Black ABS honing solution at The Superior Shave

[global_dev]

So i did something like this with 2 pieces of float during this pandemic.

And my next step was using the tools on a white hdpe? cutting board i have to make a more convenient solution for convex/concave maintenance.

I’m glad he is continuing to create.

 

[kohalajohn]

The info is now out on the web site. Slash was right. It's a big piece of dished nylon that you lay sandpaper on, and convex your stones. Or maintain their convexness.

It would good if you're into convex stones of the softer type, like naniwas. My only convex stone is a black ark, and it's so hard I'll be dead before it needs lapping.

Sure hope someone tries this out and lets us know.

TSS The Superior Shave Superior Beginner Level Honing Solution | 9x11x0.5″ | ONLY for Hollow Ground Razors! | ¡100% Made in USA! | Available for Pre-Order Only, 7-14 Days Production Time | The Superior Shave

 

[global_dev]

My only convex stone is a black ark, and it's so hard I'll be dead before it needs lapping.

i’m slightly behind the curve on this even though i feel like i did this experiment with a cnat yesterday. I definitely need a chalkboard model to help me understand.

Does your convex black ark cut enough to affect a straight prepped edge? I am assuming its a surgical black, but you know what assuming does.

 

[SliceOfLife]

 

[kohalajohn]

Global, yes my convex ark will hone an edge that was previously honed on a flat hone.

If you look through the honing forum you'll see a very long thread about those convex hones. Pretty well everything is discussed there.

The discussion can get too complicated. Both flat and convex work fine.

 

[global_dev]

Global, yes my convex ark will hone an edge that was previously honed on a flat hone.

If you look through the honing forum you'll see a very long thread about those convex hones. Pretty well everything is discussed there.

The discussion can get too complicated. Both flat and convex work fine.

this the one you referring to? just read through it Convex combo 8x3 Ark from Jarrod, arrived. - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/convex-combo-8x3-ark-from-jarrod-arrived.565311/page-34 i feel like i had already read some of it previously but some of the posts seemed new to me.

TLDR; all i can say after watching people "poorly" hone on flat hones is that the potential for evil exists there as much as it does on convex hones.

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as i mentioned elsewhere before (during the past 12 months, at some point I had a lot of free time. The idea pique'd my interest and i don't mind turning over new and old rocks. you guys have way more experience in the metals, engineering and sharpening game than i do.

i have convexed (with the glass tool that I made dobson-style) quite a lot of my hones - arks, cnat, zg, thuringians, cotis, jasper, choseras, - all 1 side flat, the other convex. I measured (and remeasured) and got pretty familiar with a manual spherometer. not sure i will do all my hones for various reasons. I convexed balsa and a small paddle strop, even if wasn't needed, but that seems to work too .

let me reiterate that i had a lot of free time over the last year. I can tell you I have had pleasant experiences with the entire process on reflection, all of the effort and resources was enjoyable learning for me in my "spare" spare time. I needed the mental and physical exercise, and since i probably needed/wanted some of the resources (glass, sic, arks) even without the convex thing, it was a no brainer. it was a cool project to research, explore, and implement (to my mind at least).

I previously had no experiences with novaculite stones (arkansas/washita), "free" SIC grits, float glass, dobson lenses, etc. I was very familiar with fundamental honing methods: angle prep through finishing though & i include some portions of "advanced" technique down as well, if we are talking narrow hones, warps, smiles, angles, etc. I appreciate a slight smile, so maybe thats my "problem", i almost never used 3" of hone width and mainly use a rolling X and have considered cutting down many of my older synthetics to my preferred sizes.

TSS has an interesting product, for sure, for ensuring consistency, repeatability, etc. The manual method i've seen described, and that i originally tried, is less attractive to me vs using a tool. I don't know how concaved a lapping glass can get when just flattening other stones, but if you are doing it quite a bit, perhaps it's close to the dish needed, i can say that when i wash my hand over the plates i'd made, i'd be suprised anyone had let a plate get that far out of true. I paid my local glass shop, bought some SIC, some more w/d and got to work.

i've been playing around with the hones for a minute and I can't see the downsides (yet) that have been warned about if you understand how to hone (& hone on a convex hone). I've watched the edges and looked for the potential flow of the grind, trying to contemplate the give and take, watching dishing on the softer hones and how often they need to be resurfaced. I can definitely feel the honing progression transitions very similar to the the same way i could feel it on a flat hone, so tells are still there.

I'm not wholly uninterested in the vigorous robustness of the pros/cons , but all i can say after watching people poorly hone on flat hones is that the potential for evil exists there as much as it does on convex hones, and i've seen some pure evil on some nice razors...

in the end is it worth it? that's personal, i've found some "life" and "enjoyment" in both razors and hones that i don't know was there before.. maybe it's me, maybe it's the geometry, maybe it's the steel. maybe it's just that i've been honing more, differently, or getting even more honing exposure. if i can eek out a bit more enjoyment from my day, even if somehow it's based on a small change to the process, i think it's worth a go.

 

[lightfoot]

If I may add a couple of thoughts I would appreciate it. First I would like to suggest that honing hollow ground razors on convex stones has just been the way it is for razor manufacturers primarily in Germany and France for a very long time. I’m sure many of you that have done a lot of research in this area are already aware of this. That being said I choose to look at using convex stones as simply a way to maintain the razor in a fashion that is consistent with the manufacturers intent. The bevel is set on horizontal grinding wheels prepared with a convex surface (slightly higher in the middle than the inner and outer edges). This is essentially a cylindrical shape as far as the razor is concerned. Then onto the bench stones prepared with a nominal radius along the length of 25’ and a radius across the width of 5’. It’s interesting because the bevel is formed on a more or less flat plain and refined on a 25’ radius with the added bonus of being able to isolate any part of the cutting edge due to the 5’ convex across the width of the mid grit and finishing stones.