Ruin a good blade?

I recently won this auction: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...1735&rd=1&rd=1
and I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival.

I just went out and picked up a Norton 4k/8k to practice my strokes, and in seeing the effect* this stone had on the practice razor I started to wonder...

How badly can poor stone technique mess up a blade?
How many trips to the sharpening stone (poor and/or pro) should a good blade be able to take before it shows marginal wear, how about gross wear?
How many before the blade is a write off?

*I've had a lithide barbers hone for a while now and have been using it for touch ups. Comparing that to the 4k is like comparing a nail clipper to a wood chipper.

Anything over 40 strokes on the 4k and the razor is finished. You can chuck it and get a new blade. OK, just kidding. I have put about 500-600, maybe even 1000 strokes on the first razor I bought and its still shaves great.

You can put tape on the hone to extend the life of the spine, but the wear evens out with a reduction in the width of the blade over time.

At this point anytime I hit a 1K stone or am about to do extensive work on 4k I tape the spine with plastic tape.

Keep the blade flat and do as little honing as possible and the blade will be ok, but starting with a practice razor is money well spent. It takes atleast one razor to learn to hone...LOL

If my experience with honing is any example... You can mess a blade up a whole lot... :shrug:
I have managed to get a Norton 4/8K to destroy the blade on a couple of straights. Now all I use is a Premier finishing hone. The Norton is about to get a return to nature in a rockpile...:cen

Iceman, could you describe what went wrong and what it did to the blade?

Wow, Ice that sucks! The Norton does cut very fast btw. I only use a finishing hone on all new razors myself. Your always welcome to bring the Norton and those razors over to my place. Maybe I can fix them for you. PM sent! :cry:

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Originally Posted by Iceman

If my experience with honing is any example... You can mess a blade up a whole lot... :shrug:
I have managed to get a Norton 4/8K to destroy the blade on a couple of straights. Now all I use is a Premier finishing hone. The Norton is about to get a return to nature in a rockpile...:cen

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Yea, if you don't know what your doing you can turn a razor to toast on the 4K. Thats why you need to read the help files and practice with a junk razor just to get the moves right before you attempt honing a good razor.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shur

Iceman, could you describe what went wrong and what it did to the blade?

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Wow!! Where do I begin?? First I will start with my "skill". It is not good and that should be clear to everyone. I got a 2" wide Norton instead of a 3" and I think that is a big part of my problem. I bought it used from someone here that was unloading all is straight shaving gear. I get very uneven passes and some "teter tottering" of the blade on the hone. As Alan and bigspender mention, the Norton is a very fast cutter and mistakes get amplified very quickly. Especially on the 4K side, which is needed in the pyramid methods. I am also sure my pressure is not good either.

Here are some of the things I managed to screw up.

Overhoned.
Sharp and dull areas along the same blade.
Dings in the blade from teter tottering.
Ruined bevels - Easy to do on the 4K.
Uneven bevels - Very easy to do on a used blade that may already have uneven wear.

I have never been able to pass a HHT after using a Norton. All the time after the Premier hone.

Post a photo of your norton maybe the norton itself is not flat and needs to be lapped.

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Originally Posted by Damon

Post a photo of your norton maybe the norton itself is not flat and needs to be lapped.

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Lapping is not the problem. I have lapped this on a piece of glass or a finished piece of Corian countertop several times. I have used 600, 800, and 1000 grit sand paper. I had the same thought as you but it is level all the way across. The main issue is my skill... :shrug:

I think you are right about the 2" being a big part of the problem. This means that you are having to do a more exaggerated x motion, which leave a lot more room for accidentally teetering or adding pressure as you move closer or farther away.
I got the 3" and was lucky because it is actually wider than my Dovo 5/8 Classic Black.
I still like to use a bit of an X motion though.

I didn't realize it was so easy to screw up a bevel on the Norton. When I first started honing my blade, I noticed it get a little duller, but I just figured this was because the courser grit of the 4/8k was resetting the bevel a bit and taking off the keener edge set by the higher grit polishing stone. Am I wrong for thinking this?

Matt

Nothing on a straight razor is heavy, everything is light. I have had a 2" Norton, a 1.5 Belgium and a 2 " King. The key was to learn to keep the edge flat. For me it was a matter of elevating my right elbow (since I'm right handed) and concentrate on the toe of the razor. That way the heel took care of itself.

It may help to stay on the 4k side until the razor is decently sharp then go to a pyramid. If you tape the spine you can hone for a long time and not worry about flatting your razor.

On the 3" Norton, I worry more about irregular hone wear becaue most blades are not as wide as the hone, so I'm constantly turning the stone around, not over, to keep the hone flat.

A little preasure in the begining of honing (depending upon the razor) might help. After that it's just time and strokes, getting lighter and lighter.