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  1. #1
    Member Shur's Avatar
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    Default 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.

  2. #2
    Member AFDavis11's Avatar
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    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

  3. #3
    Member Iceman's Avatar
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    If my experience with honing is any example... You can mess a blade up a whole lot...
    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...

  4. #4
    Member Shur's Avatar
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    Iceman, could you describe what went wrong and what it did to the blade?

  5. #5
    Member AFDavis11's Avatar
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    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!

    Quote Originally Posted by Iceman View Post
    If my experience with honing is any example... You can mess a blade up a whole lot...
    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...

  6. #6
    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
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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.
    No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero

  7. #7
    Member Iceman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shur View Post
    Iceman, could you describe what went wrong and what it did to the blade?
    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.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Damon's Avatar
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    Post a photo of your norton maybe the norton itself is not flat and needs to be lapped.

  9. #9
    Member Iceman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Damon View Post
    Post a photo of your norton maybe the norton itself is not flat and needs to be lapped.
    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...

  10. #10
    Senior Member Kentriv's Avatar
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    Smile

    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

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