Thread: Shumate cracked

That steel looks rotten to me. That bevel should be clean and brite. I'm seeing the dark stains I've seen in other razors with crumbling edges. Like the pipe razor I mentioned.

Kinda looks like devils spit all across the bevel. Chippy and ragged edge. Might be fightin' a loosing battle with that one.

Hey there
The devil's split! Oh man I got to look that up.
The shumate thread was so glowing I got a bit invested...
Roten seems likely so I bread knifed it. It's now a less aggressive smile and tests ok. Felt smoother on the stone as well. Does it still look off?
The last one looks different it was taken before I started honing as a "before" my impressions were like the first 3 picks

It could be better but with all the deep scratches it is hard to tell for me. You're not putting down an even scratch pattern. That also throws me off. I'd take it to a 1k stone and clean up the scratch pattern. Make sure you have a proper bevel set across the entire edge. Then go to a 2k or 3k and remove all the 1k scratches. Then get a good look at it.
Seeing the white line along the edge is a sign of no bevel set. And if you can't get a clean edge and bevel at 1k then set it aside and come back to it another day. It may come together after a few more tries.

Shumates are great razors. But when they get damaged from improper storage no razor can recover after too much. BTW, Devil Spit is the black that you find on the steel. It can be surface rust but most likely it is rust that has penetrated the steel and you just see the darkness. After grinding or honing the devil spit it can open up a lot of worse rotten steel underneath. It's hit-and-miss to correct. Sometimes you get lucky. Other times it's just junk and not worth trying to fix.

Ok, right on I will remember that about the white line, was it there at bevel set?. I did do more pasted cloth and leather then normal after 1k ,4k and 8k, I'm hoping the white line it is just micro convex.

The bevel set one day and come back to it seems like such a good idea I will try to do it.

What sharpness test do you like for bevel set? I was using thumb pad test, it would want to slice fingerprint but not push cut fingerprint.

I have the shapton 1K and 4K GS HR, I have been using them freshly lapped with 240 dimond. Maybe try unlaped so they are less aggressive?

I wonder if I can avoid buying another stone somehow.

The shave was comfortable but not close. Skimming over the skin with no chatter

Ok back to bevel set

From 1k to 4k is doable. Your just going to need a bit more time on the 4k to remove the scratches from the 1k.

Hey there
I've been working on the 1000 grit for a little while it looks like the white line is visible in most frames. For thumb pad test it push cuts fingerprint in one or two places. Back to it some more.

Ok, brake time, after marker and a edge on Vue at 40 times magnification the parts with marker had less white line than the parts without. I tried, and found out.
How much pressure would you all be using at this stage?

It seems like a dairly hollow razor. I would use a little more than blade weight but its hard to say. Little more than the weight of my hand.
I use the thumb nail test to check bevel set. But this you need to learn. There is an amount of drag that you have to look for while cutting the nail with the weight only of the blade.

The best thing is to watch the edge with magnification. When all rhe sparkles ate gone you got it. But it still takes time to learn.

It took me about 2 years so dont give up. Just keep learning.

When I started honing razors I found it really difficult to grasp the whole 'bevel set' thing. I just didn't get it. Took me lotsa wasted steel but I eventually got there. I was amazed at how bloody sharp a 1k edge can be Your last pic in post #27 shows some reflected white line and sparklies. More work needed. Good clear pics you have. After 1k, are you using the pasted strop before inspecting apex? Don't, coz it may form a tiny bur which will reflect. 240 diamond lapping plate can leave deep scratches on stone, I follow 240 with a 500k and then nagura, naniwa brown turd works too. Testing for bevel set, I look down on apex for white line and cut arm hair along entire edge. It will cut through arm hair with no effort. At times I have used a cherry tomato too. These tests combined get me to a set bevel. The scratch patterns in your last pics are much more uniform than previous pics. Keep at it. But as Jerry said, don't spend too much time on a hone. It can become frustrating rather than fun.