Thread: restoring my girlfriend's dad's straight razor

Originally Posted by greyrider1865

It appears to me that toe to heel is flat on the stone, but with my inexperience, it may not be. I don't have a pasted strop. When you say 45; or you going 45 degrees from the perpendicular after the bk and then to bevel setting afterwards?

No 45 degrees is the angle the blade lays on the stone and the spine ALWAYS lays flat when honing. Slide it down the stone heel first then come off the side of the stone with about an inch or two left until you get to the end of the stone. Then flip the razor heel first, 45 degrees on the stone and push it up the stone coming off the side with about an inch or two from the end. It;s kind of a slicing stroke towards the end. Helps get the tip of the razor sharpened.

You should lay the blade flat and see if the edge (bevel) lays flat. Obviously you need a flat surface to test it on. I only use medium pressure for setting the bevel bevel. I use both circles and X strokes to set it. Afterwards I use light to very light pressure. I really try to feel the blade more than count the stokes. Light pressure will get you a very sharp razor.

I finish on Naniwa 12K strop on linen about 10X then 100 on english leather. My progression is Naniwa 1K, 5K, 8K and 12K. I learned it here and it's super consistent. Start off using slurry then dilute to just water.

Search YouTube for gssixguns breadknifing. That and any of his videos will be a well of knowledge for you.

Here is a thread that shows exactly what the bevel does from Breadknifing at 90° down to the spine in increments

http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...l-setting.html

Here is a Vid done live at one of the Spokane meets shows much of what we are talking about

http://straightrazorpalace.com/get-t...tml#post664201

As with any sharpening, angle is critical. Do not be afraid to use rougher stones to begin with. Motion on the stone is important, but not so much when you are beginning with a razor that has seen better days. For now, rough stone, use the spine as your angle minder (taped or not), and get it back in shape. Then, begin final honing. Keep it simple.