First honing attempt

[Wid]

It will also show if the bevel is indeed set or not. I still use the arm hair test as a final evaluation for the bevel. Even if your stroke is good if the razor has any defects in the blade, warped, uneven wear the marker will not come off at an even pace.

At least this has been my experience.

 

[danjared]

It will also show if the bevel is indeed set or not. I still use the arm hair test as a final evaluation for the bevel. Even if your stroke is good if the razor has any defects in the blade, warped, uneven wear the marker will not come off at an even pace.

At least this has been my experience.

It will tell you if most of the bevel is flat. Unless you have amazing vision, it won't really tell you much more than that (since the edge is what matters, not the bevel faces). The standard tests for edge probing are much more reliable at indicating whether the bevel is set.

You are correct that it will help you tell if the blade is warped. I typically don't encounter this problem since I use narrow stones (40-50mm) the vast majority of the time, so I don't use the marker test that much. If you have wider hones--like most synthetics (unless they are cut) with the notable exception of the (very nice) 50mm wide Spyderco bench hones--warped blades prove to be more problematic.

 

[Zephyr]

Another try, went back to the hones and did 50/3K - 70/8K - 30/12K

Test shaved today and had a great shave, will not claim that it is on par with a professionally honed blade, but it gave me a smooth, close, burn and nick free DFS shave.

This weekend I will try next blade, a 5/8 ERN 61, and see if I can repeat the first sucess, or if it was just beginners luck

 

[Wid]

Congrats, sounds like a success.

 

[Pete_T]

I dont think you'll have many problems. You seem to understand that getting the sharpest bevel possible is the most important part of honing a straight. I wish that people were emphasizing that when I started out honing...

Also, don't be afraid of using light circles and short fast back and forth chopping strokes when you first move up to the next stone, they cut a bit faster, I think. I use the long laps as the final step on each stone to even out the edge.

 

[johnmrson]

Another try, went back to the hones and did 50/3K - 70/8K - 30/12K

Test shaved today and had a great shave, will not claim that it is on par with a professionally honed blade, but it gave me a smooth, close, burn and nick free DFS shave.

This weekend I will try next blade, a 5/8 ERN 61, and see if I can repeat the first sucess, or if it was just beginners luck

Well done. It really is trial and error to see what works for you and the type of hones you've got but the wealth of knowledge here is well worth tapping into to get some handy tips. If you're starting off with a totally blunt razor, you might find that you need to do more than 50 laps of the 3k because it will be quite slow as a bevel setter. It sounds like you're making great progress though.

 

[Zephyr]

Well done. It really is trial and error to see what works for you and the type of hones you've got but the wealth of knowledge here is well worth tapping into to get some handy tips. If you're starting off with a totally blunt razor, you might find that you need to do more than 50 laps of the 3k because it will be quite slow as a bevel setter. It sounds like you're making great progress though.

Thanks!

I got a 1K for bevel setting, I'm planning to get a DMT aswell since I got some "ebay specials" coming my way, but that have to wait til next payday.

I just follwed your advice and went back to the 3K to get a better edge on the blade I honed earlier this week, it made a great difference after going back and doing some more laps on each hone.

I had a very proud moment today, getting a great shave with a self-honed straight

 

[johnmrson]

Thanks!

I had a very proud moment today, getting a great shave with a self-honed straight

It is indeed a great feeling to shave with a self honed razor.

 

[Zephyr]

What am I doing wrong ???

I noticed something when honing the second razor yesterday, after about 10-15 strokes the stone starts to get cluttered with what I think is steel from the blade, especially on the outer side by the shoulder, the blade starts to tug, and I have to stop and clean the stone before I continue.

I can't imagine this to be normal?

Am I using to much pressure? I try not to, but I'm new and still practicing.

I noticed this on the first one aswell, but I thought it came of that the blade had a quite uneaven hone wear, so I had to compensate a little for this while honing.

I also noticed something else, after setting the bevel I took a look at the edge in my lupe at 100X, and the edge was straight and smooth, but when I looked at it again, after finishing 3K and 8K I saw a couple small chips in the edge.
Could this be a result of the clugging on the stones?
Or is it that I have nearly overhoned it on the 1K, and when moving on to the higher grids it causes the chips?

 

[Munxcub]

Could be too much pressure, I would imagine that would create deeper scratches, which could result in the micro chips. I don't know what the clogging would do, aside from slow the stone down.

 

[Wid]

I haven't experienced any micro chipping but I do feel the Naniwa 12K does swarf up fairly quick. It also has a sticky quality to it's feel compared the the Norton stones and the China stone I had.