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All the fuss about honing thick grinds. Well

Hello all,

I have honed about 50 razors now and am getting very familiar with my stones. Norton 220/1k, 4k/8k, Cotis, and thuris. I have honed wedges, nears, 1/4s, 1/2s, fulls, and extras. In all my reading and practice I have heard much ado about how much more work the heavy grinds are to hone. I know that these blades are tough because there is much material to be removed. Well...

Last night I set to work on a Torry extra hollow, I mean it had a sound on the stones like none other, it sounded like I was dragging foil across the stones. Long story short, This thing took at least 500 laps to get the bevel set. It was in seemingly good condition, no big problem areas, but just so flexy (for lack of a better term). I could not push the areas that needed that little extra. It could be that this was a shoulder-less blade that allowed for such greater flex, but the toe was just not getting set.

I had some low music playing while I honed a 1/2 W&B, but when I got to this razor I had to transition into silence and focus all of my senses on this foe. Touch, sight, sound, and taste (bourbon for steady hand), had to be tuned into this razor. As I ran the blade across the 1k Norton I could see the blade flex as the light on the belly of the blade bent. I quickly came to the conclusion that this was gonna take finesse and switched to the King 1k.

Knowing that the King is a bit slower but much smoother would pay dividends later on the 4k, I set to it. The heel set first and with every additional 50 laps, I got another 1/2 " of bevel set. 2 and 1/2 hours later the toe finally gave the TPT of stickiness that I like, and a uniform symmetrical bevel was set. Much to my relief, the 4 and 8k went quickly and smoothly. I finished this blade with 50 laps on a blue/green thuri and am looking forward to the shave test later this evening.

So, lesson learned, extra hollows while being very thin and very little material to remove can be just as tough as those thicker grinds.

I need a Chosera or 2. Thanks for reading!

Chris
 
Yes that is true, if its off its off. Even thought the thinner grinds require less metal removal, they can certainly take a long time. The king is a bit slow, but it works, a chosera at the end the end of the day may be good money spent IMO.
 
I find that harder steels take more time to hone than thicker grinds do. In other words, if the steel is hard then it's going to take a bit more time no matter what the grind is.

I recently honed a Joseph Elliot full wedge which is Sheffield steel on the softer side, and it honed up very quickly. Compare that to some of my Swedish steel full hollows, which take longer to hone...
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
I find that harder steels take more time to hone than thicker grinds do. In other words, if the steel is hard then it's going to take a bit more time no matter what the grind is.

I recently honed a Joseph Elliot full wedge which is Sheffield steel on the softer side, and it honed up very quickly. Compare that to some of my Swedish steel full hollows, which take longer to hone...

Same here. Normal steel = fast, hard steel = slow(er).

Cheers, Steve
 
I'll upload pics later when I get the chance!
 

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I got to shave with it a little while ago and have to say it turned out pretty nice. I think that a few laps on CrOx leather and another 60+ on clean leather would make it sweet!
 
Thank you all for the tips and insights! I used the leather w/ CrOx that Randydance graciously gave me at our honing meetup. And it smoothed it up nicely but still lacked the smoothness. I ran it 100 extra light laps on my vintage coti and stropped it 100 laps. Tada!!!


Having shave tested the razor twice today, I was able to ATG and catch every stray stubble on my neck, and with a smoothness that I have only produced a few times.


it inspired me to hone another blade tonight. This was an Erik Anton Berg almost NOS. I tried to hone this months ago but stopped due to its great condition and my being new and not wanting to noob up a nice blade as thus. But the pictures and story of this honing is for a new thread. I will say though that the inspiration from that tough Torry followed over to this hard Sweadish steel. As a final note I will say that it too took some time but turned out even better, I think, will be a couple days before a shave test is possible.
 
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