Thread: thiers issard ebony

i just recieved my razor from fendrihan and its SHARP out of the box, it passes the hanging hair test, they said it was sharpened by thiers but is not listed as shave ready. should i still hone it? or use it as is? also they honed it really unevenly.

Give it a test shave and see how it goes. If it is passing HHT, good indication it's going to shave fine.
If it starts to pull, stop and sharpen it up.

im also concerned that the people who honed this razor has done some uneven honing? its hard to see because the other side is completely polished....


click the image for full size

i should mention im pretty new to this

deejay-

It does look like it might be a bit "off" at the back side heel. It's hard to see the show side heel (slightly out of focus) to compare it though.

The bottom line, of course, is that it must please you. if it bothers you, return it. Ive never dealt with them (I'm in the States) but Fendrihan has a good reputation for standing behind their products.


rs,
Tack

should i tape the spine to hone it?

Originally Posted by deejaykamoe

should i tape the spine to hone it?

That's just a matter of personal preference, not a case of right or wrong. Personally, I decided to tape everything just so it would become a habit and I wouldn't forget to tape that one with the fancy spine.


rs,
Tack

thanks! and with a razor like this with a factory edge what process should i use, i have a 4000/8000 norton and a naniwa 12000 and a chromium oxide balsa....can someone tell me how many strokes to do, with or without pressure roughly

I am not a pro honer but you could go two ways about this. You could start at the CrOx and do about 10 laps or so and then your normal stropping. When I refresh on CrOx I do 10 laps and then 40 linen and then 100 leather but thats just me. If that doesn't cut it (pun intended), then you could go to the 12k and do 10-20 laps and repeat with the crox and again with the 8 if the 12k doesn't work. The easiest way though would probably be just to start with the 4k and work your way up. You could try doing the pyramid as I have found it to be the easiest way to learn to hone and get good consistent results. Just look up the pyramid method in the wiki. If Fendrihan said that it was supposed to be shave ready then I would suggest you tell ask them about it and see if they can rehone it. Before all else though I would go ahead and try to shave with it as is. That way you can 1) figure out if it is in shaving condition and 2) if it isn't, you now know what the edge feels like so that way when you hone you can see if you have made an improvement to the edge or not. Good luck and hope everything goes well.

im trying to understand the pyramid method, it shows as follows so i go back and forth from the 4000 to the 8000 for all the steps like 200 strokes in total? sorry its written a little vaguely