Chronicles of a terrible honer ;)

[combatcrab]

Hi all!

I’ve come to realize that I’ve hijacked an older thread about getting started with straight razor shaving. I’ve started this new thread to give the other a rest, and to keep all my posts about learning to hone in one spot.

I have a tenancy to be a little verbose. With that in mind I’m going to break my stream of consciousness into separate posts as much as I can, and where it is appropriate to do so.

The title of this thread is a bit tongue-in-cheek. I am terrible, but I’m learning and I realize that It will come with time and practice. I’m really very grateful for all the wisdom and helpful members in this community.

I hope some can get a laugh at the terrible mistakes I've made and other's can learn about what not to do.

 

[combatcrab]

I’d particularly like to thank @Slash McCoy for all his posts and advice throughout the board.
Most of the silly stuff I've done could have been avoided by paying closer attention to his posts.

For anyone new to straight razor honing (like me) I recommend seeking out any and everything that Slash has either written or linked to. You’ll find thousands of relevant posts and countless pages of content. You should read ALL OF IT. ...so should I.

Nothing posted in this thread (by me) should be taken as advice, or followed as example.

 

[combatcrab]

I think it’s helpful to explain my mindset and methodology going into this. I thought I was very good at sharpening things, and had some success at sharpening knives with the burr method.

I foolishly thought this would be easy. I would just buy a cheap razor and I'd have it figured out in a day. The resulting frustration has been difficult to get through.

I briefly thought about switching from stones to lapping film after reading about all those who have had success with it. I even tried to purchase some, and bought polishing paper by accident.

I still want to try lapping file, and other methods and finishing tools, but I have since decided to stop chasing different methods. I'm going to stick to the tools that I have until I have achieved the best results possible, which should be a shave-able razor, at a minimum.

 

[combatcrab]

Here’s what I’m working with: The only things not shown in the picture is a 12x12 granite tile from home depot, for lapping, and a DMT 1200 sharpening plate. They are the last additions I plan to purchase before achieving some sort of success.


*A Winco 12x3 course/fine water stone, actual grit unknown, I would say the “fine” is well below 600. It pretty quickly destroys 240 paper on the granite lapping tile. It’s unlikely that I’ll use this (again) on any razor,


* King 1k 6k water stone

* Kota 3k 8k water stone

* King 6k stone (hasn’t gotten any use due to the 1/6 I already have)

* Shaptron 12K stone

* 120/180 Diamond flattening stone (no use since adding the granite tile)

* 12x12 finished granite tile

* DMT 1200 Diamond Plate

* Leather/Fabric(?) strop from Straight Razor Designs

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[combatcrab]

The “progress” I’ve made has really just been a slow realization of what doesn’t work


In the beginning I set a bevel using the burr method on the King 1K, followed a quick progression on higher grits and gave myself a rather sub-par shave. I haven’t been able to improve upon this and I’ve removed A LOT of steel experimenting. Which is fine – I fully expect to throw this razor in the garbage.

I'm finding that the most sharp I ever get is at bevel-set. Everything beyond that is worse. I took a close-up of a sharp bevel that I took to 3K only to yield a dull blade.


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[combatcrab]

I’m pretty sure that I can set the bevel on the King and DMT 1K stones. I’ve done this at least a half-dozen times at this point. I’m able to confirm by shaving arm hair, but I’ve never passed a HHT or been able to tree-top.


My left arm doesn’t have much hair left from testing

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[combatcrab]

From the beginning I’ve had trouble with the razor shoulder interfering on the stone. At the very beginning I thought “I’ll just remove this stupid shoulder” and spent an angry 10-20min on the Winco. I knew this was a mistake while I was doing it…


Further down the road, I’m realizing that even when I think I’ve got a bevel edge, it’s not the full length of the razor. I’m still having issues at the heel and I think this is a result of thoroughly messing up the spine early on.



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[combatcrab]

I’ve gotten the best results so far setting a bevel along the full length of the blade. I went back to the Winco and ground until I could raise a burr from heel to toe and followed with hundreds of alternating laps on the DMT 1K. It shaves arm hair at every point along the blade.


But… This razor is shot. I didn’t expect to crack the blade, but I’m not entirely surprised given all I’ve put it though.


Here’s a side-by-side of an New razor and the one I’ve ground the crud out of.

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[combatcrab]

Even being careful to keep the shoulder off the stone, the heel of this NEW Gold Dollar doesn’t touch. The toe as the same issue. I suppose this is called a smile? I’m inclined to grind this on the 1K until it’s straight. I do have seven more on the way from China. ...but I think I’m done for today.

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[Dick peck]

The king 1k and 6k should work well enough to get you a sharp bevel. I have used mine for two years and it works fine. I continue with natural stones after the king. I have had a few razors beat me. As in I couldn't get a good shaving edge. I have had some only tree top well after stropping. Good luck

 

[combatcrab]

Oh, last thing for today (probably not). While looking for a cheap loupe on Amazon, I came across a cheap mini microscope with good reviews. "Perfect!" I thought. It's such a pain in the *** to use. I do not recommend.

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[combatcrab]

I believe that part of my issues with the shoulder riding on the hone, is that I thought this *circled area in photo" was part of the shaving edge and needed to be sharp. [emoji21]

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[Alum of Potash]

You definitely have done some heavy lifting there. There being many paths to Rome as the saying goes, I don't want to add too much to what you have been reading other than to suggest that you stay away from the DMT plates and grinders for now, as they are too fast-acting.

First razor I restored (a Solingen-made Omega full-hollow), in 2011, went really well. I used a traditional Suehiro 1k/6k combo synth (sort of like your King), followed by a coticule bout, and a suede paddle strop with the white Thiers-Issard sharpening paste crayon scribbled on it. My second and third restorations did not go so well, so I asked a local honemeister (I was in NE France a the time) to help me out of the jamb I was in, which he did, giving me a few face-to-face pointers along the way. Progression there was a Norton 1k/4k combo, followed by a coticule, and a linen strop with crox. Upon returning to the States, I found that I was still introducing wear far too quickly with my synthetic combo. In hindsight, I know now that it was because I was using too heavy a hand and didn't know what to look for or how to anticipate undue wear. The solution for me over the next 2-3 years was to switch to Arkansas stones which are both slow-acting and slow wearing (as compared to synths) and like a little bit of pressure in starting out. There I could see harmful wear as it was being introduced more slowly, and make the necessary changes to correct it. Perhaps you might give a 6" x 2" soft/hard black Arkansas combo a shot and see how it goes. As long as the soft side is kept lapped coarse and the black side is smoothed, it's really all you need in addition to, say, a red-pasted strop for icing on the cake.

In any case, I would recommend your using tape on the spine for starters, not necessarily to eliminate spine wear, but to allow you to concentrate on the bevel and edge. Personally, I do not use the burr method with hollow-ground razors. I use the thumbnail test to gauge when the edge has been formed. When the edge is grabbing the thumbnail at the bevel-setting stage, it's time to move on. Half laps leading to X-passes, or just rolling Xs with warped blades.

My opinion, for what it's worth, based upon your experience as described. Lots of varying viewpoints on this of course. In the end, it's whatever works for you personally. Good luck.

 

[buca3152]

The advise is free but it ain't cheap! Meaning you have to put the time in. You will get out what you put in. Muscle memory is pretty much what it is. Keep plugging. You be fine. Not saying you.wont.have bad days. Everyone does.

 

[combatcrab]

You definitely have done some heavy lifting there. There being many paths to Rome as the saying goes, I don't want to add too much to what you have been reading other than to suggest that you stay away from the DMT plates and grinders for now, as they are too fast-acting.

First razor I restored (a Solingen-made Omega full-hollow), in 2011, went really well. I used a traditional Suehiro 1k/6k combo synth (sort of like your King), followed by a coticule bout, and a suede paddle strop with the white Thiers-Issard sharpening paste crayon scribbled on it. My second and third restorations did not go so well, so I asked a local honemeister (I was in NE France a the time) to help me out of the jamb I was in, which he did, giving me a few face-to-face pointers along the way. Progression there was a Norton 1k/4k combo, followed by a coticule, and a linen strop with crox. Upon returning to the States, I found that I was still introducing wear far too quickly with my synthetic combo. In hindsight, I know now that it was because I was using too heavy a hand and didn't know what to look for or how to anticipate undue wear. The solution for me over the next 2-3 years was to switch to Arkansas stones which are both slow-acting and slow wearing (as compared to synths) and like a little bit of pressure in starting out. There I could see harmful wear as it was being introduced more slowly, and make the necessary changes to correct it. Perhaps you might give a 6" x 2" soft/hard black Arkansas combo a shot and see how it goes. As long as the soft side is kept lapped coarse and the black side is smoothed, it's really all you need in addition to, say, a red-pasted strop for icing on the cake.

In any case, I would recommend your using tape on the spine for starters, not necessarily to eliminate spine wear, but to allow you to concentrate on the bevel and edge. Personally, I do not use the burr method with hollow-ground razors. I use the thumbnail test to gauge when the edge has been formed. When the edge is grabbing the thumbnail at the bevel-setting stage, it's time to move on. Half laps leading to X-passes, or just rolling Xs with warped blades.

My opinion, for what it's worth, based upon your experience as described. Lots of varying viewpoints on this of course. In the end, it's whatever works for you personally. Good luck.

Good stuff. Thank you!

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[combatcrab]

The advise is free but it ain't cheap! Meaning you have to put the time in. You will get out what you put in. Muscle memory is pretty much what it is. Keep plugging. You be fine. Not saying you.wont.have bad days. Everyone does.

Thanks!

Truthfully, even though it gets frustrating I'm still enjoying it.

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[buca3152]

I know! My guess is most guys give up. Keep on keeping on! Can someone give me an amen? Lol.

 

[bluesman 7]

Oh, last thing for today (probably not). While looking for a cheap loupe on Amazon, I came across a cheap mini microscope with good reviews. "Perfect!" I thought. It's such a pain in the *** to use. I do not recommend.

I feel the same way about that microscope. The only thing that I thought that it was good for was to see that I did want better magnification with a more user friendly tool.

 

[Alum of Potash]

I know! My guess is most guys give up. Keep on keeping on! Can someone give me an amen? Lol.

Amen. Practice, practice, practice--and persistence! If I had it all figured out, I'd probably stop doing it.

 

[bluesman 7]

Well, I give you an A for perseverance. You certainly put some wear on that first razor. Good attitude too, as to not caring if you sac a razor to learn, kind of a crash and burn mentality.

I'm with Alum on not using the burr method, though it is a sound methodology. I normally see tape as a concession unless I'm purposely using it to make the bevel angle more obtuse, but I do recommend that people new to razor honing use tape until they can hone without rapidly wearing through it.

It may be the picture, but did a frown form on that first razor? Major learning experience there if that razor is now frowning.