Back from the dead, The return of the Naniwa 12k

[Jakebullet]

Shaved with the jnat edge this morning but was very underwhelmed with the edge I’d done.
It was ok and shaved well enough but no better today than my coti or Naniwa edges.
This is unusual as the jnat usually produces killer soft and smooth edges on any razor I hone with it.
I’m going to try honing it again tonight and shave with it tomorrow.
As I’ve been experimenting with edges on this one razor, I’m going to continue and try it on the other abrasives I’ve got.
So that’s lapping films tomorrow, and a couple of slates Thursday then pasted balsa at the weekend.

 

[Jakebullet]

Re honed the Shuredge on the jnat.
This time I made a thinner slurry and really concentrated on where the edge contacted the stone. Plus I only diluted once and only then because the stone was drying out a little.
My last few passes were as light as I could manage.
The HHT was very much improved over the last try. I was very hopeful for the shave test.
I lathered up with Truefitt & Hill 1805 soap and got going.
The shave was fine but again, not brilliant. Something seemed amiss.
I wondered if it needed a deeper refresh.
It still felt a little tuggy on the throat but slightly nicer on my top lip.
I looked at the edge under a loupe and the explanation was plain to see.
The edge was mostly tidy but there were 2 or three areas with several tiny chips and two slightly bigger chips which could’ve been pits it was brad to tell. The edge looked a little beat up on some areas and clean and fine in others.
I wondered if I did this during the initial 100 laps i gave it on the Naniwa at the start of the thread. 100 is a lot for the Naniwa, in the past I’ve always done between 10-25 ish. Or maybe I’d left it a little damp one shave who knows.
Either way it would need cleaning up
I’ve got lapping films but I’ve also got a 6k stone.
So my idea was to see if I could fix the little chips and generally tidy up the edge on that.
Then I’d make a slurry on a piece of Welsh slate and see if I could remove the 6k scratches on that like I’d previously done with a jnat on another razor.
Then I’d finish on the slate under plain running water.
This was going to need a glass of whisky.
Keeping the loupe (and the scotch) handy I took the razor to the 6k stone.

Using half strokes then x strokes I spent 5-10 mins cleaning up the edge.
I checked the edge through the loup.
The two worst chips I think are pits and I’ll need to go coarser to completely remove them. But that’s a job for another day. The rest of the edge looked tidier and the 6k stria went all the way to the bevels edge so I lightened right up then stopped.
Next I brought out my big chunk of Welsh slate, it goes a great black colour when it’s wet.

I raised a good amount of slurry with a slurry stone and worked until I noticed a definite change in the smoothness of the steel on the stone.

At this point I again checked the loupe and it seemed as though I’d removed all the 6k stria and had made a nice frosty new scratch pattern all the way to the edge.
Now I rinsed the stone and honed under running water only. It only took maybe 10-15 laps before the razor gripped the stone and wouldn’t move another millimetre in either direction. This stone I’ve noticed, when it grips, it grips tighter than any of my other abrasives. You know it’s done because the razor won’t move any more.
Anyway all this passed a very pleasant half hour or so and I’m now really looking forward to comparing this edge with todays.

 

[Jakebullet]

Pleased to report that the deeper refresh seems to have done the trick, it was a lot better today.
I have a smaller piece of different Welsh slate so I thought I’d give the razor a go on that and see how it compares to today.

This stone completely surprised me today.
With the edge mostly repaired my plan was to hone under running water until the blade stuck just like every other time I’ve used it.
It usually takes 50.- 100 laps then sticks fast. Job done.
Today, I got to 50 laps, no sign of slowing down.
100 laps, no sign of sticking.
I kept going.
200 laps no sticking at all.
300 laps and still no signs of sticking.
This stone has never acted like this before.
400 laps, 500 laps, each lap feeling identical to the last.
At 600 laps and still not a bit of magnetism I stopped puzzled and took it to the linen and leather strop.
I looked at the edge which looked extremely bright to the naked eye then found a hair from my girlfriend.
Her hair is very fine and wavy so it’s hard to get a consistent HHT even on a pasted balsa edge but the instant the edge touched it it sliced it almost silently in two.
Surprised, I tried it again and instantly and almost silently it parted the hair, almost like a DE blade does.
All along the edge was the same story.
I’m a bit mystified.
Why did the stone suddenly behave differently today?
I’ve never done more than 100 laps under trickling water with any razor on this stone without it sticking fast and yet today 600 and counting.
Now I’m really interested to see how this shaves in the morning.
As far as I know I didn’t get cooking oil or anything on the stone. I just rinsed it and honed like always.

 

[Jakebullet]

Wow I really nailed this edge on the slate.
It’s was super smooth and easy everywhere.
It felt like a pasted balsa edge only smoother.
No tugging anywhere and I heard myself say ‘wow’ on several occasions throughout the shave.
And what a shave!
Complete bbs but also that hole in one type post shave feel.
I’d say this is the best edge I’ve ever done on any abrasive.
I’ve been doing a different edge each day through my different abrasives but I’m going to have a little rest at this particular honing ‘park bench’ and enjoy using this for a few days.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

So, 600 laps sounds excessive, but maybe not if you have not fully set the bevel and are doing so on the finish stone, you have edge damage from slurry impact, or the razor steel has issues.

The easiest way to catch problems early I have found, is to just look straight down on the edge with magnification at each stage. A quick look can take a lot of the mystery out of your honing.

Wringing, honing until the razor sticks to the stone is an indicator that the bevel is flat, it tells you nothing about the edge.

Jointing also helps, straighten the edge, then hone the bevels to the already straight edge. Once the bevels are flat and to the correct angle a few laps, 10-20 will bring the bevels meeting again.

Then it is a matter of finding out why the edge is chipping. The first place to look is at is your strop. If the strop is dirty or has one piece of grit it can scratch the bevel and chip the edge. But I suspect the bevels were not fully set, which is why none of the other finishers were able to produce a proper shaving edge.

 

[Jakebullet]

So, 600 laps sounds excessive, but maybe not if you have not fully set the bevel and are doing so on the finish stone, you have edge damage from slurry impact, or the razor steel has issues.

The easiest way to catch problems early I have found, is to just look straight down on the edge with magnification at each stage. A quick look can take a lot of the mystery out of your honing.

Wringing, honing until the razor sticks to the stone is an indicator that the bevel is flat, it tells you nothing about the edge.

Jointing also helps, straighten the edge, then hone the bevels to the already straight edge. Once the bevels are flat and to the correct angle a few laps, 10-20 will bring the bevels meeting again.

Then it is a matter of finding out why the edge is chipping. The first place to look is at is your strop. If the strop is dirty or has one piece of grit it can scratch the bevel and chip the edge. But I suspect the bevels were not fully set, which is why none of the other finishers were able to produce a proper shaving edge.

Thanks for the tips and advice
I’ve been shaving with that razor for a couple of years so I’m leaning towards the bevel probably being set ok as my issues with it have been very recent. But yes a bit of edge damage from somewhere. Maybe I didn’t dry/clean it so well after a shave. Happily it shaved great today but it may be worth taking a look at my other bevels.

 

[SilverGeezer]

As I continue my honing adventure, I keep finding things that don't work the way I thought they worked.

 

[Jakebullet]

My Bengal near wedge shaved a little rough yesterday and this morning I wasn’t feeling in the mood to work with lapping and slurry and stones etc so I grabbed my broken Naniwa 12k.

25 quick laps under the tap then a strop and I was done.
Whole thing took 5 mins and that convenience is one of the nice things about the Naniwa.
The shave was very good, no complaints, just not spectacular.
Not quite as soft or close on the tough areas as my stone edges. This could just be due to my lack of time on it but hey less than 5 mins for a touch up and stropping who’s complaining?

 

[Gamma]

I've been meaning to cut my Nani 12k down actually. I only do a few very short passes on stones in this realm anyway, it's easier to control pressure over a shorter pass. Maybe I'll get that done this Spring.... we'll see. I have never seen 12k slurry do anything other than set a near-finished razor's edge back though, so the idea of using bits as a slurry stone falls short in my progression. Water only for me, 4-5 short passes, done.

 

[bluesman 7]

I've been meaning to cut my Nani 12k down actually.

I've had this thought too, though without a use for the remaining stone it seems kind of silly to cut it.

Wasn't there someone quartering these and selling them for a while?

 

[Gamma]

Jende was cutting them into strips for one of those sharpening machines, Whipped Dog Larry may also have cut a few down for economical resale options. Not sure about that but it seems plausible. He was cutting down Chugs for a while..
My Nani 12k gave me fits when trying to flatten it, just would not stay flat, which is why I think the guy I got it from sold it for low $$. Cutting it down would, possibly, eliminate the possibility of that issue returning; or, at least, minimize the amount of work it takes to get it back to flat. It took FOREVER to get it flat, if I had to redo that work I'd prob just throw it out.