Hello razor restorers,

I'm new to straight shaving and enjoying the experiance. As I knew would happen, my interest in the razors themselves is blooming. I'm using a restored 4/8, hollow ground, round nose Swedish razor and it's working well. I think I would have been happier starting with a wider blade and one with a little more heft. I just found a nice Wostenholm 5/8 near wedge in a thrift shop and am getting ready to try my first honing job.

I've read some tutorials and have confirmed through the WIKI that people have had success with the "scary sharp" system using PSA backed abrasive sheets on backing plates. I'm familiar with this system having used it extensively during restoration of vintage woodworking edge tools including chisels and Brittish infill planes. I use the abrasive sheets on a granite plate which is large enough to apply one 3" wide strip on each side of the plate which is pretty handy. It's a very stable platform and also a nice height to work with. I know a plane blade is very different from a razor. I'm looking forward to honing a tool that comes with a built in angle guide, (the spine), as setting and maintaining proper angles on other edge tools is probably the most difficult aspect of the sharpening process. I am not planning on setting a secondary micro bevel, which I would commonly do on a plane or chisel.

I have abrasive sheets from 40 microns down to .3 microns. I believe that I will be mostly using grits in the range of 15, 5, and 1. I think that these numbers translate roughly to 1,000, 3,000 and 15,000, (but don't quote me). I know that I have to guard against being heavy handed and that I should take things slowly with a razor. I would welcome advice from anyone who can help me make the transition from sharpening heavier edge tools to the more fine and delicate nature of a straight razor.

Regards,
Bruce