Thread: Not quite shave ready but close. What's wrong?

Probably the best thing for almost any new SR user is to try and find a experienced user near you and get some hands on lessons (stropping, honing, shaving etc) you can do a advanced member search for location. Also including your location (at least state) would help.

Hands on local help was the best thing I did as a newbie

EDIT: I've taken a lot of flack for this post! I think I have stated in this post why I used 200 grit (reshaping/not honing or sharpening) then went through the grits to get back to ark black, but please see post #31 if it's not clear.

I checked with a straight edge and there were some areas that were questionable (talking thousandths of an inch) as far as being straight. There wasn't a frown and there was a slight smile. I honed it back to 200 on a diamond and made sure there was a little more of a smile. Then I brought it back up through to the black surgical oil and then onto the strop. It took a LONG time on the rough side of the leather strop to remove the oil stone marks. They're very shallow but they're there. I think I may need the .5 chromium oxide on fabric. Any tips on a good strop and paste?

If you are going from a 200 grit diamond hone to Ark Surgical Black, that's WAY to big of a jump, you'll need at least a 1000 and 6000+ hone before the Ark. You will want an almost mirror finish on the bevel or at least a very fine scratch pattern. You'll be on the Ark for literally days making that kind of a jump in grit from a 200

Why do you have "marks" from a finisher? A strop is the final burnish. There should be nothing required between the finisher and the strop...100 laps there or so should be more than adequate. Something is not right...I am thinking you do not have the appropriate tools to do the job and combined with a lack of experience with razors is going to make for a vertical learning curve.

Originally Posted by 777funk

So it sounds like the equipment may be the problem. I bought it assuming an old blade will cut as good as it's edge and I don't mind sharpening. I'm used to it from chisels and planes and have most of the equipment laying around. I didn't have a strop for shaving (had to buy one). But I figured since I have the tools, why not sharpen an old blade.

I posted the before picture of the blade above. Looks close now but with a mirror edge. I didn't change the geometry of the blade at all.

I am not a strop expert but I think I understand what's going on with strops. I have a smooth leather side that I think would give a good final edge. It's flat and has the edges rolled slightly. I smoothed it with 280 emery paper.

I have no idea if I need something between the surgical black oil stone and the leather strop. I see guys using the .5mic compounds. I have some 1u paste that's supposed to be very precise. I don't know what to put it on however. In any case, the edge looks scratch free and mirror like to the naked eye or under a magnifying glass.

Nothing looks wrong with the razor and should hone up fine. Honing a straight razor is possibly similar to sharpening chisels and planes but really is a different animal needing a different skill set. You do have the tools for sharpening chisels and hones which will not entirely do for honing a straight razor. So, yes there is an equipment problem but I think it is with your available sharpening tools not the razor.

A mirrored bevel is nice but if the sides don't meet as in the bevel is set it means little.

No strop expert either but can't say any strop I bought that was suitable for stropping a straight razor ever needed to be smoothed with emery paper.

Usually a 1K hone is good for setting a bevel on a blade with some chips. If the blade is decent and the chips are small enough a 3K hone should work as a bevel setter. Next I would go to an 8K hone and use a 12K hone as a finishing hone. Then a few laps on a Crox pasted balsa strop followed by normal stropping of 10 on canvas and 60 or so on leather. Then the shave test. Where you honing gear fits in the grit range I have no idea. Again if the sides of the bevel look scratch free and mirror like means little if the bevel sides don't meet at the edge all along the blade. I believe your bevel is not fully set in the first place.

I would tend to shelve the idea of how much you know about sharpening from doing chisels and planes for now. I would look at honing a straight razor as a brand new skill to learn and get the appropriate hones to get the job done properly instead of making do. Then do what the guides say to for honing and do it with the equipment recommended in them.

Bob

Originally Posted by rodb

If you are going from a 200 grit diamond hone to Ark Surgical Black, that's WAY to big of a jump, you'll need at least a 1000 and 6000+ hone before the Ark. You will want an almost mirror finish on the bevel or at least a very fine scratch pattern. You'll be on the Ark for literally days making that kind of a jump in grit from a 200

That would be a big jump, no I brought it back up through to the black (200, 300, 400, 600, soft ark, then black).

I used the 5/8" width of the blade and it's natural angle as the bevel set (no tape), flat to the stone, and used stroke patterns to encourage a slight smile shape.

Don't know how a soft ark fits in the equation but typically razors START at 1000 and most people use 3 or so steps from there to a finisher (your black arkie).

Originally Posted by Splashone

Don't know how a soft ark fits in the equation but typically razors START at 1000 and most people use 3 or so steps from there to a finisher (your black arkie).

That's good to know. Thanks! Seems like my soft ark is somewhere in the range of 1000 grit (and slow cutting at that) and the black is probably a little finer yet (maybe 3000 or 4000) I can still see scratches after the black arkie.

I also have used the "scary sharp" method (ultra fine wet/dry sandpaper taped to a glass flat granite tile) so I'd estimate the grits as fairly accurate in comparison to wet/dry paper.

If your black arkie only performs as a 3 or 4K you need at least an 8K for a finisher, 8 and 12K better!

Originally Posted by Splashone

If your black arkie only performs as a 3 or 4K you need at least an 8K for a finisher, 8 and 12K better!

Good to know! I've seen Norton ultra fine wet stones and was impressed. I know in Ark stones, there's also a translucent which is finer than the Black. I may consider that. But at $300 for a 5x10 stone, then again maybe not!

At day 2 and not quite getting sharp enough to cut clean without pulling it's a little discouraging. Wondering if it's worth the time. I like the idea. I suppose I need to give it a shot with an 8k edge.