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First lapping film attempt

Hey all! Reporting in after my first attempt. Found a few prospects at a local flea market and decided to start with this Bengall razor.

Bevel: I started attempting to set the bevel with a freshly lapped cheap 400 grit stone I had as I forgot to order 30m paper. I attempted the burr method but was not able to see any change in it after going at it for a while. @Tomo 's generous and patient troubleshooting helped me understand I was trying to generate a burr in the wrong side of the razor (expecting the burr to generate on top of the razor when in reality the surface being worked on is the one in contact with the hone). With his input I thought I'd try the market method instead, so I coloured the bevel and after a few alternated strokes after the marker was gone and I had a shiny new line. The razor seemed sharp when trying it with my finger but unfortunately could not even catch hairs, let alone ping or cut them. Acknowledging that without a good bevel it wouldnt be possible to get a fantastic edge, I chose to move up the progression to get some practice with the overall progression.

Lapping film progression: I set up a 12, 9, 5, 3, 1 lapping film progression on top of a heavy acrylic base, and made sure there were no bubbles or dirt underneath the film. (0,3m paper and two balsa strops with ChOx and IrOx left for later) Holding the hone in one hand and the razor with the other, I started alternating laps but quickly realised there was no friction at all. The lapping film was upside down (shiny slippery side on top!). I turned it around and thought I was not getting enough noise from them so I eventually started playing with different wrist angles, until I reached a point in which I felt I was hearing enough. Unfortunately by this time the spine had completely left the hone and I was kind of scrapping the razor against it, which very quickly made it dull. I started over and made sure to apply almost no pressure and just let it slide from side to side after rewatching @Slash McCoy 's videos another 3 times. After a while I was able to get the feel of the razor being worked on, and kept being as light of touch as possible. In more than one try of the blade with my thumb I felt the edge completely dull, so I went back one granularity and applied even less pressure.

Stropping: I took the razor all the way to 1m, stropped it with cloth and then in some leather just to give it a go. It effectively does not catch a single hair, although it feels sharp to the touch (from previously being dull) and a shiny new bevel line is sort of even throughout the entire blade.

Lessons learned:
  1. The bottom part of the razor in contact with the hone is the one being worked on (duh!)
  2. The glossy side of the lapping paper is not the correct side to hone with
  3. Keep the spine in contact with the hone
  4. Less is more when it comes to pressure.
Tomorrow I'll try resetting the bevel with a lighter touch, and may even try the burr method again. I may use a 100 sandpaper I got in the mail today instead of the stone, then do the whole progression and hope for a positive hht.

Thank you Tomo and Slash for your help once again, and thank you reader for making it this far. Would love some feedback!

CHeers,
 

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Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Not only can you not get a fantastic edge without the bevel being set, you can't get any useful edge at all without the bevel being set. Do not proceed until you have the bevel set and proven to be set. Otherwise you only waste time and film.

Yeah if you lifted the spine at any time while honing, you need to set the bevel again, even if you did a good job of it before. Try this.... lay the razor Show Side down, on the 12u film. Go about 50 laps with firm pressure, about the weight of your arm. Gently wipe the razor and feel for the burr on the back side. Some guys have difficulty feeling the burr. Feel both sides and compare. Also look carefully at the edge as you roll the razor in a very bright light, with a loupe or magnifying glass. You will see the burr as a very very thin line of reflection when the rest of the bevel is not reflecting due to the angle. This is why you roll the razor in the light. If no burr is felt or seen, go another 50 laps. Make sure you are not sending all the pressure to the spine. It does no good that way. You must remove steel proportionally from edge AND spine. Hone in hand, not on a bench. If you need to, go another 50, and another. Still no joy? Flip the razor and hone the back side. Same way.

If the razor was previously honed with tape, it may take a while to get your bevel set. As you hone, you will see fresh bevel start away from the edge and gradually spread out toward the edge.

Here is an incomplete bevel.
IncompleteBevel005.jpg


And another one:
IncompleteBevel007.jpg

As you can see, depending on the angle between the light, the bevel, and your eye, the fresh bevel can be either bright or dark, and the unset part will be the opposite. The burr will also contrast, at least at some angle of incidence.

IncompleteBevel006.jpg

Here is a bevel not fully set. You can see the fresh bevel surface and the undeveloped steel outward from it. But look closely. There is also a faint and fine line of reflection. That is a burr, raised by sufficient honing on the other side.

Burr003.jpg

And here is a very nice burr. This shot is taken from the heel end, the back side of the razor. You can see the pivot pin. See the thin bright line? Well, not so thin right at the heel where the burr is very heavy. The toe end of the blade is very much out of focus so you can't see that the burr is present along the entire edge. You will only see this if your razor is tilted exactly right to reflect your inspection light. Lower right is my forefinger. The fingerprint pattern indicates the closeness of the shot and the magnification.

I think probably you can do this on 12u film and can forget about your 400 grit stone for now. Also, it is easier on your readers if you insert pics as a full image rather than as a thumbnail.
 
Thank you so much for taking the time to provide such information Slash. It's very appreciated!! Today's session was also pretty funny. I mistakenly used a 100 grit sandpaper to try and set the bevel, which very quickly started eating away the spine! I asked for assistance and was reminded i shouldn't use 100. I did a progression up to 1200 and that's where I am at the moment. As of right now, the razor can in fact shave arm hair (With quite a bit of tugging though). I took these pictures and am trying to compare them with the ones you provided. I'll definitely need to mull over them!

Cheers,
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WIN_20200514_17_46_56_Pro.jpg
WIN_20200514_17_47_29_Pro.jpg
 
Edge in the first two pics looks like it was beaten up somehow. Maybe cheap stone or sandpaper? You want a better straighter edge at bevel set and need to keep working.

The last pic, could just be the pic, but doesn’t look like a flat bevel or that you even reached the edge yet. There is no apex/bevel at all if you haven’t reached the edge on both sides. Keep honing - looks like more work to do and your results of a not shaving edge proves it.
 
Thank you LJS! I'm still a bit uncertain on how to take pics of the blade as they shift considerably depending on the angle! I've got more work lined up for this and will hopefully compare with today's pics. Thank you for your feedback!
 
Get yourself over to the honing compendium thread. I managed to use 30, 9, 3, 1u film to take a razor that I had duffed up to shave ready. @Slash McCoy is a top bloke who will help anyone out who asks! Keep at it... 'The Method' is a great way to hone straights!
 
Thanks JT! Been giving it good reads, I'm just a bit lost when it comes to feeling something i've no idea how it feels :p I'm about to start a new sesh so we'll give the burr method another shot!
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Thanks JT! Been giving it good reads, I'm just a bit lost when it comes to feeling something i've no idea how it feels :p I'm about to start a new sesh so we'll give the burr method another shot!

Feel BOTH sides. You don't have to know what the burr feels like, to know that one side feels different from the other. One side will feel kinda scrapey and the other side smooth.
 
It's incredible how things change when you start doing them right :p Re read all of Slash's descriptions of the burr and realised *I was feeling it wrong*. The "Spine to edge as if driving a car off a cliff" analogy clicked and after about 70 laps on one side and 120 on the other, I managed to get it!

I assume it's normal for the burr on one side to trim down considerably after raising the burr on the other side, right? Of course I'll be doing some alternating strokes now to make sure it's all gone. Thanks for your support y'all!
 
Well, started from scratch, 600 sandpaper (30mic equivalent), generated a burr and then removed it with alternated strokes then took it through the full 12,9,5,3,.3 with wet paper towel underneath progression and stropped (still no balsa strops with pastes as Im still waiting for them). The razor can't do a hanging hair test but definitely shaves arm hair quite easily now! I'll call that an improvement over the past few results :D Thanks for your support and for following this painful thread!!!
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Okay you have raised a burr twice. No need to do that again, if your burr went from end to end on each side in turn.

Now, work on your honing stroke. Keep the shoulder off the hone. If the edge is straight, just hone. If it has a slight smile, you can rock the hone slightly. Either way do an x stroke. A couple dozen medium weight laps will take care of the burr. Gradually lighten pressure and do a bunch of laps with just the weight of tthe razor on 12u. Finally do about 2 dozen short x stroke laps, about 3" or so, and be careful to not slap the edge down on the film. LOOK at your bevel. Look really good, bright light, strong magnifying glass or loupe. If you don't see a good bevel all the way out to the edge, start over, but don't bother with a burr this time. Should shave arm hair.

Don't bother wearing out your 9u film until you have a 12u edge first. It does no good whatsoever.
 
Gents, thank you so much for your help so far. I am happy to report that I was able to get the closest shave I've ever achieved with this razor!!! Still waiting on abrasive pastes to arrive so I can push it even further but it's been an amazing week. I'm starting a new one today with all these lessons learned but at least I get to shave way more comfortably now!

Thanks!!!
 
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