Thread: Straight razor sharpening and my Edge Pro - Pic intensive

I just acquired a Wade and Butcher wedge razor and man alive is it a nice shaver.

The W/B in horn trim on top of some VDH lather


The shave rotation is growing.


I put the W/B on the EP for a touch up before I shaved with it. The progression was:

2k
3k
6k
0.5 Balsa with Chro-ox
0.3 micron tape
0.25 Bark leather with diamond spray
Final strop with my homemade EP strop.

The really cool thing about doing the touch up is that when I set the table to 20 degrees and the touch up went nice and smooth. There was no fuss and no concern on whether or not I would be touching up a proper bevel. Just as a side note, this razor was honed on an Edge Pro before at 20 degrees (arm on table). Reproducing the angle was easy with the use of my angle cube.

The shave was fantastic. I went WTG, XTG, ATG with no razor burn, irritation, or nicks/cuts. It was an excellent shave indeed. I used some preshave oil and C.O. Bigelow for my test.

It was quite entertaining not hearing the W/B sing at all. It just cut without any noise. I did a quick shave this morning (didn't really need to) to hear the difference between the W/B and my other razor. There wasn't much to shave this morning but I was able to get just a bit of "velcro" sound when using my Bingham BBB razor.

m-

*UPDATE*!

In my ever continuing quest for straight razor nirvana, I have a low-cost strop alternative that I would like to share with everyone here.

Low-cost you say? How low can you go?

I present to you the Home Depot paint stick EP balsa strop.

Here are some of the intricate build photos that were taken while I was in the garage.

Paint stir sticks:


Looks like it is ready for glue and grip.


Under pressure:


For comparison. From left to right:
Homemade Leather EP strop, EP 1k stone, Home Depot EP balsa strop.


HDEP Balsa strop selfie. This strop was sanded down with 1k sandpaper, checked for flatness with the angle cube, and sprayed with some 0.125 diamond spray:


Here are some action shots on the EP:




So how does it perform? I would have to describe the last touch up I did on a Wade & Butcher razor I have:

Chrom-ox loaded balsa strop (strop was from CKTG) - 10 passes
Right side - 1 pass equals 10 strokes H-T and 10 strokes T-H
Heel to toe - 10 strokes
Toe to heel - 10 strokes
Left side - 1 pass equals 10 strokes H-T and 10 strokes T-H
Heel to toe - 10 strokes
Toe to heel - 10 strokes

0.3 Micron tape - 10 passes
0.125 loaded strop (Home Depot sticks) - 10 passes
Leather strop (Homemade EP) - 15 passes

Shave setup:
Shave secret pre-shave oil
C.O. Bigelow
AOS badger brush
W/B SR

The shave WTG was flawless. The shave ATG was very nice. I did 2 ATG passes on my neck. The 2nd pass was butter smooth. The XTG pass was also very nice.

I think I am leaning towards loaded balsa vs. loaded leather. The draw from the balsa strops are very nice. The loaded Bark leather strop I have feels like it has a sticky draw. It is very hard to get an even pull with the Bark leather. I have not made another homemade EP strop so I do not have another leather strop to load up. I eventually will make another leather strop and load it with the 0.125 spray and see how that works out.

m-

Paint sticks aren't balsa, they are white pine or fir. You can obtain balsa at Hobby Lobby. Yes, there is a difference. Balsa doesn't have the "grain" like you can see in the paint sticks & would perform even better for what you are looking for.

All I wanna know is has he done the math with the grit yet? and when honing by hand you finish your progressions with just the weight of the razor, and when using the system those jigs as im gonna call them (whatever your using to remove metal from the blade) has to weigh more than just the razor blade's weight. Im not trying to spark any feelings of offence or aggression. Just surprised that all of the conditions we address on hones can be replicated with any system. Also must be tough to keep the edge straight or smiling but anyway congrats to finding what makes you happy in your pursuit to your perfect shave

Also how is 2k (witch stands for 2000) tape equal to 20000????? The manufacturer may have fudged a little info that's in their chart or whatever they sent you.

Just trying to let you know that we are not trying to say it doesn't work or put u down for it but it's just different than what most of us would do/think. You would definitely have to have more skills than most. I mean heck your hone is 1"x6".

Originally Posted by Mario

*UPDATE*!

In my ever continuing quest for straight razor nirvana, I have a low-cost strop alternative that I would like to share with everyone here.

Low-cost you say? How low can you go?

I present to you the Home Depot paint stick EP balsa strop.

Here are some of the intricate build photos that were taken while I was in the garage.

So how does it perform? I would have to describe the last touch up I did on a Wade & Butcher razor I have:

Chrom-ox loaded balsa strop (strop was from CKTG) - 10 passes
Right side - 1 pass equals 10 strokes H-T and 10 strokes T-H
Heel to toe - 10 strokes
Toe to heel - 10 strokes
Left side - 1 pass equals 10 strokes H-T and 10 strokes T-H
Heel to toe - 10 strokes
Toe to heel - 10 strokes

0.3 Micron tape - 10 passes
0.125 loaded strop (Home Depot sticks) - 10 passes
Leather strop (Homemade EP) - 15 passes

Shave setup:
Shave secret pre-shave oil
C.O. Bigelow
AOS badger brush
W/B SR

The shave WTG was flawless. The shave ATG was very nice. I did 2 ATG passes on my neck. The 2nd pass was butter smooth. The XTG pass was also very nice.

I think I am leaning towards loaded balsa vs. loaded leather. The draw from the balsa strops are very nice. The loaded Bark leather strop I have feels like it has a sticky draw. It is very hard to get an even pull with the Bark leather. I have not made another homemade EP strop so I do not have another leather strop to load up. I eventually will make another leather strop and load it with the 0.125 spray and see how that works out.

m-

Good work on these "poor man's strops". I did something similar but I already had some aluminum I got at Lowe's to cut my own blanks so I used it as the blank and glued paint stirrers to it. As mentioned by shooter they aren't balsa but they are softer than a 2"x2" that I once made a wooded strop with. I sanded it really smooth and applied compound to it. It does work even though it's not of optimal material. OTOH, I was using it for knives which don't need to be honed as precisely (sharp) as a razor.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Paint sticks aren't balsa, they are white pine or fir. You can obtain balsa at Hobby Lobby. Yes, there is a difference. Balsa doesn't have the "grain" like you can see in the paint sticks & would perform even better for what you are looking for.

Good tip on the place to get balsa. I have another site in my favorites somewhere but never have ordered any. I live in a small town and can't buy anything out of the ordinary. I've had to order everything for straight razor shaving (which I just started).

Originally Posted by Swerve

All I wanna know is has he done the math with the grit yet? and when honing by hand you finish your progressions with just the weight of the razor, and when using the system those jigs as im gonna call them (whatever your using to remove metal from the blade) has to weigh more than just the razor blade's weight. Im not trying to spark any feelings of offence or aggression. Just surprised that all of the conditions we address on hones can be replicated with any system. Also must be tough to keep the edge straight or smiling but anyway congrats to finding what makes you happy in your pursuit to your perfect shave

Using the EP there is definately a problem with the weight of the stone or strop since it is on top of the razor (or knife). For some knives I use 2"x6" DMT stones which are HEAVY. You can control the weight a little using upward pressure with your hand but it's very unpredictable. There are different systems available to sharpen with. I've been using the EP for going on 4 years now and I have to say I'm getting results now that I couldn't get before. This is a matter of learning to use the tool with more precision. Of course this applies to any tool. It seems like no matter what method or tool you use the skill of the person using it determines the accuracy of a tool. This even applies to free hand sharpening or honing. I used my EP to "set the bevel" on a straight razor I have but then used stones (up to 16k water stone) to hone and then strops including a kangaroo strop to finish it. I was afraid I would wear off a lot of steel on the spine if I used it to control the angle. I set the EP angle so it barely missed the spine. When I was done with this I had just a little more work to get the angle a bit lower so I could use the spine when stropping daily. I did this on my stones. I don't think I'm getting the razor "shave ready" yet. It does shave my face quite well but since I've never held a "KNOWN" shave ready razor I may be able to get it sharper. I will I'm sure because my results have improved in the two weeks I've been working on honing it. Still a newbie to wet shaving. I still have some face left which has surprised my wife. lol

Originally Posted by Swerve

Also how is 2k (witch stands for 2000) tape equal to 20000????? The manufacturer may have fudged a little info that's in their chart or whatever they sent you.

Just trying to let you know that we are not trying to say it doesn't work or put u down for it but it's just different than what most of us would do/think. You would definitely have to have more skills than most. I mean heck your hone is 1"x6".

The grit transition from polish tapes to stones is based on the different type of abrasive. Ben Dale (EP inventor) has the equivalences. So a 2k tape will be similar to a 10k Japanese stone. That's an example. I don't know the exact numbers. Chefknifestogo.com has a "unified grit chart" with an approximation of grit equivalences of stone grits from different companies and different materials.

I'm going to order some 1x6" nano-cloth strops from CKTG.com when they are back in stock. The nano-cloth provides no abrasion themselves so you get the results from the grit of the spray you apply. If the strop material (leather, balsa, etc.) has an abrasive texture higher than the spray or compound you won't get accurate results. I have one nano-cloth strop and applied 1 micron boron carbide to it. I want two more for .5 CBN and .25 diamond spray (already have). I may get some .1µ spray later. I have a couple of kangaroo strops that are so great IMO it's hard to imagine. They refine the edge even more after the .25 spray strop I have. No compound or spray on the kangaroo. I got all this stuff on CKTG.com.

Good conversation.

Jack

Yep like I said congrats on making the state work for u. And those are some groovy (cool not actualy having grooves) strops that was made

Originally Posted by Swerve

Yep like I said congrats on making the state work for u. And those are some groovy (cool not actualy having grooves) strops that was made

Thank you for Webster's definition of "groovy". I have to admit I'm old enough to have heard the word in everyday conversation. Ok, ok, I may have even USED the word once or twice.

Jack

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Paint sticks aren't balsa, they are white pine or fir. You can obtain balsa at Hobby Lobby. Yes, there is a difference. Balsa doesn't have the "grain" like you can see in the paint sticks & would perform even better for what you are looking for.

Thanks for the info shooter. Lucky for me a Hobby Lobby opened by my house this month. I will get some balsa and try other materials I have in my garage. Garage-tech is something I like.

@Swerve- jackknifeh seems to have answered your question. In addition, the draw stroke of the EP arm when doing razors is a learned feel. Like with most tools, one will learn the tool over time.

I've added a step in my honing progression to include a 0.1 micron Iron Oxide on balsa that I bought from Whipped Dog. It has turned out to the the perfect link in the chain between the 0.3 micron tape (glass mount) used on the Edge Pro and going to the leather strop. The bevel, as seen through a 40X loupe, is more polished, the HHT impressive on short fine hair, and the shaves are even smoother than they were ATG.