Thread: My Great-Grandpappy's Razor!

Ken

I am setting a bevel on a Morely as we speak here. You are correct when you say they are quite hard steel. This one has a slight warp in the blade and is taking more time than normal.

Jerry
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Originally Posted by mrsell63

Ken

I am setting a bevel on a Morely as we speak here. You are correct when you say they are quite hard steel. This one has a slight warp in the blade and is taking more time than normal.

Jerry
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Against my better judgement (and the longstanding advice of this forum) I tried honing it tonight. My reasons were as follows;
1: I haven't had a SR shave since Monday because I sent my 2 good razors off to be honed after nicking one against the faucet
2: I'm sitting in a hotel room all evening bored out of my mind
3: I'm stubborn & convinced I can excel at anything on the 2nd try (I'd only managed a very slight improvement over a factory DOVO edge in my 1 previous attempt)
4: I haven't had a SR shave since Monday (that's a strong enough reason to merit 2 entries)

In my defense, the blade didn't have a single problem aside from stains on the edge, even looking through a $5 Walmart magnifying glass. I started the pyramid shown in the SRP library on my Norton 4x8 at 15 strokes. It seemed like a good number to start with as far as arbitrary starting points are concerned. Then I decided WTH & did a sort of abbreviated pyramid with the 8k and a 12k water stone. It went something like 5/5, 4/5, 3/5, 2/5, 1/5. he result was no scratches I could see with the aforementioned super-high-grade $5 magnifying glass. Then came a strop & a moderately successful shave. WTG went fine, XTG was a bit rough on the chin but I'm not that great there yet anyway, ATG was out of the question anywhere but my cheeks. The last 1/2" of the razor is nowhere near shaveable because I don't know how to hone a smiling blade. I tried sweeping x-strokes on the hones at first, but I don't have the muscle memory yet to do those consistently. After the first time I rocked the spine I quit & went to the easier 45 deg x-stroke. That did moderately well on the heel, but the last 1/2" of the blade basically hasn't even touched a hone. Over time I think I'll be able to learn the right stroke to also hone the tip as well. Right now my main concern is to cause as little wear on this razor as possible, so I'll be practicing on an old Sheffield which has a much more pronounced smile. I did learn some things in the process like my 8k & 12k give a LOT more tactile feedback than the 4k. Either I'm doing something wrong or it's just a completely different animal than the 8k side.

Anyways, long story short, now that I've told the long story, I managed a good enough hone that I was willing to shave with it. I'm not as picky as I could be in that department! It was indeed a great feeling shaving with the same razor my great-grandfather used 90-100 years ago. Not the closest SR shave I've had but nearly so, and I also managed my finest, creamiest lather yet!

Ken

Please believe me when I say that you will triumph over this entire situation if you stay calm and let everything happen naturally. Success is predicated upon patience. This is true in any endeavor. There you were in a hotel room away from home which is not a good situation. When you get home, the situation will reverse itself and you will be in the driver's seat.

You have many brothers here to help you through your pain. Relax and let your brothers surface. One at a time they will guide you through this nonsense and you will see the light at the end of your tunnel. The best light is often after the dark storm.

Honing is quite simple if you put it into perspective. Set the bevel, polish the perfect bevel you have so artfully set. Strop on plain leather and shave test. If it doesn't shave to your satisfaction, re-hone starting with the 4k
or 8k and shave test again. Repeat until you have achieved success.

Success is predicated upon patience. Your brothers will always help you. Just ask.. NUFF SAID

JERRY
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Oh I wasn't discouraged at all! On the contrary I made good progress considering it's only my 2nd time trying to hone a razor & I learned quite a bit about my stones in the process.

Hotel rooms pretty much are home to me, I spend 8-9 months of the year traveling across the US. When I go home I usually have trouble sleeping the first couple of nights because of the difference in my bed & the average hotel matress.

The 4k will take some getting used to for me, I have a hard time feeling what I'm doing with it. It's like the blade is just sliding over it & nothing's happening, like when your car hydroplanes on a wet road. I did lap them all in case you were wondering. I don't have any coarser stones with me, but that's probably a good thing. I need to learn the feel on the 4k side of this 4x8 before trying a razor on anything faster/coarser. In the mean time, now that I'm satisfied I can properly hone the middle 70% of the edge I'll do some more reading up on how to hone a smiling tip & use my sheffield for practice. It's a lot more pronounced, so once I'm able to make it shave well I'll know I'm ready to go again on this razor & do it up properly.

EDit: typo

Ok, so my first job this week finished a little early & I'm home for the afternoon before leaving out again in the morning. As promised, here are the improved photos.

First photo is a better closeup of my great-grandfather's razor, second is another razor I'll be learning to hone the smiling toe & heel on.