Yeah, don't be afraid. We're all here to watch your ass and catch you if you fall...
:D
Good luck and have fun,
Bart.
Printable View
Nice razor it has character......I would tape the spine since your new to honing and it probably will need a strip or two any how.
Doesnt that mean I would be creating a new bevel? in that case I could just as well polish it as wel..
Would the BBW/coticule combo be enough or do I need a DMT as well? (and where would I buy such a hone in Europe).. or could I get away with the glassbed hone I saw in the classifieds?
I dont mind the extra work on the razor and I'm not in a hurry as I have two shaveready razors..
Would it be a good idea to get a loupe as well? I would like to see what I'm doing..
Maarten
IMHO...yes I would polish it if thats your preference and reset the bevel it doesn't look that uniform from the pic's. Can't answer on the natural stones since I don't use them but with the addition of a DMT to cut the bevel it would be fine they are not aggressive enough to cut a bevel. I highly advise using some sort of magnification as it definitely opened my eyes to what my honing was doing.............. I hope this helps and I'm sure others more knowledgable will jump in.
Taping alters the bevel angle a bit. But it doesn't take that much work on a 1K or 2 K hone, to switch from the slightly obtuser angle with tape to the regular angle without tape. Of course, it could take ages on a 8K hone, so you need to keep track of the angle, but if you know what you're doing it's not a big issue.
If your Coticule is a really fast one (probably not), it cuts in the speed range of a 1K to 2K hone. If the slurry starts to show practically immediately grayish discoloration as soon as you start honing, this means it's a fast cutter. In that case you have a shot at doing serious bevel work with it. Otherwise you should buy a coarser hone. The DMT DxE-series is hard to come by, and overpriced, in Europe. Here's an Ebay-seller that has them: eBay.be: DMT 6" Diamond Sharpener Sharpening Stone Xtra Fine D6E (object 370132676855 eindtijd 17-jan-09 18:20:04 CET)
Another option I can recommend is the Naniwa Chosera line. You can by those at the German Rasurpur store: RasurPur Online Shop - The finest tools for a perfect shave For the lower grits, I think you could go with Naniwa's "Superstone" line, which is a bit cheaper. There are many other viable options for hones, such as Shapton, Norton, King, etc...
Yep, a loupe is a good idea. A jewelers loop with 15X magnification and good optics, imho, is a better investment than the junk of various Ebay-stores, that states X100, but has less optical resolution than the jewelers loup.
Merry Christmas,
Bart.
Thanks Bart, and shooter
I've just ordered the DMT so now I'll be looking for the loupe.. I can also make some pictures of the bevel with my camera.. I've got an EOS 5D with a macrolens on it. The camera is about 12 MP so I could crop decent pictures out of them..
in the meanwhile I'll start sanding and some polishing...I wont make a mirror out of it.. just some cleaning up..
Maarten
Last week I got the DMT and the day before yestgerday I started honing the razor.
I just honed it on the DMT until it cut into my thumpad then did quite some laps on the coticule until thought it ought to be good.
Yesterdayevening I tried to shave with it but it wasnt a big success. It shaved some but far from comfortable..it didnt realy pull but it wasnt smoorth either.
It seems the edge isnt realy even .. what do I do now.. go back to the dmt or belgian blue? or some more laps on the Coticule..
Maybe I should make some pictures first and move this post to the honing section.;)
Maarten
Maarten,
I have posted a tutorial in the Wiki, about honing with a DMT1200 and the Belgian hones.
It might be a good starting point for you.
Make sure you stay on the DMT till you can shave arm hair very well.
If you haven't got a Belgian Blue, you can try the Coticule with the lightest possible slurry. A hint of slurry is enough. After that proceed to plain water as described in my article.
The article is here: A simple honing method with DMT-E , Belgian Blue Whetstone and Coticule - Straight Razor Place Wiki
Good luck and keep us posted,
Bart.
Thanks Bart,
I stopped to soon with the DMT.. I've honed it again and will try it tomorow but I'm pretty sure it will shave a lot better now The hairs on my arm surrendered and decided to leave my arm as soon as the razor came close..
.I did read your article on the wiki.. I just should have it handy when honing .. its a great article for first time honers with a DMT and a BBW/coticule combo!!
Maarten
Hmmm not there yet..
it was a lot better but still not sharp enough for a smooth shave..
I'll try a gain later..
Maarten