Thread: Any advice is appreciated...willing to learn as much as possible!

Well in a post a few weeks back I was unpinning this japanese coral 5/8 full hollow, and learned the keep the blade tight in the scales lesson the hard way, thus the 1-1/2 mm chips that ensued. Well after my DMT 325 came in, and watching Glen's videos on breadknifing alot, I cranked up you tube and followed along. Granted it was slow and it is a wide bevel, but though the crappy lighting doesn't show it the bevel goes all the way to the heel equally front and back. I did jump into the deep end on this one...first time honing as well, but it turned out ok. The razor pops hair at skin level, and I will move it to my nani 1k when I have time this weekend. So any opinions would be good, I want to get as good as I possibly can at honing, and any constructive criticism is appreciated. Learn by doing, and by listening to advice on mistakes you don't see yourself. Last, thank you Glen for the videos, I learned alot and could not have/would not have attempted this without them. You are the man

Now that you have set the bevel on the 325, when you move onto your 1k make sure you replace the scratch pattern completely before moving on to the next stone and so fourth. Also don't be afraid to use a little pressure (not so much you flex the blade), light pressure is for finishing.

Thank you for the reply sir, I plan to use the 20-30 circles down the hone and 10 straight then 10 x strokes twice, test the edge, and repeat the cycle once then test, and repeat. I am trying to learn to feel the blade as well when honing. I know everyone says to make sure your bevel is SET, I am familiar with the bevel on a knife, but what kind of feel am I looking for on a razor per se?

Setting a bevel on a 325 is...not advised. It's cutting arm hair because you've got a knife edge on it. I mean it's a saw toothed edge right now. I'd advise not to use your 325 for any sort of razor sharpening, ever. Even on the highly buffed mega restores I'd only ever go as low as 800. Then again, that's just what I've read. I never go lower than a 1k, because that's the lowest grit stone I have, and I don't do highly buffed mega restores.

Originally Posted by regularjoe

Setting a bevel on a 325 is...not advised. It's cutting arm hair because you've got a knife edge on it. I mean it's a saw toothed edge right now.

Totally agree with the last part of this, but have to say that I've gone as low as 220 to repair a truly messed up blade. I'd certainly not recommend it as a matter of course, but if one has to remove significant amounts of steel it will do the job. But as xMackx said, it is *really* important that you deal with the traces of the previous hone before moving on to the next. I.e. make sure the scratches from your 325 have been removed before you move on from your next hone up. If you don't you'll end up having to step back to do it later anyway.

Also, not sure if it's just my system but I can't see the pic in the original post, so it's hard to tell exactly what you're dealing with.

And no matter what stones you're using, take your time!!

I've heard quite a few guys say they like to set a bevel on their coticules, when I asked why the answer I got was because it's easier on the blade. You have to remove the same amount of steel to make the 2 planes come to a point which forms the edge no matter what stone you use if it's 300 grit or 8k. Now as long as you're not removing more steal than is needed you're fine, I use a diamond 300 grit plate to set my bevels before moving to a 1k. Like Gangcooner I have also tried using as low as 220 grit but with a nasty scratch pattern, but my diamond 300 is great and I know quite a few others who like to use diamond plates to speed things up. Don't blame the tool, blame the operator. Just do what feels comfortable to you, if you feel frustrated stop and come back later. It's a learning process, and everyone has a different preference when it comes to their tools.

And I forgot to add - don't start with the lowest grit hone you have, but rather work your way down. Is a 4000 working? If not, then move to 1000. If 1000 doesn't do the trick, then go lower if you like. But try to avoid using the low grit hones if you can because, as xMackx says, they can leave a doozy of a scratch pattern that you then have to work out.

EDIT: and don't worry if those grit #s don't correspond to what you have - as you may have noticed there are many, many different combinations of stones used by the fine folks here - it's the principle that matters.

Originally Posted by tiddle

Well in a post a few weeks back I was unpinning this japanese coral 5/8 full hollow, and learned the keep the blade tight in the scales lesson the hard way, thus the 1-1/2 mm chips that ensued. Well after my DMT 325 came in, and watching Glen's videos on breadknifing alot, I cranked up you tube and followed along. Granted it was slow and it is a wide bevel, but though the crappy lighting doesn't show it the bevel goes all the way to the heel equally front and back. I did jump into the deep end on this one...first time honing as well, but it turned out ok. The razor pops hair at skin level, and I will move it to my nani 1k when I have time this weekend. So any opinions would be good, I want to get as good as I possibly can at honing, and any constructive criticism is appreciated. Learn by doing, and by listening to advice on mistakes you don't see yourself. Last, thank you Glen for the videos, I learned alot and could not have/would not have attempted this without them. You are the man

Just to clarify so there is no confusion..

The DMT 325 is for the restoration the 1k is for setting the bevel and honing the razor..

You are not Honing yet, you did restoration and it sounds like you followed the exact recipe I laid out for you..

Once you start the actual bevel set on the 1K it should of course start to pop the hair on your arm easier, and in relation to the Knife edges you have done in the past, it will be sharper than any knife edge you have felt, and should feel sticky on the thumbpad test..

Always strive to get two of the bevel setting tests to work, before moving on, a really good one after the DMT 325 restoration, is the Thumbnail Test (TNT) as it will test the bevel, and smooth out the rough edge.. If that feels good to go, then re-set the bevel on the 1k, then do another TNT, and the re-set the bevel again using light finishing strokes.. This routine is in that Vid, and also eliminates all the problems that the guys are warning you about...

Remember DMT 325 = Restoration not honing
1k begins the Honing part for you

Please feel free to pm me if you have more questions

Sorry about not replying again til' now, I was using the computer at work on my lunch break when I did this earlier. I wasn't sure which forum to put this in (i.e. workshop or honing), but yes I took out chips in the blade w/ the DMT, and yes Glen the TNT is digging just a bit, but not grabbing and tugging; the TPT is sticking but still not trying to sink in to the skin...Now I will move to the 1k to reset and refine the bevel before moving into the actual honing part of the work. My appologies for the lack of the clarification. Thanks to all you guys for the feed back, it's giving me a good idea of when I haven't done enough and when I need to stop and move forward in my progression. I hope to have the razor shaving by sunday or monday if possible...so much to do so little time and all.