Thread: My first hone result with pictures

You gave gotten much good advice from this thread, Sunsweet. Perseverance and a decent set of hones will help you achieve a great shaving edge. Beware of the HFT. [hanging fingernail test]

Jerry
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Originally Posted by gssixgun

I am assuming you have watched the Honing Vids from Lynn and Myself???

I had watched Lynn's previously but not yours so I just have now (all parts 1,2,3). I watched it twice and while honing. That video was very very helpful, thanks for that. Especially for :
- learning the X strokes heel first that you use.
- listening to the sound of your edge on the hone and trying to get the same motion and sound.
- Getting a good idea of how much pressure to use.
- guiding the edge.
- etc...

I tried TNT. my razor's blunt edge was slicing into my nail very easily so instead of going down to 2k, I thought I would try the whole sequence that you are prescribing above ^ on the 6k instead. At least I would not remove as much metal. After doing the circles the edge came alive and was cutting arm hair at the stem. Then I did the 20 light accurate X strokes and the 5 absolutely light X strokes. The edge was not poping hair but more hair was being cut. I needed to shave today. So I went to the 12k to polish and finish. I used a slurry. going trough that felt like sliding on grease. I diluted by washing the blade as I went. Stropped on the suede paddle and finally headed to the bathroom for a shave. It was a very different feeling from what this this blade gave me when it was new. Did not pass shave test. This edge was not going to shave me properly. Left me with disappointing shadow patches and a poor results but no skin cuts. Also it felt the blade was not giving me as much feedback on my skin as it used to.
I want to step back momentarily and say I had some expectations when I got into straight shaving. One was getting a better shave than with a commercial razor, and two not having to rely on external services and honing the stone myself. My straight razor was fine when new but now it is no better than a weeks old commercial razor blade. I am probably hitting a low but I am quite disappointed at the whole thing requiring so many stones of all kinds which is a fairly big additional investment to the razor itself and getting poor results. If I had to choose again I may not get into straight razor shaving again. I initially misjusged the investment that was required to hone the blade and that it would be so hard to do. Again if I have to use a honing service it is no longer what draws me to straight razor in the first place. I may need to shave with commercial blades while learning to hone.

Originally Posted by sunsweet

so instead of going down to 2k, I thought I would try the whole sequence that you are prescribing above ^ on the 6k instead. At least I would not remove as much metal. .

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Maybe this is where you made your mistake. Go back to the 2k as Glen suggested and proceed as he suggests. It is not as difficult as it seems when you understand the sharpening process..

The best thing you could do is find a honer local to you and see if they would give you a lesson or two, I did that and it was the best thing I ever did honing wise. I learned more in two hours in person that I would have in six months watching videos or trying to do it solo. Most people on here who hone would gladly help you out

I do not think you need a whole arsenal of stones to keep a straight shaving sharp for a long period of time. If you don't let the blade deteriorate too far or chip it then a 12K or similar finishing stone should be all that is needed for a very long time. Having an arsenal of stones comes in handy when you are restoring old straights as a hobby. Honing is not rocket science but a learned skill that takes time to develop. Like any learned skill set there will be the inevitable failures from which to learn and profit from.

You are not stuck to using a honing service forever, I wasn't, but at the start getting it rehoned professionally and then learning to maintain the edge with a finishing hone might be the way to go. Once you are confident and proficient at maintaining the edge you can get a cheap 20 dollar straight to bring back to life from resetting the bevel and up the progression. That will also give you a back up straight in case you drop or otherwise mess up the blade. Yes, I have dropped a straight and buggered up the blade.

Anyway, take a breather from trying to learn honing and let the frustration subside. Consider your options and what you want to do.

Bob

As far as videos go this one really helped me a lot for the way I hone

Learning to hone was why I got a DE. If you want an amazing shave while working on honing, don't go get a cartridge razor...idk about you but they give me a terrible shave that's full of irritation...plus they cost too much.

I recommend getting an Edwin Jagger DE if you feel you need a fall back. They cost $35 and will give you an amazingly smooth shave, not to mention new blades cost way less. Paired with an iridium blade....WOW is all I can say

Yes i needed a fall back razor because SR honing turned out to be much more tricky than I had expected even with a lot of patience. That said I by no mean am interested in honing as an activity of itself. Actually to me this is the price to pay to be able to shave with a straight. Can't say I enjoy that.

I agree cartrige multi-edges razors are bad. They always give much more irritation than a straight. The skin feels bad. But seems like I am getting a hang on honing now...

Glen, I wanted to thank u for the video where you coach a beginner honing for the first time. That video filled some important gaps that I had missed in your solo videos because you didn't focus on anything that was second nature to you. But the beginner making all the mistakes, I got several points I missed. So here are the things, that were missing in what people were telling me :

- rincing the blade with water and wiping it clean of slurry every 5 X patterns constantly
- changing the tape when you move from the bevel setting stone to the next stone (and between that one and the polishing stone)
- use the bevel stone first with slurry, then immerse it in water, rince well, slide finger across wet surface to remove debris and use it without slurry before moving up.
- The X patterns means really sliding the blade all the way with <1 inch left at the toe at the end of the hand movement. Not doing that correctly I was neglecting the edge before the toe.
-at the end of lapping get the side edges of the stones with a 45 degree angle

What you guys did say but needed more clarification:
- really make sure your X patterns allow all parts of the edge to move the water at least during some portion of your stroke. Not all blades geometry can move the water all along the edge at the same time.

Anyway so I did all this, stroped and got a better shave than the razor cartridges I have been using. It was nice to feel a much longer blade again on the skin and gosh I hate the multi-edge idea it really is causing skin irritation.

The SR was good enough so that it could shave me from it own weight (close to zero pressure). It was a nice shave. Still some very minor skin damage. But no irritation. But big improvement from last time. Still a lot of progress possible.

Most people, me included, who read my recent post would not have expected that I post on this forum again after my 1 year debacle with straight razors. That was correct until today, something happened. Major would be a huge understatement. But let me first say that all my posting have been genuine and so was my patience and efforts to learn and discipline myself to improve my technique after months of mediocre and poor honing results. Responses to my last "goodbye" post showed who are the gentlemen on this forum and who are the sarcastic, snotty weaklings. Anyways, I had not entirely given up and today things have changed. Something so absolutely perturbating was revealed that it explains why I could never get a sharp razor at all. In fact my technique could have been supreme all my honing was all in vain because of one thing that made it impossible. I discovered what it is. And for the gentlemen on this forum (you will recognize yourself) I decided to come back and let them know... But not before letting you guess at what it is that was wrong... Technique had nothing to do with it and because of yours and my thinking that it was a technique issue, I must have developped incredible skills by now from all fine and superfine adjustments I made and I can feel each stone to such a level of feedback that maybe I would not have acquired without my predicament.

So guys guess what it was... It is absolutely stunning !
you can review this entire thread to find the answer.