Bought a Norton 4k/8K but I'm too scared to use it...

So I bought a Norton 4k/8k hone. I have been straight shaving for 4-5 months with a professionally honed razor. One of my blades needs a honing - just a touch up. It's not a restore or anything. I lapped the hone and I even sat down to do it but I just couldn't bring my blade to the stone! I'm more nervous about honing than I ever was shaving! I have watched Lynn's video. Is this the right way to start for the first time?

I need some support here...

(wasn't sure if this thread was better in the Beginner's forum or the Honing forum so sorry if I chose wrong...)

I felt much the same way.......until I figured out that I only lived about 20 mins from Lynn. My anxiety level went right back under control after that.:D

Seriously, early on Lynn told me that he could fix just about anything I screwed up, provided that I didn't get carried away trying to restore damage to the razor myself. Since you just need a touch up start at your highest grit level and take things nice and easy. It sounds like you have done the research, you just need to give it a go. If it doesn't work, get some help.

Go on, give it a few laps. What's the worst that could happen.........

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Originally Posted by Proinsias

Go on, give it a few laps. What's the worst that could happen.........

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He gets so nervous and shaky he bread knifes the heel of his blade on the stone.

In his angst he flops both hands and his head down on the stone scalping him,

as he jumps up in pain and surprise he slices his wrist wide open.

He proceeds to drop the razor taking a huge chip out of the blade.

Now sobbing uncontrollably as he calls for help,

it takes him so long to get his story told he bleeds out before medics arrive………



No really if you try and succeed great,

if you cannot get it you would have to send it out, which is already an option relax, and try few light laps.

I have to say your razor is already dull. Give it a try, if things don't go as planned you can still send it out.

If all you are doing is a touch up then, just give a few laps on the 8K side. if you follow that video you won't have anything to worry about! Trust me, I was very nervous my self when I honed my razors for the first time. Good Luck!!

Some good advice here. Just take it easy, go slow, don't put too much (i.e. any, really) pressure on the blade, and remember that less is more.

Since you're just doing a touch-up do some laps (say 10-20 or so) and test it. Then ten more if it needs it, and ten more if it needs it again, and so on.

And since no one has mentioned it yet - make sure that stone is flat before you do anything. Use a DMT if you have one, or some wet/dry on a FLAT surface if you don't. There's lots of info in the forum on lapping stones, just make sure you have a flat and true hone before going anywhere near it with your blade. :)

Whatever you do don't drop it on your bare big toe !! :rofl2:

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Whatever you do don't drop it on your bare big toe !! :rofl2:

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And that, my friends, sounds like the voice of experience :roflmao

I would use the 8k side only, and do only about 5-10 x strokes. Don't start out on 4k or try to use circles.

Keep the blade flat as possible, keep your elbow up and do your best.

You are most likely to succeed and get a great shave after. Keep that in mind.

If it doesn't work out, PM me and I'd be happy to give you more ideas or touch up the blade for you.

Michael

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Whatever you do don't drop it on your bare big toe !! :rofl2:

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Boy's gonna have to hone in work boots.......now that you've jinxed him!:)

If all it needs is a touch up, just do 10 laps in the 8K side without putting pressure on the blade.
As long as you are gentle with the razor, you can't do anything that wouldn't be trivial to fix.

If 10 laps on the 8K are not enough, do 1 pyramid (which is a combination of 4K and 8K laps, see wiki for more info).
You can't really go wrong with a pyramid.

Do the least amount of work you can initially. Even only five very light on the 8 and see how it feels.

I did exactly this, got myself a Norton for touch up & I've only used the 8K side. Even after I dulled the blade trying to slice the side of my finger off I only needed the 8K side to refresh the edge. If you're light & even with the strokes it's unlikely you'll do anything but improve the edge.

Just remember that if you do the TNT you'll need to do a couple more strokes to remove the mild damage that this does to the edge. I'm finding the TPT more useful now anyway.

Good luck, but I'm sure you won't need it.

Norton 4/8 ya say ???? seems I read something about using them things on here :D


http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...on-2012-a.html

Alot of my fear stems from the myriad of different techniques. I mean I have three (or four I guess) swimming thru my head:
Circle Method (video above)
Pyramid Method
A different progression method sent to me from ClassicShaving.com (which includes using my pasted balsa strop) when I bought the hone
"Just give it a few strokes on the 8K side

And now Glenn gives me a link to another 100 different techniques :) I guess I'll start out with option 4 while wearing combat boots. The Circle Method seemed so "aggressive" for just a touchup but what do I know...

What is on the balsa hone?

10 strokes on balsa might be enough if you have some diamond or Cro-ox on there. You can try that first and see if it helps.

Michael

Well with all your support I gave it a go. I followed your advice and simply stuck with the 8K side for 10 laps. Then I went with 10 on green chromium oxide (balsa) and 10 on iron oxide. Stropped it up and the HHT passed toward the toe but failed near the heel.

So I gave it another go with the same thing but I was careful with what I was doing with the heel. After this round, the HHT passed along the whole blade. I'm still unsure what I did differently but I guess it worked and I kept all my toes and fingers.

Thanks all!

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Originally Posted by EggSuckingLeech

I kept all my toes and fingers.

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Where's the fun in that?

Dear EggSuckingLeech-FWIW, I am at your level or BELOW. What's helped me somewhat is honing with relatively inexpensive blades that I bought cheaply off of EBay-trying to keep my professionally honed blades separate from my practice razors. Still, there are some really nice quality vintage razors on Ebay if you have the patience:) My .02-Gearhead

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Originally Posted by EggSuckingLeech

Well with all your support I gave it a go. I followed your advice and simply stuck with the 8K side for 10 laps. Then I went with 10 on green chromium oxide (balsa) and 10 on iron oxide. Stropped it up and the HHT passed toward the toe but failed near the heel.

So I gave it another go with the same thing but I was careful with what I was doing with the heel. After this round, the HHT passed along the whole blade. I'm still unsure what I did differently but I guess it worked and I kept all my toes and fingers.

Thanks all!

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Excellent! Now for the BIG question... how does it shave? :)

Congrats on starting down the honing road. Stick with it and it will be a very rewarding, relaxing, and possibly slightly addictive addition to your ritual(s).

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Originally Posted by Cangooner

Excellent! Now for the BIG question... how does it shave? :)

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I actually haven't tried it yet because I'm still trying to figure out another razor. My whiskers do not grow fast enough to do everything I want :)

aye, there's the rub!!! I have often wondered just how so many honmiesters can shave test all those razors when it takes me about 2+ day's to grow back my beard after a decent Str8 razor shave, as such any honing I have done in the meantime has to wait just that long before I see the results of my meager efforts!!!
IMHO only, of course. Just kidding, I know it's a technique that makes the hone work.

tinkersd

Just test it!

I've been checking this thread and I want to see the results.

Michael

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Originally Posted by mjsorkin

Just test it!

I've been checking this thread and I want to see the results.

Michael

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lol ok! I didn't know that I had fellow members hanging in the balance so forgive my irresponsibility!! Gonna be another day tho - just shaved last night and my relationship with this Hart blade is still a bit raw. We are still figuring each other out...

I just got some Norton's as well 220/1K and 4k/8k. Used the 1k/4k/8k on a boker king kutter. Had my first two shaves with it yesterday and today. No nicks/cuts, I did just cheeks with it yesterday and most of my face with two passes today. I finished up with my Merkur for some buffing in the spots that still needed work. I'm sure it could be a lot sharper. I have a Dovo that is shave ready coming to compare it to.

I figure if I mess up these $15 eBay treasures it will be a cheap lesson.

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Originally Posted by luteplayers

I just got some Norton's as well 220/1K and 4k/8k. Used the 1k/4k/8k on a boker king kutter. Had my first two shaves with it yesterday and today. No nicks/cuts, I did just cheeks with it yesterday and most of my face with two passes today. I finished up with my Merkur for some buffing in the spots that still needed work. I'm sure it could be a lot sharper. I have a Dovo that is shave ready coming to compare it to.

I figure if I mess up these $15 eBay treasures it will be a cheap lesson.

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Sounds like you're on the right track. The shave-ready Dovo should give you a good idea of how things stand.

BTW, be gentle with those King Cutters! You got a good deal on what can be fantastic shavers. :tu

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Originally Posted by mjsorkin

Just test it!

I've been checking this thread and I want to see the results.

Michael

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I am happy to report that it shaves beautifully. I was able to remove that flat spot which was continually scraping the strop and I'm really thrilled. Thanks again folks...

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Originally Posted by tinkersd

aye, there's the rub!!! I have often wondered just how so many honmiesters can shave test all those razors when it takes me about 2+ day's to grow back my beard after a decent Str8 razor shave, as such any honing I have done in the meantime has to wait just that long before I see the results of my meager efforts!!!
IMHO only, of course. Just kidding, I know it's a technique that makes the hone work.

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When you have multiple razors to test you divide them up thru the shave. I f the first touch doesn't make you go wow ! you put it aside for the next round or you may be able to tweak it during the test, after all you thought it was good enough to shave test, right ? :)

Great to hear!:)

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Originally Posted by EggSuckingLeech

I am happy to report that it shaves beautifully. I was able to remove that flat spot which was continually scraping the strop and I'm really thrilled. Thanks again folks...

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Good work!

Should be a huge confidence booster

Michael

yeah it was but I'm also realistic - I didn't do a whole lot :)

I'm now debating on doing something with my new Hart. I can't explain why but man, this thing I find so much harder to shave with! I have a MUCH better time with the Dovo. I get alot of razor burn and more nicks with the Hart than my Dovo. I have been under the assumption that I somehow need to lighten up on the pressure even moreso with the Hart since it was just honed by the guys at Hart (after a re-honing I might add). But try as I do, the razor shaves but leave my face pretty red. More background here.

Still thinking on it but I was thinking I might try some of my paste first. I have so little experience with all of this that it's impossible for me to diagnose the problem and say that honing is the answer :(

Dear Sir-Have you thought of adding a few drops of Glycerin to your shaving soap or applying some shaving oil? Every little bit helps, IMHO:)-Gearhead222

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Originally Posted by tinkersd

aye, there's the rub!!! I have often wondered just how so many honmiesters can shave test all those razors [snip]
tinkersd

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I don't know if all of them do it, but GSSixGun shaves his legs to test them.

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Originally Posted by Snake

I don't know if all of them do it, but GSSixGun shaves his legs to test them.

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LOL This is what I do (and my arms), one of my customers looked at me like I had lost my mind when I told them!!!

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Originally Posted by Snake

I don't know if all of them do it, but GSSixGun shaves his legs to test them.

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I ran out of Arm Hair so next best thing is the legs...right?

You really can't harm the razors, really, unless you dropped one on the concrete or something like that. You can only learn and gain confidence by going for it. You will learn, with some trial and error. You will eventually see there is no mystery. Men have been successfully honing razors for years, and the more you hone or touch-up your razor, the better you will get at maintaining that edge. Be patient and persistent. Good luck.

BTW, I am no pro at honing and touching-up, but I have learned to put a smooth, keen edge on any razor I have put my hands on, including repairing a couple with some serious chips, with only a Norton 4/8, and a Naniwa 12k, and if I can do it, I believe most anybody else can too.