Thread: Advise/Questions

I'm very new to the honing process, so I need a little input.

I have honed two ebay razors that were very dull (one with a chip) to very nice shavable edges.

I'm a little stuck on the 3rd I'm trying. It says "The Pioneer" one the tang and "Germany" and the other side. I have a norton 4k/8k combo. The blade looks to be in decent shape, but was very dull to start....wouldnt even cut you running along the blade unless you put fair pressure on it (I didnt test this theory LOL ) but it was dull. I set the bevel like I did on the other two, using a series of 20 circles on each side with pressure until it felt right on the TPT and easily shaved arm hair. Then I did pyramid and it seemed good at the end. I finished with 10 passes on a naniwa 12k. The blade looked very good in light, and treetopped my arm hair with no problem (better than the other 2 I got good shaves out of) Then I stropped and went on to the shave test. It actually shaved hair well, but felt a little "scratchy" Not tugging but Scratchy. It left my face fairly irritated. After shaving I cleaned it up, stropped it again and it still treetopped nicely. My shave angle was not aggressive and next to no pressure.

My question is, could it be that this razor is just not going to give a good shave. Or, did I not get the blade as sharp as I think it is. Or, could there be a problem I cant see with the naked eye (micro chip(s)) or something like that?

Advise?

Thanks

I'm just guessing it could be a number of things, maybe 10 Naniwa 12K strokes was not enough for that steel, maybe not stropped enough, different razor/different steel, maybe pressure from you etc....

It seems like all my razors have a mind of their own when it comes to honing; I start the routine the same on many, but rarely finish any two razors with exactly the same routine.

Check your edge too with a loupe if you have one. Might be some micro-chipping going on. Strop on the linen a bit and then the leather and see if that helps.

I am with Hirlau, I to have just started honing,

Right now I have two razors that I repeatedly sharpen and shave with and then dull with my thumb nail. I rotate them so I always have one that I can shave with.

Both hollow grinds and carbon steel,

I get different feelings back from the hone the J.A Henckel’s 401 only takes about 2/3's of the strokes

On the higher grit stones when compared to the Boker Red Injun 101 to get the same level of sharp and comfort,

And as I mentioned they both feel slightly different on the hone.

I currently attribute this to slight differences in the ergonomics of the individual grinds and differences in the steel composition/hardness.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. Lynn, I didnt have a loupe, but I gave it a few strokes on the Chromium Oxide and then about 30 stokes on the poly webbing followed by about 100 on the leather. That seems to have done the trick. It really smoothed out the shave. Thank you all!

Sounds like how I feel razors get when they are to sharp, they shave fine but the feeling is quite off.
Crox usually saves the day!
What ever the reason glad to hear you got it smooth and nice!

If you were setting a bevel with 20 circles on each side with a 4K, I'm not sure that is sufficient. You don't say what the content of your pyramid honing was (how many strokes on each stone). The 10 strokes on the 12K might have been a bit light as well. Whatever the case, what preceded the 12K was likely the culprit. The Chromium Oxide might have brought it around, but your bevel may still be deficient. Further shaves will tell.

Originally Posted by ace

If you were setting a bevel with 20 circles on each side with a 4K, I'm not sure that is sufficient. You don't say what the content of your pyramid honing was (how many strokes on each stone). The 10 strokes on the 12K might have been a bit light as well. Whatever the case, what preceded the 12K was likely the culprit. The Chromium Oxide might have brought it around, but your bevel may still be deficient. Further shaves will tell.

I do repeating series of 20 circles on each side with some degree of pressure on the 4k. It took quite a few series (I lost count) I just do series of 20 because its fairly easy to count and stay consistent on both sides and sets a good pausing point to stop and test the bevel. I move on when it grabs real well on the TPT and easily shaves arm hair the entire lenth of the blade.