Thread: Some opinions please!???

Ok, I've set the bevel on a razor that I fixed up last night and ended up with a comfortable shaver. I'm fairly happy with the edge and the performance of the razor.

What is lingering in the back of my mind is this: I've read numerous times on numerous threads that you shouldn't progress from your 1k until you are 'popping' arm hairs or even topping them.

I stayed on my 1K (Naniwa SS) for a LONG time. I could remove arm hair with not to much effort but I certainly wasn't 'popping' anything off! I couldn't seem to progress past that point, so to avoid wasting steel, I moved on.
I progressed through my 5k SS, then to a cotucule with slurry and diluted down to clear water.

I finished with 10 laps on a CrOx linen, and 100 bare leather.

Like I said, the razor shaves fairly nicely, almost as nice as my Dovo Bismarck that I seem to be able to sharpen without a problem. What I want to know is this, do you think Im moving off of the 1K too early and sacrificing the end result of getting a REALLY nice shaver? Or should I just leave well enough alone?

And just because I can....here are some pics...Nothing fancy, just a new shaver.

I have never used the arm hair test, and the meaning of "popping" arm hair eludes me anyway. I move off the 1K when I can clearly visualize the bevel being complete under good lighting and a 10X loupe. If the edge itself is totally invisible and no light is reflected off it, then the bevel is set. If any residual light is reflected off the edge at any point, that means the bevel is not completely set all the way to the edge. If I see any "glints" of light, I stay with 1K until they disappear. When they disappear, I move up the progression.

The results of the arm hair test vary based on your hair and the technique you use to shave it. As such, you have to calibrate it for yourself. Furthermore, what one person describes as popping may be different from what you would call popping. So reading someone else's descriptions can only give you a rough ballpark.

The two best ways I know of to figure out what a good bevel feels like are:
1. Find someone you know can set a good bevel, sit down with them, and do the armhair test when that person tells you the razor is good.
2. Get the bevel to where you think it's set. Test. Do 15 X strokes. Test again. Repeat until you notice no difference.

Each of these works for any stone, though at each stone the testing methods may vary.

My left arm is missing so much hair from testing bevels that I've quit using it as a gauge. Over the course of the last few months I've calibrated my TNT and I no longer cut hair at the 1k level. Once the bevel is set and I'm done on the 1k, I use a 16x loupe to check to make sure that things look consistent and even before switching to the next stone. I don't even try to cut hair anymore until I finish my post-hone stropping.

Well, I sure couldn't leave well enough alone....

Now my left arm and part of my left leg are bald...

So I went back to the 1k with the intent of knowing that I had a proper bevel set before I moved on.
I also wanted to focus on pressure. I'm using a rolling x-stroke on the blade because of the tip, and I'm keeping my finger (lightly) on the tip to give me
better feedback/control. I know because of this that I am increasing pressure on the blade, so I made sure on every stroke to maintain a light touch and really try to get the best edge off the 1K that I could.

It seemed to work, I saw some nice improvement while I was hastily trying to find more arm hair to shave.
Before moving on, once I thought I was as far as I could go with the 1K I did 25 more light strokes.

I didn't spend very much time on my 5K. Just enough to make the edge-wear (scratches) look even. Again I finished with about 20
very light strokes.

I went straight to plain water on my coticule. I have a hard time with this stone because it's not very wide, so I find it REALLY easy to rock the razor on it's spine and mess up the edge. I went SLOW and light for about 50 strokes, rinsing the stone off after every 10 strokes to keep it really clean.

At this time, I had to begrudgingly start shaving my leg because my left arm is now bald. It seemed to shave fairly smooth! No pulling at all. I was quite impressed with myself, so I shaved more that I needed to....then I stopped...

I finished off with 15 CrOx Linen, and 100 Leather.

This time, I did a side-by-side comparison with my Dovo Bismarck.

It was hard to tell much difference. I just did a single pass to get a feel for the blades' overall edge and I liked it!
I still like the 'feel' of my Bismarck better, but I don't think it's because of the sharpness of the blade. I think I just
prefer the feel of a heavier blade 'smashing' through the hairs.

Overall, I think I will be better served with a 8 and 12K Naniwa SS sometime down the road. Until then, I'm pretty comfortable with the edge that I can
put on these blades with the setup that I have. I'm pretty sure I'm going to forever chase that 'perfect edge', I can already feel it.

Keep posting your opinions about bevel setting please! I'm going to keep repairing / restoring these things, so I'm going to sponge as much info as I can from the huge bank of experience that everybody on this site loves to share!

Thanks all for the fast responses!, It's definitely given me a lot to think about.