Thread: Factory Hones.

Aftrenoon Fellas.

Well, last week I finally recieved my TI 7/8ths straight. It took me a while longer to get round to geting it due to work commitments etc but like said it finally arrived last week. Up until then I had been using a dovo shavette with good results and could achieve the elusive bbs shave after some amount of practice. I always felt and imagined the shavette would be sharper and much less forgiving than a genuine straight ( im not sure why, maybe just as the blades are as fine ) however I knew in reality a straight which has been professionally honed would be equally as sharp or there or there abouts. So when I excitedly used my TI for the first time last night, lathered up the same had a searing hot shower before hand to soften up the bristles etc, I found that it didnt feel nearly as sharp as the de blades for the shavette even though it had been honed to a shave ready condition by the factory. So my question is this ;

Is factory honing just a quick basic hone done in the factory to get the blade out and passable as shave ready? whereas a hone done by a pro / or someone very experienced in honing would be far superior?

Im guessing the latter but just wondering what you guys think and also If you have experienced this before?

As always all input is very much appreciated gents. I look foward to any responses.

cheers.

Factory edge is just that, some get lucky or they just don't know what shave ready is ,, get it honed by someone who does it and shaves with them, then your shave will be everything you expect, There is some adjustment from the shave the but not much, Tc

I have had passable factory edged from revisor. Hart, Boker, and Wacker all went to the stones after first shave

Did you request and pay for a Shave Ready honing?

Did you strop the razor, prior to the shave?

If you did not request the razor to be honed, it was not, just given a factory edge and not a Shave Ready edge.

Very few edged tools have finished edges and are left to the consumer to finish the edge.

Problems with factory honing are commonplace in todays market. Hart steel are hit and miss, as are Dovo, Boker, Wacker and TI. If you buy from SRD you will always get a razor honed by Lynn and an additional free honing when needed. Jerrod at superior shave hones
his razors before shipping. I believe Vintage Blades hones as well before shipping. Revisor hones before shipping. I have a new TI Legend series straight to try out and the edge is very dissapointing and very uneven. It is going to take a new bevel and on through the process to make it shave properly.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Did you request and pay for a Shave Ready honing?

Did you strop the razor, prior to the shave?

If you did not request the razor to be honed, it was not, just given a factory edge and not a Shave Ready edge.

Very few edged tools have finished edges and are left to the consumer to finish the edge.

The razor came with a spec / care sheet which states that the razor is shave ready. I did strop it before use and again afterwards. Im thinking I will need to have it re honed as last night I checked the bevel and it looks like it has been un evenly honed, more on one side than the other but still un evenly honed. I will post some pics for ou guys to take a look and tell me what you think. I shaved with it again last nite but its definetly no where near as sharp as the de blades for shavette and is pretty uncomfortable to shave with, lols.

So above is the pics of the uneven bevel. I tried to get as best a pic as i could of it but I know they arent the best. What do you guys think?

Thanks Guys.

Originally Posted by TurbineBlade

The razor came with a spec / care sheet which states that the razor is shave ready. I did strop it before use and again afterwards. Im thinking I will need to have it re honed as last night I checked the bevel and it looks like it has been un evenly honed, more on one side than the other but still un evenly honed. I will post some pics for ou guys to take a look and tell me what you think. I shaved with it again last nite but its definetly no where near as sharp as the de blades for shavette and is pretty uncomfortable to shave with, lols.

Was the spec/care sheet from the maker? Then the edge is a factory edge and as others have said they can be hit and miss as far as how shave ready they really are.

When you are learning to strop you can dull the blade by improper technique. That is why when you get a shave ready razor you should not strop it before first use so you know what a good edge feels like. If it feels duller after stropping it on second use you know your stropping technique needs work.

Not all bevels are nice and thin and even on both sides of the blade. It could be that the blade geometry is a bit off causing those variations. That does not mean the blade can't have a shave ready keen edge, it just looks odd. At least that is my take on the bevel issue but I am no expert. I am sure someone with more experience will comment.

Bob

Find a local mentor and see if a good stropping will revive it, if not possibly a touch up.

At the very least, you will get some coaching on your stropping technique.

Hard to tell now, if it was honed properly, when you received it.

This is common for a novice, it can take some time to develop the skill where you are improving the edge by stropping.

It only takes one errant stroke to roll the edge, keep the spine on the strop and stop forward movement before you flip.