At last a good bevel with Naniwa 3K

After much trial and error I finally got a good bevel set
My first one with any straight razor
Started out just wanting to touch up the edge on my Bengall 5/8"
It's a full hollow & in great condition with very little hone wear

It had gotten dull and started pulling a lot
Shaving with it was painful to say the least
So decided to try refreshing the edge
A great reason to get some time on my new Naniwa SS combo stone, a 3000/8000
Lapped both sides on a DMT 325 plate following gssixguns method
Grid lap to smooth then redo the grid and lap again
Seems to work really well on these hones

Taped up the spine of the Bengall and started the process
Made a slurry on the 3K side
Tried several sets of 20 circles on a light slurry from 325 DMT
Couldn't seem to get the bevel

Set the razor aside and went reading up and watching honing videos
Lost track of time as we sometimes do
Had to call it a night

So today I got to try again
Replaced the tape on the spine
Made a slurry same as before

This time when honing I went with 45 degree heel forward strokes on the 3K
adding a small swoop near the end of the stroke (thanks again to gssixgun videos)
After about 50 laps I could shave hair off my arm all along the blade
diluted slurry 3 times down to water with about 20 strokes each time
Hair could be heard popping off my arm at skin level

Washed the stone in clean water followed by 8 to 10 strokes and turned over to 8K side
Made slurry same as 3K side, retaped spine and continued same heel forward stroked again
after about 20 laps diluted slurry by about half
Diluted to water 2 more times using 10 to 15 laps between dilutions

Washed off again in clean water and did about 20 more really careful laps
Edge was popping hair about 1/8" above skin level

Now I'm thinking its time for the acid test
That will have to wait until morning now

Just wanted to share my experience after many failed attempts to set a bevel
Getting to 8k is a real bonus for me
Thanks for letting me ramble on
Have fun guys

Shave test went ok
Decided to try the shave without stropping to get better idea of how the edge was performing
Some irritation post shave, stropping may show better results

Sorry but why set a new bevel when your razor only get dull. Think only a touchup was good to on your way again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kalerolf

Sorry but why set a new bevel when your razor only get dull. Think only a touchup was good to on your way again.

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Hi kalerolf

I set the bevel again because I need the experience of doing this
I am still very new to honing so this was a good opportunity for me to learn this skill :P
Read my first post again and you will understand better


Rick

Generally speaking, it is important to do what the blade needs, not what you need.

I agree with the above posters. If the blade was shaving originally, then the bevel is already set. I don't think you gain much by doing that much honing. 110 laps and several sets of circles on a slurried 3k, then 70 laps on 8k just seems like too much honing IMO.

Next time you might try one set of x strokes on a clean 8k hone, then shave test. If you try a couple of times and the 8k is not doing it, then maybe try something else like moving to a lower grit.

IMHO, that will be a better experience for you.

Michael

If it was pulling a lot as mentioned, the 3k may have been more expedient than 8k as a starting point. Bengalls can be hard steel & require some time.

Thanks for the input guys
As I say it's a learning process and I am still learning
How else does one learn except to get in and have a go

If you want to learn. Buy a unsharp 2$ grapy razor from the bay. One whit small chips. :)
Then you going from the beginning, waste of your time i.m.o to set a bevel on a sharp razor. ( or little dull razor)
But its your time.:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kalerolf

If you want to learn. Buy a unsharp 2$ grapy razor from the bay. One whit small chips. :)
Then you going from the beginning, waste of your time i.m.o to set a bevel on a sharp razor. ( or little dull razor)
But its your time.:)

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This one was a Bay special,
Honed by a fellow member here in Australia

It's a process as we all know
And we all learn in different ways

This is my way ATM

Sorry you dont agree with it

Take this off the boards and PM me if you really have helpful hints and so forth

While I do agree it is unusual to take a razor in need of a tune up and reset a bevel, I am impressed you had the stamina to do it on a 3k!

Besides its your razor, your stone, and your experience. Do what makes you happy!

If you really want to get into bevel work, get yourself a nice 1k. They really are much faster.

Anyway good luck in your honing journey! its a long one ;)

I am in absolute agreement with you. Learning a new skill is far more important than preserving your tool (if you can afford it of course).

That said, kalerolf's suggestion of getting a chipped razor seems to make a lot of sense.
It's probably cheap, you get to practice setting a bevel, and possibly an introduction to restoration.

Re-setting a bevel on one razor one time will certainly not end the life of the razor prematurely. Good work getting the razor to shave the way you like.

Thanks you to the members for posting your thoughts and comments here :)
I was partly motivated to do this by reading the JA Norton challenge
Also partly by comments a bevel can be set on a 3K hone
And I didn't have a 1k hone to play with at the time

So I thought I would have a go at it
I learned a lot by doing this
And the razor seems to have no serious hone wear that I can see

I think it's time to pit this thread to bed now
Thanks again to the members

Rick