Thread: honing problems Robeson Sure Edge

Trying my hand at honing a 5/8" Robeson Sure Edge full hollow
Starting from bevel set working through to 8K
Using a Naniwa 3K/8K hone, i certainly seem to have some issues

So far on the front side of the blade I have a fairly good bevel except for the 3/4" nearest the heel
Looked in the 30 X loupe and it seems the edge is good up to this point,
It looks as if the edge is not touching the hone at this point
Scratch pattern looks consistent on this side except for that 3/4" section

Back side of the blade seems to be almost no scratch pattern from the toe toward the middle of the edge
Created some uneven spine wear in the process at each end of the spine
The spine wear looks to be all over the shop

I have been using sets of Lynns 20 circles and 10 X strokes method with slurry from a DMT 325 lapping plate
After 5 sets on the 3K hone there still appears to be no real improvement in the edge
Went to X strokes only for about 30 strokes on light slurry
Again no real change to the edge

Now I feel completely baffled what to do next
After having a read in the Wiki it seems I have created a problem that may be beyond my skills to repair

Have I killed this razor with my inexperience?

Any thoughts or comments are welcome

I would 1st try some magic marker. Blacken, (redden) the edge on both side and give it a spin on one of your homes that you've lapped and know is fairly flat. See if the whole blade is touching on both sides. If yes then it may be technique or hone problems. Good luck.
With a new/old razor I do the marker test First so I know where I stand with it.

Read up on the rolling x-stroke, that might help. Also try narrow hones if you have any.

Originally Posted by Johnus

I would 1st try some magic marker. Blacken, (redden) the edge on both side and give it a spin on one of your homes that you've lapped and know is fairly flat. See if the whole blade is touching on both sides. If yes then it may be technique or hone problems. Good luck.
With a new/old razor I do the marker test First so I know where I stand with it.

Tried black marker test and it confirmed what I already said
So I went to the 1K hone which was lapped before starting, and tried 45 degree heel leading strokes up and down
Got really close to popping hair along the whole edge,
TNT was done and had one small area in the centre that was still not right

Then lost concentration for a second and touched the edge on the hone
Checked it under the loupe and sure enough damaged the edge and had to start again
At that time I was so frustrated and upset with myself for doing that
Once the brain fog cleared I decided to lay the razor down for now

I will try again soon
For now I'm working on a set of black horn scales for another razor
Will keep you posted on progress

I stopped using a lens just for that reason. If it looks good when I hold it to the light, we're in business!! Ok, sometimes I do have to stop shaving and 'barber hone' 10x-20x but that's Shaving!