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:
Thank you Tomo and Slash for your help once again, and thank you reader for making it this far. Would love some feedback!
CHeers,
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:
- The bottom part of the razor in contact with the hone is the one being worked on (duh!)
- The glossy side of the lapping paper is not the correct side to hone with
- Keep the spine in contact with the hone
- Less is more when it comes to pressure.
Thank you Tomo and Slash for your help once again, and thank you reader for making it this far. Would love some feedback!
CHeers,