Thread: Razor is pulling ... 1000 on the C12k?

Originally Posted by mjsorkin

You should definitely work on steadying your hand first, and learn how to do a good x-stroke.

No kidding.

Second, you have to realize that the 4/8 hone is not a super-agressive hone to be avoided. Both sides are much slower than more agressive waterstones, and diamond plates. The 8k side especially is a slow, polishing stone that will not damage your razor.

Dunno, I slapped my razor pretty hard against the sink and reset the bevel on the 4k no problem. I don't have much to compare to here though; and removing metal doesn't necessarily mean sharp.

Originally Posted by Disburden

Why do you use lather on the hone? I only use it on my barber hones on a norton I use water in a spray bottle or mixed with a little dish soap.

No the lather goes on my face, though lather on a hone might be interesting. A Feather AC fake straight razor cuts with basically anything (after the first pass, water works), a real straight razor won't cut unless the lather's just right--and then it cuts fantastically.

If you wipe the razor through your leg hair does it cut through it half length above the skin?

Well yeah, my arm/leg hair is like silk; my facial hair is like iron. Sometimes I question if the razor's really any harder.

Hmm that video is educational. I wonder why more metal comes off when the razor is not honed enough at lower grit...

Confucius say- man with dull razor and no idea what to do with hone wind up with no good razor.

Do yourself a favor and do some reading before you attempt to sharpen your razor. You have good advice in this series of threads.

I think having a dull razor, and the ambition to do something about it and possessing the correct hones for the job, is a great opportunity to find out on your own what refreshing the edge actually entails. The razor should not have been shaved with to the point where it needed to be brought down to the Norton 4k in the first place, don't know where it is now but you should try with the Norton 8k. 10-20 laps. Back up to the People's Hone of Indeterminate Grit (PHIG) aka Chinese 12k (C12K). If you want to gain some honing skill without the feel of lower grits (Norton 4k would feel very different, for example) you can do your 1,000 laps on the Chinese hone, just remember if the edge is out of whack you might not be able to bring it back with that, if it is recoverable with that stone no doubt you would have micro-chipping of some sort with that many laps. I did the same on my 2"x8" Spyderco Ultra-Fine for awhile, using the highest grit because I knew it wouldn't be removing steel excessively.

Back to a practical solution. I can't tell you how many laps after the 10-20 on Norton 8k (if the edge is recoverable). Or maybe 40 laps on 8k? On the PHIG? 20? 50? 100?! You will have to find the answer to that question. It is an opportunity to develop a genuine relationship with your own razor and hone. Embrace it. You seem to have gone to the 4k and worked on it a bit. You probably shouldn't drop back down to that. When I kept my razor free from pasted strops when I needed to refresh it I only needed to put it back on the highest (finishing) hone, after a good stropping of course, for maybe 5-15 laps. But that's when I didn't let the edge get too dull. If your wiry beard destroys razors and you let it go too far... Norton 8k. If you need to go beyond that you know you want to refresh more often.

Don't send it out. This is a really good opportunity for you.

The "C12K" might be slow, but not that slow, 1000 laps is crazy talk...

I've done razors on the C12K using the one-stone method and it was fairly straight-forward and easy, check out gssixguns video on Youtube. You should be able to bring the razor back.

If the razor hit the sink your bevel may not be set properly...

I took it to the 4k after I hit the sink, that was ages ago. A lot of metal had to come off to get a straight edge again.

Ok, if this thing is "tugging" it's kinda grabbing some hairs and cutting others...is this close to what you're trying to say? Pulling...I think is grabbing and not cutting at all or only a few hairs. If it's tugging start at your 8k do 10 laps, 15 laps on the Chinese, strop and do a test pass on your face (keep some lather handy for this), if it gets better, then repeat until you get what you want. If it's "pulling" then start with 10 on 4k, 15 on 8k, and 15 on Chinese, strop and test shave..better? repeat, worse? there's probably a problem with the bevel. You won't know until you try this atleast. The 4k is not an aggressive stone, it can be used that way but it's meant to refine your bevel (your bevel setter is the aggressive stone), 6k and up are just really going to polish and refine the scratch marks or your previous hones and remove metal on a microscopic level...think sanding wood with 6k, 8k, and 12k paper, you won't notice it without a microscope.

Can I see a pic of the razor with as good a shot as you can get of the full bevel from toe to heel...


TIA

A pic of the bevel would be nice, I'm betting it has to be re set. You should send the blade out to get honed professionally. You'll have a bench mark. Buy a cheap old razor that you can practice honing on. My two cents.