Thread: What are you working on?

So I took that arkie out for a test drive and also decided to try a micro bevel after reading post about it a little earlier. May not have been the wisest thing to throw two variables into the mix but what resulted was a very noteworthy shave. I ran about a hundred laps on the ark with two layers of tape. I normally only use one so it wasn't a great deal of difference in the angle. I'll have to experiment more with the micro bevel later on but I was pleased with the performance of that stone. I could play around more with burnishing or lapping but I can't really do the other side because it's glued to a block of wood from the factory... Unless I wanted to crack it off and do something different with it which I really don't.

Good to hear you're getting results off that Arkie, Paul-I occasionally try a micro-bevel at the finish if an edge is missing a certain something on the first try, and a burnished Ark is darn near a perfect surface to do that on IMO. But yeah, definitely don't try to bust up a mounted stone. Just get another one! :

In other news, I finished that WH Oates "The Celebrated King William Razor" in black horn with brass hardware (God help me, I keep thinking of Hall and Oates, so I pulled 'em up on YouTube haha!).

Another tough day in the Aldwyn household... Up today were two kamisori: A Tosuke and a Henkotsu.

The Henkotsu went beautifully over the Chosera 1K, and a Shobu with nagura progression. It was shaving hair off my arm after the 1K with great prejudice.




The Tosuke, on the other hand... I knew she was going to be an issue, as when I bought it, the seller mentioned it had pitting at the edge and would take some work to get her back into shape (though since he said he had been shaving with it, I thought... why not try?). I took a chance... again... and lost.

I tried on the 1K, and that was slow going. And once one microchip would go away, another would pop up. Further, I could see the tell tail dark spots all along the bevel. I prayed to the gods of steel that they might not be so deep... and so, I kept at it, hoping that I would find some decent steel.

The grind didnt have a lot of meat left in her to begin with, so going back and forth between the 1K and a Atoma 400, I watched little by little as I wasnt getting good steel AND the grind was quickly vanishing.

When I got down to this, I gave up - threw in the towel - retreated... Knowing I at least got one good blade out of the two blade deal.

If ever there was a poster on why you should use tape.....

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

If ever there was a poster on why you should use tape.....

LOL! As someone who always used tape up until recently, I can say with confidence that tape wouldnt have helped this one!

And honestly... didnt even think about using tape on a kami. I am new to kamisori (and in fact, have only tried one kami before these, and it too had too much pitting all over the edge), so I could learn a thing or two. Do you usually use tape when doing a kamisori? Is that common practice? I dont think I have seen that in any of the how-to videos.

Originally Posted by Aldwyn

LOL! As someone who always used tape up until recently, I can say with confidence that tape wouldnt have helped this one!

And honestly... didnt even think about using tape on a kami. I am new to kamisori (and in fact, have only tried one kami before these, and it too had too much pitting all over the edge), so I could learn a thing or two. Do you usually use tape when doing a kamisori? Is that common practice? I dont think I have seen that in any of the how-to videos.

Maybe this video will help a bit---

Originally Posted by Aldwyn

LOL! As someone who always used tape up until recently, I can say with confidence that tape wouldnt have helped this one!

And honestly... didnt even think about using tape on a kami. I am new to kamisori (and in fact, have only tried one kami before these, and it too had too much pitting all over the edge), so I could learn a thing or two. Do you usually use tape when doing a kamisori? Is that common practice? I dont think I have seen that in any of the how-to videos.

I wasn't implying that it would have saved the edge, but if the original owner used tape it wouldn't have got to that stage
Yes tape a kami, by design the omote, non stamped side, is of a softer steel and since you do most of the honing on the omote it will wear pretty quick.

Thanks, gents!

Ironically, I had watched Glen's other 2 part kamisori honing guide, and didnt see that he was indeed using tape in those videos as well! Duh.

And agreed, Mark... here is what it looked like before I started! (not my pic, but from the original sale listing)

Here's a few projects for today.

The top razor is a T. Scargill (TS Cargill?). It doesn't need much done. No active rust, mostly just a normal patina.

The Reynolds below it has just a few places with active rust.

The scales on both are in good shape.

With that in mind, do any of you leave the scales on and do just a bit light buffing/sanding? For the Reynolds I was thinking of using a single edge blade to get at the rust and then sand a bit from there.

Originally Posted by sonnythehooligan

With that in mind, do any of you leave the scales on and do just a bit light buffing/sanding? For the Reynolds I was thinking of using a single edge blade to get at the rust and then sand a bit from there.

I've done a couple with the scales still on. My go to starting point lately has been scraping with an SE blade, 3M marine metal polish with a rag or steel wool, and give the scales a good scrubbing with hot soapy water and and old toothbrush. Dental floss works pretty well to get the pivot area cleaned.