Thread: A newbies attempt to hone a razor

Hey Everyone,

I just got some hones in and I wanted to get started to see if I can actually make this work! I tested out with a Gold Dollar razor that I received shave ready from Phil at Classic edge. It started out with a flat edge and Phil had some significant work on the razor to make it hone.

I took it to a 400 then 1200 grit that I use on my kitchen knives in order to shape more of a smile on the razor. I also had to work down a lot on the heel and stabilizers in order to shape the bottom part. This is my first attempt at honing a razor, but i've been doing my kitchen knives for a while.

Anyhoo I've uploaded some pictures for your critique or if there are any suggestions i'm more than happy to hear them.

For stones I'm using an 8K/12K stone set I got from ebay and although it is slow it seems to be doing a good job for me. I'm also going to be getting a finer grit stone to get more of a mirror polish as I can still see lines when I inspect with a loupe.

this razor does shave well and I can pop my arm hairs very easily with it too!

Oh, lastly i've been using a rolling X stroke to get this razor shaped the way I would like.

I notice you didnt mention a prepolisher in the 4k range. This is essential to remove the deep gouges in the steel left by your 1200.

IMO you dont need any finer stones...i actually recommend new honers to stop at 8k while learning the basics of honing.

Good point, thanks Shoorter! I do have a 3K thats still enroute, would that suffice?

The only thing I could say is that a 400 grit stone shouldn't be necessary for a razor that was previously honed. But I get why you did it, since you were trying to alter the blade profile. And just in case Shooter doesn't get back around, the 3k should work fine. So with what you have, you should be moving from 1200 to 3k, to 8k, and if you really feel like wasting some time you can use the 12k afterwards. But you're making some larger jumps than most, and you'll probably be ready to quit honing by the time you finish with the 8k. I rarely move past 8k before test shaving.

The scratches you are seeing are left from previous grits and even they are not removed they may not affect the shave, you have to test to know for sure.
One thing about natural stones is they vary so much, your 12k may very well be below that , just because it is listed as 12k doe snot mean it is, you have to get a true 12k edge to compare to to know for sure.

Thanks Guys,

When I get the 3K stone I am going to work it back from there and start fresh.

I also noticed that after stropping on a CrOx loaded linen, a lot of the scratch lines disappeared and it got a lot closer to a mirror polish! Not quite yet but I'll get there. One of the things I've noticed is that the professionally honed razors I received are all a mirror edge and thats what i'm striving to achieve.

I think I got the right profile on the blade as well, but maybe someone can tell me whether or not I need some curvature in the belly of the blade to be a "true smile"?

While some razors were manufactured with a smile, it's not a requirement for a properly honed edge. The razor you have here wouldn't have had a smile on it originally, so in my mind, there's no reason to hone it to a smile. But if you prefer a smiling edge, then that's your preference, and you can make it that way if you like.

While the word "mirror" gets tossed around alot, I've not had a professionally honed razor come back perfectly mirror before. In my beginning days of this, I considered what I was receiving to be mirror, but after several months of staring at them, I could see things better than that. Also, having a perfectly mirror finished bevel doesn't equate to a perfectly sharp and shave ready edge. So I'd suggest concentrating more on the sharpness tests, and less on the mirror quality of your bevels finish. Cheers!

As I move from 4K to 8K I do start to see a mirror effect in the bevel. But if I look closely at the bevel under 10X magnification, there are clearly still residual scratch marks left from earlier stones. That is the case even when moving farther up the progression, even to 30K. I don't worry about polishing all that out. The shaves, even with the residual scratches, are just fine. Remember that what really matters is the edge. The bevel has to be properly constructed, but it doesn't have to be pretty, especially under 10X.

Sorry for the thread revival, but I figured I would close the loop on this. My 30x loupe and 3K stones both came in on the same day, so I re-worked it from the 3K all the way back up to the 12K. The 8K stone I used in between SUCKS... It was a cheap ceramic ebay stone and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I had to lap it at least twice in the process but that's another story.

After starting from the 3K and back up again, the scratch marks were less pronounce but still there. Based on everyones feedback its no longer an issue to me, as long as the razor shaves smooth. It shaves very smooth and takes off arm/leg hair without any issue.

My head hair though is still a major challenge as I needed to hit it up with the CrOx twice when I went for the full head shave.

Today I changed back to my shavette with a feather blade and it cut through my hair like butter. I had to change the blade once during the shave though but that's a huge performance increase over needing to strop 2 or 3 times per shave.

My question to the experts is: Is it possible to get a blade as sharp as a disposable feather blade, or is that just crazy talk? I like the idea of using a true straight razor, but based on how easy a shavette cuts through my hair I might find myself leaning back towards that instead...

Originally Posted by fchan

My question to the experts is: Is it possible to get a blade as sharp as a disposable feather blade, or is that just crazy talk? I like the idea of using a true straight razor, but based on how easy a shavette cuts through my hair I might find myself leaning back towards that instead...

Yes you can & some razors when they are that sharp will last just as long as a DE before they need honing
Good steel of course will keep on going for some time.