Thread: ...and I dropped it.

Well, a mere three days after receiving my freshly honed razor back from Lynn, I dropped it while stropping. Rats. Fortunately, neither my feet nor my cats were in the way when it fell, so the only damage has been to my razor.

The end is scratched up, but that's not a big deal. When I turn the razor just right, I can see by the way light reflects off the edge that there is some minor damage to the blade itself. To verify this, I pulled the razor across my thumbnail, as when testing for a proper hone. I could feel it skip in a few spots.

How difficult is it to repair this kind of damage? I assume that I would need to start with a number of passes over a course stone, either 1000 or 4000. I only have an 8000, so I doubt that would do much good (...maybe after a few thousand passes).

Oh well. Back to the electric...

Eric

I hate to brake this to you, but this To verify this, I pulled the razor across my thumbnail, as when testing for a proper hone. I could feel it skip in a few spots. was when you destroyed your edge.

You never do this with a shaveready edge because it will destroy it.

And don't use a coarse stone just yet. It is not shaveready anymore but no need to drop down to 1K.

Simply do 10 passes on the 8K, strop and try to shave a bit of hair on your face. Repeat as necessary. This is easiest to do in the bathroom with lather on your face, since you have to testshave often. Just keep the blade flat and use very little pressure. You want even strokes, not speed.

That should bring the edge back pronto if it is not seriously damaged.
There is of course a possibility that it won't be as sharp as you got it from Lynn, but don't worry about that. Go for a comfortable shave at first, not for perfection.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I hate to brake this to you, but this To verify this, I pulled the razor across my thumbnail, as when testing for a proper hone. I could feel it skip in a few spots. was when you destroyed your edge.

But if it was skipping as he did this (admittedly edge-ruining) test, it was already damaged, right? Sounds like it might need more than refreshing on the hone.

Originally Posted by SteveS

But if it was skipping as he did this (admittedly edge-ruining) test, it was already damaged, right? Sounds like it might need more than refreshing on the hone.

That really depends IMO.
A very sharp edge (hey, it came from Lynn) on a thumbnail would probably bite relatively deep. If you pull, the blade will then come loose and 'jump'.
The thumbnail test works on a dull edge because it tells you if the edge is even or not, but the edge does not dig itself in deep.

As long as the edge itself did not hit the ground, and all he did was dragging it across the tumbnail, then he probably can get it back to an OK shave by just doing laps of 10 or 20, stropping and testing.
If you do this in the bathroom to save time, and go slowly but steady there is a good chance of success.

He only has an 8K. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, no harm done.

Btw, I should have mentioned that the 8K has to be lapped prior to use to make sure it is flat. If it isn't flat, then the edge will likely be messed up more than it already was.

Should not be difficult to restore at all. Put it in an evelope with an explanation and send it back to Lynn. Pay him his money, and he is worth it!! Just some money gone but you did not lose a toe.

Good luck

Jerry

If the thumbnail test and thumpad test ruin an edge what are they used for?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Jfala

If the thumbnail test and thumpad test ruin an edge what are they used for?

Thanks.

Thumbpad test is safe on sharp blades (safe for the blade. watch what you're doing with your thumb).
The pad is soft and sensitive. You've hurt your finger long before you've hurt the edge. Use a wet thumb though.

the thumbnail test is used to test whether the shape of the edge is ok (no nicks etc) and whether the bevels are touching each other (it should bite slightly).
also use a wet nail.

Try stropping it first, on linen then leather. Try 20 on linen and if it isn't fixed try 40 more. That may be sufficient to straighten out the edge. Assuming you did not damage it with your thumbnail, of course.

Don't fret; we've all done it at one time or another. I managed to drop an 8/8 Friodur into the toilet once, making sure to bounce the edge off the rim on the way down of course. Stropping didn't fix it completely, but it got it close enough that it only took a few minutes on the norton to fix it.

All these flying razors seem kinda dangerous . . .