Thread: What are you working on?

No Badgister, it's not just you. I too have been spending a lot of my spare time pulling unfinished projects out and trying to finish some up. Also, speaking of finishing, thanks to David (Twistedoak) I have a couple of new finishing stones to try out. I have not normally honed beyond 8k. Never seemed to improve.my edges much but I'm experimenting with the subtleties of each one.

So don't be a tease-what kind of stones?! IF they're naturals, welcome to the dark side.

edit: On 2nd thought, do I remember correctly that you already use Arkies for knives?

Yes , I have a few Arks that were my Dad's. He used them for knives. I haven't used them for razors either but do for knives. The stones David sent me are a small dark blue Thuringian and a long narrow coticule. Have played around with the thuri more. Haven't really worked with the coti much yet.

Paul-Have you used a very hard (surgical black, or translucent, for example), well-burnished Arkie for a razor? Your 1st seriously bangin' razor edge on a fine Arkie is a revelation, truly.

I'm trying to get Steve at Dan's to find me a really big (like aircraft carrier size!) primitive cut black or trans black for a good price-he's got a few he's looking at. Trying to be patient (which helps with the finer arkies), but their versatility can't be beat!

I wouldn't know one if it ran up and started humping my leg. I should know more about honing since my Dad owned a sharpening business but in fairness he didn't do much with razors. He mainly did saws and mower blades and other industrial stuff. Anyway I only have a few that I use for razors. I'm kind of a one trick pony with honing. I learned the 4k/8k pyramid progression and have gotten good enough results from it that I normally don't go to finishing stones. Perhaps I have not learned technique well enough (I doubt it's that I'm just that good with the pyramid) but in most cases it doesn't seem to improve it much. I do get good edges with it; ones I'm satisfied with and that last.

I got some silky smooth edges from my Norton 8 and to be honest, as much as I play around with getting a little more, I have to admit they shave a little better but not quite as long. I think once you get past a certain point you are trading sharpness for longevity. Unless you only used two razors for quite some time it would be really hard to Quantify that though.

Agreed Shaun. At least that seems to be my experience which is anecdotal at best but I think they don't seem to last quite as long. At least the ones I've used enough to make a comparison with. I've honestly thought about doing just what you mentioned to try to quantify how long an edge will last but they're just so many that I want to shave with that I can't seem to help myself.

"Boy that spine, heel and stabilizer needed a lot of work but after shape, sand, test bevel, repeat, shape, sand, test bevel, repeat... I got this from the edge."

If you move that heel corner further in, about a ¼ inch from the stabilizer it will make your life a lot easier and keep you from riding up on or grinding on the stabilizer. Your corner is right on the edge of the stabilizer, you will have to put the corner of the stabilizer on the edge of the stone to keep from riding up.

Also, if you move your tape about a1/4 inch forward it will keep you from compounding the angle should you ride on the stabilizer. Just start your tape ahead of the heel and run it up to the toe. If you start at the toe you are at the mercy of the length of the tape.

Moving the heel corner forward, also allows you to fully hone the corner of the heel, with a heel forward stroke and slightly lifting the toe, a 32nd to 1/16 of an inch. Do the same for the toe to fully hone the toe corner, lift the heel slightly, or add a finger of pressure.

Fully honed heels and toes are very useful when shaving.

Get a roll of eBay Kapton tape, it will make your tape last longer and ride smoother on the stones. You do not need to make the Kapton the same length as the Electrical tape, in fact if you make it shorter, about ¼ -1/2 in on each end, it is easier to replace without having to remove the electrical tape. It does the same for Electrical tape. When the tape ends in the corner it is difficult to get a corner to peel it off and is easy to cut yourself, especially with wet hands. A little bit of planning can make removing tape much safer.

A roll last a long time and it is cheap. If you like the feel of honing without tap, just Kapton is very similar, but you get the protection.

Just honing tonight. Using my Norton 1k to set the bevel on a few blades.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

I wouldn't know one if it ran up and started humping my leg. I should know more about honing since my Dad owned a sharpening business but in fairness he didn't do much with razors. He mainly did saws and mower blades and other industrial stuff. Anyway I only have a few that I use for razors. I'm kind of a one trick pony with honing. I learned the 4k/8k pyramid progression and have gotten good enough results from it that I normally don't go to finishing stones. Perhaps I have not learned technique well enough (I doubt it's that I'm just that good with the pyramid) but in most cases it doesn't seem to improve it much. I do get good edges with it; ones I'm satisfied with and that last.

“Beware the man with only one gun...”