First e-bay razor :)

Hey guys,

so i got my first e-bay razor today. It is a "The Artist" Levering Razor co. I know one of the other members on the forum got one of these back in 2010 and was having a tough time honing it. It was suggested that it was the nickel plated model which are supposedly a pain to hone. I think this one is the same model somehow. It just looks too shiny and has no rust except for strange black marks.

So anyway I polished it up with a cloth and some Autosol and gave it a going over with the felt pads on the dremel too and it turned out nice. There is still a few spots that wont come off so I might just leave it rather than expose the unpolished steel beneath.

I honed it on the Norton 4k/8k as it could barely cut arm hair when I got it. Didn't have much luck on the 4k/8k so I thought maybe it needs to have the bevel set so I done 2 sets of 40 circles like Lynn shows in his videos and that made it a bit better but not a lot so I went to the Norton 1k and done the circles on that and then moved onto a sort of pyramid on the 4k/8k and it was shaving arm hair pretty well!

After stropping on Dovo green and then on plain leather and it was shaving arm hair very well, even above the skin kind of. So I decided to test shave it and it actually turned out pretty well I think! I have only one straight razor to compare to which is a new Dovo En Vogue 105 which must not have been very sharp because I find this one to be better!

Alas I was not able to shave my whole face with it as when I got to some of the chin parts it was having difficulty. I am guessing that it simply is not sharp enough to get those spots without a lot of force which I really didn't fancy so I finished with the DE but overall I can say it was not a bad shave for amateur (first) honing I gave it!

If anyone wants to see the razor before its here: Vintage The Artist Straight Razor Levering Razor Co ... - eBay

And after is here(not great lighting here actually now that I look at the pics):Attachment 117754Attachment 117755Attachment 117756Attachment 117757

What do you guys think about the razor anyway? It was pretty cheap(9.99 USD). Maybe because he knew it was a nickel plated one? Or am I wrong

Daniel

Maybe I missed something, but why do you feel it is nickel-plated?

He mentioned that it was suggested that the other he had read about might be nickel plated. Mine which has a lot of hone ware has a definite difference in reflectivity. The bevels are a different color from the rest of the razor. I have no idea how to test for nickle platting, but if someone has a good test I would be willing to consider it. How would nickel respond to phosphoric acid.

Jonathan

Hey ace,

the reason i think it#s nickel plated is becase of this thread: http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...co-artist.html

It looks exactly the same and when you look at it up close it almost looks like there is metal wrapped around it so to speak. Like when you see plastic coated in shiny silver paint to look like metal - only it doesnt look THAT bad :) but a close inspection sure shows a difference to pure steel.

Many bevels on older razors will look different from the rest of the blade. Remember you are exposing NEW steel when you are honing and will look different from the rest of the razor. Even if the blade doesn't seem to have patina, the color could vary slightly. Also depending on the grit of your final polishing stone the mirror on the bevel could be of a higher level finish than that of the rest of the razor.

Nice save on that one, from what I can see it looks fine now. I bet it's gonna be a nice shaver once you get it properly honed.

Thanks:)Yeah it looks a bit better than id originally did anyway! I honed it again just now and seems quite sharp. One strange thing I noticed while honing actually is that it seemed to cut arm hair with far less effort off the norton 4k than the 8k!! Why would this be? Made no sense to me! Also here are some close ups for those that are interested, took them with a USB microscope:Attachment 117878Attachment 117879Attachment 117880Attachment 117881

Looks like there is some micro chipping on the edge, looking at the last pic unless its some super magnification.

Yeah the magnification is 500x so it probably looks worse than it is. Nevertheless it could do with some more honing if say. I am waiting on my belgian coticule which should be here soon so maybe that will give it a nicer edge. I'll post another pic when I give it a shot. What do you reckon from the magnified pics though? Does it look like normal steel? I kinda think it does but I'm no expert.

Looks like normal steel to me, you probably need to set the bevel you can do that on norton 4k, just dont leave the 4k until the razor shaves arm hair easily, then you can move on to 8k and so on. The reason im suggesting the 4k is because some razors dont respond well to norton 1k and cause micro-chipping.

Looks like you got it pretty sharp to me.

Over honing = MICRO CHIPPING?

Also a distinct possibility! I guess I am just getting to grips with honing and everything and probably being a little too enthusiastic. It looks so easy in the videos but when try to do it yourself you realize that there is definitely some skill involved :) I guess it will just take practice until I get it right.

I'm going to have to go with NOT nickle plated. Just needs work. And you did a nice job cleaning it up!

Yeah I am starting to wonder about the nickel plating myself now! Wish there was an easy and cheap way to test. I found some stuff online for like $20 to test for Nickel but I don't really fancy paying twice the price of the razor plus shipping just to find out what it it is :)

I would like to polish the remaining marks on it but am afraid to do it yet in case it is nickel so for now I will concentrate on just getting it sharp!

I just received a new Roo strop with wool felt from SRD today with some 0.5 diamond spray so will be looking forward to using that also :)

Last night I half submerged my Artist in a commercial Phosphoric acid solution. The patina that developed was even across the spine, bevels, and hollow.

I conclude that my Artist is not nickle plated.

Jonathan

Its pretty clear that there was pitting in the center of the blade. If you polished out the black and pitting, and did not see any evidence of layering, then it is not plated. Simple enough. =)

I polished out the black that was there mostly by using a cloth and some Autosol. However what remains could not be polished out by hand or dremel it seems. What can I use to get rid of it? It seems at a macroscopic level to look like residue from something which was stuck to it (think peeling off a really sticky sticker), but under the scope it seems to be microscopic holes. Can this be polished out with something like steel wool?

Haha, well done! So maybe I am not up to scratch on my chemistry but why do you conclude that it is not nickel plated just because of the even development of patina?

Nickel is much less reactive than carbon steel. Since the patina was uniform the material is likely uniform in composition. I am not a chemist or a metallurgist but this test is good enough for me.

Jonathan

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:Attachment 118315

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:deadhorse: and I was keen to try my new "roo" strop,:hmmm: 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:chop:

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!