Thread: First e-bay razor :)

But as long as the razor does not have any parts where the metal underneath is exposed, then the expected reaction would be expected to be uniform would it not?

Update: I read a thread here on SRP where a guy complained of his nickel-plated lathering bowl getting a kind of tarnish after he left his alum block in it. So, I left my alum block resting on my razor for a while (wet) and it produced he following:

In my earlier post #3 I described mine as having a lot of hone ware. The bevel near the spine is just under 1mm, that I felt was plenty to judge by.

Enjoy the polishing you have ahead. I used mine because it had some small pits that needed polished anyway. I was a little sad to see your after experiment pic.

Jonathan

Not sure I understand the part about the hone wear. What do you mean when you say the bevel near the spine? Sorry if I am asking stupid questions but I am new to this stuff and want to learn all about it.

Yeah I wasn't really that happy about doing that to my razor either but I was too curious! I am sure it will polish out fine anyway, its the other marks that will be tough!

I'm not sure if you can see but after all my honing the spine has become more worn down and although it does look a bit shinier from the high grit stones, it looks like a normal razor. I am just confused now to be honest!

On another note, I cant seem to sharpen the bloody thing. I honed it on the 4k and 8k just like Lynn does with the circle method plus x strokes. Then I done a few passes on the coticule and although it WOULD cut arm hair, it would not do so enthusiastically and laughed at me when I tried to do the HHT.

By now I was pretty frustrated with the razor and I was keen to try my new "roo" strop, so I gave it a go.

I did 50 passes on the hard wool felt and 100 passes on the leather and WOW, what a difference!! Hanging hairs split on contact, and arm hairs popped off like lemmings ordered off a cliff

I gave it about 10 (light) passes on the felt again this morning with the 0.5 micron diamond spray on it which was left to dry overnight, and then another 100 on the leather, but the shave was not what I expected!

I shaved the cheek areas with no difficulty really but still not as good as i thought it would be. As I progressed further to the neck and chin area etc, it became so difficult it felt like I had to shave my skin off along with the hair to get results. Obviously this resulted in a sore face and the return of my frustration with this razor.

Am I doing something wrong with it? Does it need to be much sharper before going to the strop? Can a strop give the illusion of sharpness only to have the edge fall apart when it hits the face?

The flat spot on the side of the spine is commonly called hone ware. The only stupid question is the one you are to embarrassed to ask.

About honing were you testing the razor for improvement after each hone?

Personally I use a 60 - 100x pocket microscope to look for a smooth edge and that the bevel goes all the way to the edge. I also check with the TPT more to learn what it should feel like than to judge by the test. Passing the HHT does not necessarily equal a smooth and sharp edge. Sharp is much easier than smooth and sharp. A toothier edge can more easily pass the HHT depending on the hair. I haven't used a diamond impregnated strop but some find it a bit harsh. If you have crox try that after the diamond, it should smooth the edge a little.

Was the shave just difficult in certain spots or did if become difficult to shave all areas? If the latter the edge could have fallen apart.

I like to know that the razor is smooth and sharp off the last hone. So I do a test shave before stropping.

Jonathan

The test I was doing after each honing step was to see hith how much ease it would shave arm hair. I was getting varying results to be honest which is why I was getting frustrated.

I understand what you are saying about the HHT as I have read a lot about it and many seem to be in agreement that although it can be an indicator of sharpness, it is not always the definitive test of a shave ready razor. I guess my face will attest to that fact

Thanks for the tip about the microscope. I do have a 50 - 500x USB microscope which I used to take the earlier pics but I have not been using it to assess the edge after each round on the hones and I guess I should.

I felt like the shave got more difficult overall I THINK, but I cant be sure.

I don't have any crox unfortunately. I was trying to decide what I would buy and after reading some favorable comments about the wool felt in combination with the diamond spray I decided to go with that.the only unpasted surfaces I have left now are the other side of my wool which I don't want to put anything on, and the other side of my loom strop which I do intend on using for something.

Currently I have:

->Norton 220/1k + 4k/8k
->Belgian Coticule 150m x 40m
->Loom strop with dovo green paste on one side and nothing on the other
->SRD Roo Strop with wool felt - one side treated with .5 micron diamond spray and leather untreated for daily use.

I guess if I want to use any other kind of paste or sprays then I would need to go and buy myself yet another paddle/loom strop. (boy this stuff can get expensive eh??)
So any suggestions as to what I should put on the other side of my loom strop are welcome.

I feel like I should be able to get the razor shave ready with what I already have though. I wonder if it is simply my technique in honing which is the issue. Maybe I just need to be more steady on the hones.

In considering your trouble I remembered that my biggest honing problem. That some times I accidentally lift the spine creating a unwanted micro bevel that has to be removed but is not obvious until one of the tests reveal it. Sadly it is often the shave test that finely reveals the issue. This may be at the root of your troubles. I find I have to change the angle of the scales on the razor to make lifting the spine less likely.

edit... Since the edge degraded I would suspect that the diamond pasted strop was not a good choice at that point in the honing. I would recommend using the scope to check the edge. Then drop back to 8k for ~ten passes and further down as necessary, judged by the LRT. At 8k I have to use a scope to see a bad micro bevel.

Jonathan

I think you may be right about the bevel. I have also read the thread you linked to in your post and it has also helped me in realizing how to do the LRT properly. I will endeavour to get the bevel correctly set before moving on to anything else. Thank you for your advice!