Thread: Can't get my razor 100% shave ready..Help me please

Hi all I' am new in here..Im from Denmark, and got the passion for old fasion shave for about 3 months ago now...I have bougth about 15 used and new straigth cut razors on E bay the last 2 months and also got me a brand new Norton waterstone grit 4000/8000 and flattning stone from Norton...I also use a Norton 240/1000 grit waterstone to hone my razors..But I can't get them 100 % shave ready I have watch hone videos on You Tube and have done like they explane in the videos, but I just can't get the 100% sharpness it nees to get shave ready...I have also used a leather and canvas strop, and still can't get it shave ready...What do I do wrong, maybe I have to use a 12000 grit stones to get the last shave ready finish???...Help my out here guys

Best Regards from Denmark

What do you consider 100% shave ready? Have you tried CrO or Diamond spray on felt after the 8k Norton and before stropping?
In general 8k Norton will give a nice edge, but some people prefer more refined edge, may be that is why you think the razor is not 100% shave ready?

for me a razor is "shave ready" when it can pop a single hair in my fingers, or pop hairs a 1/4 inch from my skin on my arm..I also have a shavette with stainless blads and it's sharper than my real straigth cut razors...I have tryed to shave with my shavette and 3 others straigth cut razors in the same shave, and the shavette is more sharp...I have not tryed the product you have written about..can U tell me more about it, maybe post some links

Originally Posted by sp67

for me a razor is "shave ready" when it can pop a single hair in my fingers, or pop hairs a 1/4 inch from my skin on my arm..I also have a shavette with stainless blads and it's sharper than my real straigth cut razors...I have tryed to shave with my shavette and 3 others straigth cut razors in the same shave, and the shavette is more sharp...I have not tryed the product you have written about..can U tell me more about it, maybe post some links

check out Straight Razor Designs, they carry Chromium Oxide (CrO), and Diamond sprays (I like the 0.5 micron size).

Cutting hair a distance from the skin, does not mean shave ready, shave ready means that the edge feels smooth and nice to the skin. Some edges cut hair easy but are very harsh to the skin, they are not shave ready. Shavette is much sharper than a SR, but a properly honed SR will shave great, there also might be a short adjustment period from Shavette to a SR as far as how the shave feels etc, but the result should be identical I think.

what type of razor are you honing ? and whats your honing progression?

Photos would help

I'm moving this to the Honing forum for better visibility....

You don't need a 12k stone (nice to have), it wouldn't help much if its not shave ready at the 8k level. I'm still learning but I would say that your bevel is not set properly. Watch Lynn's video and start with a 1k stone and try his circle method. I had a lot better luck setting the bevel with his circle method and a 1k stone.

What grit is the Lynn paddel...Mayby 12000 grit??..Is it good/normal to use tape to protect the spin?..I hones a old razor the other day on grit 1000 stone and the spine had got bad beaten..What do you guys in there use when honing with the 1000 grit stone?..Im a rookie concerning all this honing stuff, so sorry if my Questions sounds silly

3 months isn't a terrible long time to be practicing. I would just keep trying. Maybe pay someone to hone a razor for you, so that you can compare apples to apples. Instead of the current shavette blade you are comparing against. Anyhow, as you described, you're still new. Just be patient. It's entirely possible that you just haven't built a solid foundation for the results you want yet. Give it time. Don't get discouraged. It took me almost a year to learn. And I still have plenty troubles with it from time to time. Someone once suggested a honing journal to me. I think that's a good bit of advice. It'll help you keep track of what you did differently from one razor to the next. And which things worked, and which things didn't. Lastly, my best results came after I quit trying to make a razor sharp, and just concentrated on blindly following directions until I started noticing things such as sound and feel. When sound and feel start meaning something quantifiable to you, then you are on the right track. I don't think Crox is the sort of solution you need to be considering right now. If what you're doing isn't working, then do something else. But don't buy more stuff, thinking that'll solve the problem. Best of luck!