Thread: Japanese Razor Profiles

Originally Posted by Raudrive

I plan to clean and hone these razors and your honing instructions will be a great help, thanks. From the pictures I believe they have the traditional bevel Old School talks about.
Thanks,
Rick

There seems to be some differences in opinion concerning the honing of Japanese razors . I use the 3/2 ratio , others say use a 3/1 ratio . Some say use a back and forth stroke with some pressure . I do not , I always hone using an edge leading stroke . My honing method worked quite well on my razor which was already sharp and only needed a little more honing to get shave-ready . If your razors are not already sharp , you will need to establish a sharp bevel on the edge . If that's the case I would reccomend that you do the majority of your honing on the concave side , and hone the flat bevel on the convex side only enough to remove the burr from the edge . Go slow and check for sharpness frequently , you don't want to remove any more metal than you have to . When the edge is sharp I would then go to the 3/2 ratio . Others will have other opinions , all I can say is ; this is how I do it and it works for me .

Thanks Dave, I will give it a try. These razors are not fancy but have hopes they will clean up nice.
Do all Japanese razors have a name stamped in them? I could not see any on these razors, maybe something will show up during cleaning. One appears to have a decent edge and the other appears to have a few nicks. That one will get my first attempt at learning how to hone a Japanese razor.
Rick

Originally Posted by dave5225

There seems to be some differences in opinion concerning the honing of Japanese razors . I use the 3/2 ratio , others say use a 3/1 ratio . Some say use a back and forth stroke with some pressure . I do not , I always hone using an edge leading stroke . My honing method worked quite well on my razor which was already sharp and only needed a little more honing to get shave-ready . If your razors are not already sharp , you will need to establish a sharp bevel on the edge . If that's the case I would reccomend that you do the majority of your honing on the concave side , and hone the flat bevel on the convex side only enough to remove the burr from the edge . Go slow and check for sharpness frequently , you don't want to remove any more metal than you have to . When the edge is sharp I would then go to the 3/2 ratio . Others will have other opinions , all I can say is ; this is how I do it and it works for me .

the only time my ura(flat) touches stone is to remove a burr, which is literally one stroke. even that may not be necessary though when using japanese polishing stones as the burr simply falls off at 20k to 35k.

Originally Posted by tracr

the only time my ura(flat) touches stone is to remove a burr, which is literally one stroke. even that may not be necessary though when using japanese polishing stones as the burr simply falls off at 20k to 35k.

That makes sense to me . I'll try your method next time I need to touch up my Tosuke . BTW welcome to the forum ! Don't be a stranger

Originally Posted by Raudrive

Thanks Dave, I will give it a try. These razors are not fancy but have hopes they will clean up nice.
Do all Japanese razors have a name stamped in them? I could not see any on these razors, maybe something will show up during cleaning. One appears to have a decent edge and the other appears to have a few nicks. That one will get my first attempt at learning how to hone a Japanese razor.
Rick

I wish I could answear your question , Rick but I really don't know much about Japanese straights . I'm just a guy who happens to own , and shave with one . OLD_SCHOOL knows a thing or two about Japanese razors , I would ask him . I think tracr is right about not honing the ura (now I know what it's called , thanks tracr) any more than is nessicary to remove any burr you may have from honing the concave side . I now believe I was honing the ura too much , and I am changing my ways .

The bottom line here is to remember that when you hone you need to preserve the proper asymmetric profile of the razor. When you get an old one which could be off you need to hone to reestablish the proper profile and you need to experiment with the proper ratio. In any event if you hone one side way more that the other you will over time throw the symmetry off. When we say 3:1 that's just a guideline for a new or perfect razor.

If you like the Japanese single bevel style razor you should look at these German ones. They were originally made for medical use but the principle is the same. I honed one up for personal use and it takes a hell of an edge.

http://www.shavingshop.com/index.php...6category%3D31

Originally Posted by tracr

the only time my ura(flat) touches stone is to remove a burr, which is literally one stroke. even that may not be necessary though when using japanese polishing stones as the burr simply falls off at 20k to 35k.

I agree with that in theory. And only polishing the ura with a fine stone as you progress.

I have never needed to get coarser than 5000 and only look for the slightest hint of a bur which is like hope more than a tactile-positive bur.

Sort of as precaution against shorting any on the wire edge. vs. (true one sided sharpening) I think there is still a reason for having a small microbevel on the ura.

On a chisel we polish the back to make a flat. the bevel can be run over any and all stones but the back is only touched with its polish hone. The hollow grind of the ura is not true and planer. The microbevel will be able to intersect the opposing side in a straight line.

So come to think of once you have a polished flat on the ura you are set for some time. There is no ratio other than maintaing a small polished bevel on the ura. It could be one stroke(i always end that way) It doesnt need to fit a block like a plane iron so a couple extra strokes when polishing wont hurt either, just to be sure.

What sublities there are to different proportions of bevel sides I do not know. Mine are bright and tight. I can not match shaves my fav westy vs. wa. So i have a lot to learn.

I stay with the 3:2 honing ration which includes the wedge side. The concave side is honed with pressure and the flat side gets a light touch. This is my understanding of the correct method of honing.

OTOH I am just a gaijin that uses both the concave and wedge side of the blade against my face when I shave. The wedge side gives me a very nice shave I just have to drasticaly change the angle of the razor.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

The bottom line here is to remember that when you hone you need to preserve the proper asymmetric profile of the razor. When you get an old one which could be off you need to hone to reestablish the proper profile and you need to experiment with the proper ratio. In any event if you hone one side way more that the other you will over time throw the symmetry off. When we say 3:1 that's just a guideline for a new or perfect razor.

i happen not to agree that this circumstance requires the use of ratios any more than when dealing with a new razor. the case of a loss of asymmetry is similar to the case of bevel angle loss and is best handled IMO by resetting the flat at a very coarse grit all at once in the same way one might reset the bevel.

one wouldn't correct bevel angle in stages as one progressed through various grits. no, one fixes the base geometry and then proceeds through sharpening and polishing the bevel. in the case of loss of asymmetry, i would correct the ura, then the omote and continue sharpening/polishing the omote with only burr removal on the ura.