesn't shave well, the razor itself may have debris that needs to be removed. He sold me two balsa strops, one coated with chromium oxide (green paste) and one with diamond slurry spray. He instructed me to do 25-35 strokes with each of these and then 80-100 strokes on the leather strop. He suggested the X pattern but I found it difficult to do on the balsa and more or less did a diagonal stroke, using the same pattern both ways. He further suggested cleaning the balsa strop with either a soft artist's brush or a lint roller.

I don't know how this fits with the other suggestions, but I did bring a blade around to shave ready status that I couldn't before using these instructions. If it looks good under the microscope and still doesn't shave well, debris on the blade may be dulling the performance of the razor.