I'm pretty proud of myself, I've been straight razor wet shaving for a few weeks and really am interested in honing and maintaining my razor. So I decided to buy a $15 Gold Dollar and see if I could get it shavable with a low cost setup.
So here were the hone supplies I ordered:
1) $16 dollar bevel setter - King 1000
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OT1ZOC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
As you will read below I could have simply used by 30u lapping film to do it but I wanted to see what a stone would feel like. I figured for 16 bucks it was a cheap experiment.
I soaked the stone for a few hours in a bucket and then I lapped the stone on 240 wet dry 3M sand paper on top of my 6'' by 8'' Grizzly flat stone. Took very little work to get it totally flat.
2) $30 Grizzly Stone. Supposedly it is manufactured to a very tight tolerance to be perfectly flat. (Seemed flat to me!)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DD0KC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3) $25 Amazon lapping paper (8.5 x 11 3M). Had various grit sizes but I only used the 1200, 4500, 8000, and 14000 grit equivalents.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074DK653S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
4) $11 jewelers loupe
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KIDM6S2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Step 1: Lapp King 1000
Step 2: I modified the geometry of the GD 208 to have a more rounded heal and toe. I mostly did this to reduce the shoulder to make it easier to hone. Yes I watched a bunch of youtube vids that explained how and why to do this.
I did this with a stone bit and my Dremel. It took me 15 to 30 minutes before I was satisfied with the modification.
Step 3: Set the bevel with the King 1000. It is a narrow stone so I used a combination of half strokes and x-strokes to get the full end to end of the blade set. I didn't use the burr method, instead I used my loupe and just keep checked the edge for evenness and consistency. I was going to use the Slash McCoy burr method but changed my mind at the last minutes and did just a traditional 40, 30, 20, 10, 5 half strokes and then x-strokes. I did this pyramid maybe 3x before I was convinced that the bevel was set up and down the edge.
Then I used light pressure x-strokes and finished up. I was able to shave my arm after this step.
Step 4: Got the Grizzly back out and wet it down and placed my first film on it. Started with the 1200 grit version and did a few pyramids with half strokes and followed by x-strokes. Kept checking with my loupe to see if I could see that the 1000 grit scratches were being replaced.
Step 5: Same as step 4 except with 4500 grit lapping film.
Step 6: Same as step 5 except with 8000 grit lapping film.
Step 7: Same as step 6 except with 14000 grit lapping film. On this step I was using only the weight of the blade, no pressure. Lots of x-strokes.
Step 8: Added the Slash McCoy paper method under the 14000 grit lapping film. Did about 50 laps.
Step 9: Used a balsa strop with .5 paste on it for 10 laps.
Step 10: To the leather strop! 100 or so laps.
Step 11: HHT Test. I was able to get HHT4 along the blade with the exception of very very close to the heel / shoulder part. I was a bit concerned but decided to go ahead with a shave.
So I did a head shave and a two pass face shave. YAAAAAAY! I was able to get a great shave, as good (or maybe better) than my Ralf Aust. I mean it was smooth and close!
Anyway I wanted to share my first honing with you guys and express my gratitude to everyone here for their wisdom that they have given over the years. I have ready through 100's of posts dating back to 2008!
I have included some pictures of my frugal honing setup. I can't wait to go further and get better!
So here were the hone supplies I ordered:
1) $16 dollar bevel setter - King 1000
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OT1ZOC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
As you will read below I could have simply used by 30u lapping film to do it but I wanted to see what a stone would feel like. I figured for 16 bucks it was a cheap experiment.
I soaked the stone for a few hours in a bucket and then I lapped the stone on 240 wet dry 3M sand paper on top of my 6'' by 8'' Grizzly flat stone. Took very little work to get it totally flat.
2) $30 Grizzly Stone. Supposedly it is manufactured to a very tight tolerance to be perfectly flat. (Seemed flat to me!)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DD0KC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3) $25 Amazon lapping paper (8.5 x 11 3M). Had various grit sizes but I only used the 1200, 4500, 8000, and 14000 grit equivalents.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074DK653S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
4) $11 jewelers loupe
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KIDM6S2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Step 1: Lapp King 1000
Step 2: I modified the geometry of the GD 208 to have a more rounded heal and toe. I mostly did this to reduce the shoulder to make it easier to hone. Yes I watched a bunch of youtube vids that explained how and why to do this.
I did this with a stone bit and my Dremel. It took me 15 to 30 minutes before I was satisfied with the modification.
Step 3: Set the bevel with the King 1000. It is a narrow stone so I used a combination of half strokes and x-strokes to get the full end to end of the blade set. I didn't use the burr method, instead I used my loupe and just keep checked the edge for evenness and consistency. I was going to use the Slash McCoy burr method but changed my mind at the last minutes and did just a traditional 40, 30, 20, 10, 5 half strokes and then x-strokes. I did this pyramid maybe 3x before I was convinced that the bevel was set up and down the edge.
Then I used light pressure x-strokes and finished up. I was able to shave my arm after this step.
Step 4: Got the Grizzly back out and wet it down and placed my first film on it. Started with the 1200 grit version and did a few pyramids with half strokes and followed by x-strokes. Kept checking with my loupe to see if I could see that the 1000 grit scratches were being replaced.
Step 5: Same as step 4 except with 4500 grit lapping film.
Step 6: Same as step 5 except with 8000 grit lapping film.
Step 7: Same as step 6 except with 14000 grit lapping film. On this step I was using only the weight of the blade, no pressure. Lots of x-strokes.
Step 8: Added the Slash McCoy paper method under the 14000 grit lapping film. Did about 50 laps.
Step 9: Used a balsa strop with .5 paste on it for 10 laps.
Step 10: To the leather strop! 100 or so laps.
Step 11: HHT Test. I was able to get HHT4 along the blade with the exception of very very close to the heel / shoulder part. I was a bit concerned but decided to go ahead with a shave.
So I did a head shave and a two pass face shave. YAAAAAAY! I was able to get a great shave, as good (or maybe better) than my Ralf Aust. I mean it was smooth and close!
Anyway I wanted to share my first honing with you guys and express my gratitude to everyone here for their wisdom that they have given over the years. I have ready through 100's of posts dating back to 2008!
I have included some pictures of my frugal honing setup. I can't wait to go further and get better!
