Thread: Slurry stone question

Originally Posted by kwlfca

How can I clean the nani 12K? It seems to load up on swarf rather easily.

With a DMT 325 or 1000k sand paper, or by rubbing the turi on the surface till all the dwarf comes out of the stone. I wouldn't obsess about having 100% clean surface, but you do want to clean it from time to time.

I think you may be using too much pressure on the blade, to get all that swarf on the Nani 12k. I do get some light swarf on my 16k Shapton glass but it is easily washed with a rinse. And after several razors, it may need a light lapping.

This is a shot in the dark, but try 10-15 passes with very very light pressure on the edge of the blade. Make sure it is moving water all along the edge, with the lightest pressure you can. Then strop linen and leather and see if it pops hair. Even if it doesn't, try shaving with it ( have a backup, in case you need to bail). After that, I think, you will be able to know if its close or far. If its far from shave ready, you may need to go to a lower grid stone. Do you have other lower stones? Other wise, send it in to be hone.

A shave ready razor that needs a touch up, at least in the Shapton G 16K, only requires 6 to 15 passes at the most. Don't know in the Naniwa, but start with the less than more.

The thing about using too much pressure is that it destroys the sharpness of the edge. Too light a pressure and it would not move water along the edge.

Don't give up, we all been there. I gave 30-40 passes first time I touched up a razor. The edge looked like a saw under the loupe. Good luck! Double O

Are you trying to touch-up the Electric Cutlery razor?

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Are you trying to touch-up the Electric Cutlery razor?

Yep. Got the 12K like you said. Isn't really working out and I don't have a lower K stone to use.

That razor has some really hard steel, don't give up on it quite yet...

So how do I get it back to it's former sharpness? Will slurry help speed things up or should I leave it alone for now?
I've done like 40 laps and tried to shave to see an improvement, more than once, and gotten little improvement, if any.

Maybe if it is really hard steel a bit of pressure might be appropriate

Originally Posted by Havachat45

Maybe if it is really hard steel a bit of pressure might be appropriate

This idea combined with the Magic Marker test would show you what you are accomplishing if anything.

There has to be "Contact" with the hone and it has to be even and equal along the entire edge, the MM test will show what you are touching with your stroke, and then you can tweak the motion and the pressure so the you are getting even and equal contact along the entire edge...

I went back and lapped on my 320 wet dry sandpaper again to try to eliminate as many variables as possible and also to get a rougher surface on my hone to work with. Before, I would smooth out the surface with the thurry after I lapped, but I thought hey, if I want try to going at it with a lower grit but don't have a lower grit stone...well, you get the picture.
This gave me some much needed success. How much, I can't say for sure as I'd already shaved today, but I was able to shave arm hair, which I wasn't before.
I first used pressure until I thought I had gotten it sharp enough, then used less and less pressure as I went on.

After that, I smoothed out the stone some with the thurry and did some more laps, maybe around ten up and down and then ten x strokes, then smoothed out the stone a bit more and did the ten up and down and ten x stokes again. Smoothed out the stone once more and then alternated up and down and x stroke, decreasing pressure from very little to none...basically trying to emulate the finishing stokes that I've seen you do in your videos Glen.
Cleaned, dried and gave it a stropping and set it aside for the next time I shave.

I could have done more perhaps, but I didn't want to do anything else without being able to do a shave test. I did improve the edge though, which, after days of doing nothing, I'm happy about. Feels nice to finally make some headway.

I'm not sure if I had lapped it enough when I first did it. I drew my grid and lapped it off, or so I thought, multiple times but maybe it was just washing off. This time I used a sharpie to make little x's in all four corners, two on either side in the middle, one in the middle and connected them with dotted lines. I think the middle of the hone was higher than the ends.
I also noticed that until today's lapping, I wasn't getting the sound that I hear whenever I watch Lynn or Glen hone in their videos.

I'll just have to wait until my next shave to be able to fully judge what I did today. Thanks to everyone keeping an eye out on this thread to help me out and keeping me from

You are taking the right approach, slow and determined, eliminating variables as you go, honestly I can't give any better advice then what you are already doing..

The fact that you are stopping and checking with each step is the correct way to proceed, it lets you analyze what each session is doing at the edge in relation to how it feels on the face...

I think I just had to leave it alone for a day...that's usually when fresh ideas pop into your head!
I'll say one thing for sure...my next hone will be either the nani 3K/8K or the norton 4K/8K. Are there any real differences between them? IIRC from the specs, the nani gives you slightly more stone thickness and it doesn't need to be soaked like a norton does. That's about all I know.