First chopper shave

At long last I have won my honing battle with this Tally-Ho!

Attachment 99296

It was a full restore and I decided to go with honey ox horn scales that I think turned out pretty nice, but honing it was the bane of my existence for the longest time. It seemed that no matter what combination I tried of stones, strokes, angles, pressure, etc., the thing would just not take an edge. And then behold, there was an edge and it was good.

So for the first time I have entered the world of big honkin' Sheffield blades. I expected the thing to sound differently when shaving, but I couldn't believe just how quiet it was. And I also have a newfound respect for the ability of heavy blades to cut things you don't necessarily intend to cut, sending me digging for that styptic that I hadn't used for ages. :)

Nice to experience a whole new kind of blade, and great incentive to get to work on more scales for the other blades I have on hold.

That's a really great looking blade matched with those scales! And congrats on the honing accomplishment!

Nice! I prefer the bigger blades, less pushing on my part.

Nice razor and great work on the scales. I was "never" going to shave with one of those "CHOPPERS." Now I have a couple and really like the way they effortlessly remove whiskers.

Good luck and enjoy that great looking razor.

6/8+ near/full wedges gimme bbs that hollow ground blades miss "spots"

Yep, that's an accomplishment! Wedges are an extra challenge... but also an extra reward. Happy shaving to you!

Great looking restore!

I will say my 7/8+ W&B Smiling Wedge is my favorite blade of all. And yes, it too had me using the stypic pen and gauze for the first time. I know take great caution around my left earlobe...who knew they bled so much :)

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Originally Posted by ZeroCool

Great looking restore!

I will say my 7/8+ W&B Smiling Wedge is my favorite blade of all. And yes, it too had me using the stypic pen and gauze for the first time. I know take great caution around my left earlobe...who knew they bled so much :)

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Live and learn, man!

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. It's reassuring to know that I'm not alone in discovering the bloodletting abilities of the big 'uns. :)

Could you share some specs on your Tally Ho ie size, blade grind & weight etc?
What is stamped on the blade and tang?
Inquiring minds need to know.

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Originally Posted by Cangooner

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. It's reassuring to know that I'm not alone in discovering the bloodletting abilities of the big 'uns. :)

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"Big 'uns" of any type are capable of causing a bloodletting of some type....

Are you able to explain what came right at last as regards honing - anything you did differently?

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Originally Posted by bonitomio

Could you share some specs on your Tally Ho ie size, blade grind & weight etc?
What is stamped on the blade and tang?
Inquiring minds need to know.

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Sure thing:

It is a 7/8 near wedge so not really a monster but much much heavier than the hollow grinds I have been used to.

Tang:
C T Bingham
Late F Fenney
Tally Ho Sheffield

Blade:
A Real Tally-Ho
(which is of course a bit rich since a 'real' Tally-Ho would presumably have been made by Fenney before Bingham bought the name, but what the heck - it shaves great!)

BTW Fenney died in 1852 at which point Bingham bought up the rights to that mark, using it until he sold up in 1863, so this bad boy is circa 1852-1863.

This will come in handy when I go hunting for mine :D

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Originally Posted by UKRob

Are you able to explain what came right at last as regards honing - anything you did differently?

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I think ultimately I simply wasn't paying enough attention to the shape of the blade, and not taking the time necessary to do it right.

I finally decided to start from scratch - even going as low as 220 to deal with reshaping the point a bit - before moving up through 1000, 4000, 8000, and a final touch up on a 0.5 micron abrasive sheet (Lee Valley Tools). I'm currently waiting for both a barber hone and a C12k to arrive, but for now those sheets are doing the trick.

Along the way there were plenty of circles, far too many x-strokes to count, and once I felt I was on the right track I finished up with a 4k/8k pyramid.

All of which I had done before. I think the difference was simply patience and focus. :)

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Originally Posted by bonitomio

This will come in handy when I go hunting for mine :D

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Forgot to mention - on the tang to the left of C T Bingham Late F Fenney and above Tally Ho Sheffield is an image of a fox

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cangooner

I think ultimately I simply wasn't paying enough attention to the shape of the blade, and not taking the time necessary to do it right.

I finally decided to start from scratch - even going as low as 220 to deal with reshaping the point a bit - before moving up through 1000, 4000, 8000, and a final touch up on a 0.5 micron abrasive sheet (Lee Valley Tools). I'm currently waiting for both a barber hone and a C12k to arrive, but for now those sheets are doing the trick.

Along the way there were plenty of circles, far too many x-strokes to count, and once I felt I was on the right track I finished up with a 4k/8k pyramid.

All of which I had done before. I think the difference was simply patience and focus. :)

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I was just reading this yesterday from Glen gssixgun on honing:- http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...shapton-2.html

It fits with what you have found on your own :tu: