Thread: Help with honing

Hi, I am new to the SRP Forum. Honing a SS razor and a problem has developed. The first third and the last third of the blade pass the usual tests and will shave arm hair with ease, but the middle will not hone. This is not the first time I have honed this razor so this is a new issue. I took the usual steps, lapped the hone...made sure the blade was not damaged, not warped and that it was flat and I set a new bevel -- twice. I have honed this razor three time with no change in the outcome. To be sure I had not lost my touch I dulled another razor and honed it without issue. I used a Belgian Cotcule and a Japanese super stone to finish. These are the hones I have always used. I am clearly doing something wrong with this razor and don't have the experience to uncover the issue...help please.

So, photos would help… though I doubt it is the razor… it you have honed it before.

Try an X stroke, what grit Super Stone are you using?

You can set a bevel in a short time with a 12k Super Stone.

Hello and welcome ! Ink the bevel with a sharpie , take a couple of light careful laps on your medium grit hone.Examine the edge. If ink remains in the center of the blade you probably created a slight frown in the blade. Again...pics would help !

Thanks...I am using a Naniwa 12K to finish. I will give the sharpie idea a go. The razor in question is my first ever razor...it is a Ice SS Fromm Eagel; sentimental more than top of the line. My other day to day razors are Double Duck and Dovo. Not a big collector just have one for each day.

If it fails the sharpie test on both sides, put the blade on the hone or some other flat surface vertically and see if you can see light passing under the middle of the blade while the top and bottom 1/3 are dark. If you see light, then the blade has a frown.
If it fails the sharpie test on one side, then the blade is warped.
You can use a rolling X stroke to sharpen it either way, but if it is frowning then it will be difficult to shave with.

Pictures please, but it sounds like a minor frownie

You can set it on a flat surface & see if light passes through the middle. If it has a frown, best thing to do is bread knife it then re-hone but you really need something like a coarse grit stone to bread knife. You can use a finer stone to bread knife, but it will just take longer. A 220 grit stone is usually what is used for bread knifing.

When I have this happen to me, it's usually because of a frown. I'd do the light test as engine46 mentioned.

Do not breadknife on a 220 stone, that is way too aggressive for a razor that was already honed and shaving, you are re-honing an edge. It may work for an experienced honer, but not if your experience is lacking.

The sharpie test will only tell you if you are reaching the edge, which we know you are not, in the middle.
In fact do not do anything, until you post some photos or find out why you are not reaching the edge in the middle.

Post some photos or try an X stroke on your 12K. But if you posted some photos, it would help.

Oh and… you might want to post some photos.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Do not breadknife on a 220 stone, that is way too aggressive for a razor that was already honed and shaving, you are re-honing an edge. It may work for an experienced honer, but not if your experience is lacking.

The sharpie test will only tell you if you are reaching the edge, which we know you are not, in the middle.
In fact do not do anything, until you post some photos or find out why you are not reaching the edge in the middle.

Post some photos or try an X stroke on your 12K. But if you posted some photos, it would help.

Oh and… you might want to post some photos.

I agree with you which is why I also mentioned he could bread knife with a finer stone, but myself I would do a sharpie test first, something I have done many times in the past but failed to mention here in this thread, my bad.