Thread: 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...
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...

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!

Originally Posted by Iceman

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...

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.

Originally Posted by Shur

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.

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

Originally Posted by Damon

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...

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