Thread: Gravel on a Stick

I am in the early stages of my honing experience. I have had pretty good luck setting bevels and honing 3 ebay razors so far. I had the day off, so I thought I would give #4 and 5 a try today. #4 was a "Bancroft Razor Works" worcester mass. 11/16. I won it for a good price and the edge looked to be in pretty good shape. I tried to strop and shave, but it wasnt quite there. I have a norton 4k/8k combo, so I tried a 5/5 3/3 1/3 1/5 pyramid and then about 10 strokes on my Naniwa 12k followed by 5 on CROX pasted Webbing and then a good stopping on clean webbing followed by a proper stopping on leather. It shaved like a dream.

Now on to #5. It was a Torrey Razor Co. 5/8. The edge wasnt even close and appeared in need of a bevel set on up. I did repeating series of 20 circles on my 4k (this has been working well for me) with some pressure, then once it felt close based on TPT, I moved to light series of 20 circles and then 15 x strokes. Then went to 15/15 10/10 5/5 3/3 1/3 1/5 pyramid and finished on the 12k, CROX and stropping. It seemed pretty close based on TPT and "Treetoping of armhair" so I tried a shave. I shaved the left side of my face with the 1st razor and it looks good. I shaved the right side with this one and I look and feel like I shaved with embeded gravel on a stick. Back to the stones.... LOL

Sounds like #2 may need more bevel work or maybe you should've started higher up the pyramid. Rinse & repeat.

I gave up counting strokes a long time ago. It's better to go by feel.

There are a number of threads out there on correct bevel setting and there are a number of things to look for when you're setting a bevel. I ignore the TPT TNT. Think about what you're doing here. You're trying to get something sharp then you're putting direct pressure on a microscopic cutting edge. Seems like it's taking it in the wrong direction. When you shave you'd never put the bevel straight onto your face, so why on your thumb pad or nail?

In a perfect world your blade is perfectly flat and your bevel is uniform along the length of the razor. Lots of ebay specials (i have quite a few) have been used and abused and have slight bows/warping to them.

What you're looking for is a bevel that reflects light along the entire length at the same time. You're also looking for the bevel to be completely 'cut' into the blade. That means that whether the bevel is straight, or wavy, there is a definitive line where the bevel changes from being on an angle, to just the grind of the razor.

Once all these criteria are met, your blade should cut hair from your arm easily from heel to toe. At that point it is my opinion that you can move to the next stone in your progression. If there are spots on your blade that do not cut hair from your arm, continue setting the bevel.

I've never had a razor fail me due to bevel setting once I started abiding by these fundamentals.