Thread: Honing Advise - newbee

Well my Norton 4/8 K arrived this past week - Thanks Lynn and SRD. I proceeded to set the bevel on the Hart with the 4 K with the spine taped. Got it to shave hair off my arm. I don't know if that is a real set or not??? Went on the the 8K then 12K Crox on balsa strop, .25 diamond on a felt strop and finished with leather. Shaves the hair off my arm effortlessly at the skin level and easily about half way through the hair. I am very pleased pending tomorrow's shave. Again thanks all for the help.

Now for my dumb question and too late for this current effort - How does one know the bevel is set???

If you're starting from zero - i.e. a dull blade - the bevel is set when the razor pops arm hair at the skin level. Some say that it doesn't need to cut effortlessly, just that it cuts. I prefer to get to the point where when the cutting edge touches the hair, it literally "pops" off.

When the whole blade performs this action, the bevel is set.

After a time, you may also be able to tell this from your thumb pad. To teach yourself, when you know the bevel is set, gentle put your thumb on the cutting edge. A set bevel will "grab" your skin slightly, and may feel kind of sticky. Don't push too hard though - that might be a trip to the walk in clinic.

A bevel is set properly when the sides of the bevel, the parts of the blade that are touching the stone, meet and form an edge. When that happens, you can actually see it with a 10X loupe and a study lamp. With the razor held edge up toward the light, if there is any reflection off the edge, that means that the bevel sides have not yet met and formed a proper edge. The bevel is set properly when the edge visually disappears. This is also a good visual test for when an edge needs work. If there are any 'glints' of light reflecting off an edge, it requires some touch-up or maybe even more.