First time honing

[RobbyRobinson]

So i bought my first set of hones and have been working with them. I killed the edge on a gold dollar I have to see if I could bring it back up. I failed horrible and cannot figure out what I am doing wrong.

I tried setting bevel and cannot seem to get it set. It wont pass the HHT test not matter how much I try. I've changed my pressure from a lot to a little and nothing seems to work. Any thoughts?

 

[Volare]

Welcome Robby.

Sorry to hear about your razor (At least it wasn't the most expensive straight). I'm sure you're just getting closer to nailing it.

I have limited knowledge regarding straights and know nothing about honing, but there are many other helpful members who I am sure can shed more light. I'd recommend posting this question in the "Straight Razors/Honing" section - which can be found here

 

[bluesman 7]

Hi Robby, welcome.

First, congrats on starting your venture in honing, it can be very satisfying. You did not mention which hones you are using. You will get a lot more advice and response if you post here; Hones/Honing

 

[Joshua223]

Also, how exactly did you kill the edge?

 

[BigJ]

Welcome aboard!

 

[RobbyRobinson]

Welcome aboard!

Thank you and I kill the edge on the side of the stone. Lightly dragged it across the side

 

[Slash McCoy]

There is absolutely no reason to "kill" the edge. It serves zero purpose. Just hone. Don't "unhone".

What model GD?

Pics would help.

The classic series Gold Dollars, i.e. #66 through #800, can be pretty wonky. They are ground by folks who have never even shaved with a straight razor. Who have never shaved at all, in many cases, I am sure. They are paid per razor, I imagine, not by the hour. You are gonna get MOSTLY pretty badly ground razors. The steel is perfectly okay, but you have to walk the extra mile in honing.

I will assume you have a Gold Dollar #66. Disregard if you have a "W" razor or a 1996. Get a piece of acrylic at least 3.4" thick, 3" x 12", from www.tapplastics.com . Get some 3M or Loctite spray adhesive. Get some 100 grit sandpaper, and 200, 400, and 800. Optionally, get some 2000 grit, too. Full size 8-1/2" x 11" sheets. No substitutions or shortcuts. No improvising. The acrylic is flat, unlike the marble tile or whatever you might think is "good enough". And you will use it for other jobs and other things.

Fold and tear your sandpaper into 3" wide strips, longways. You will get two, and a bit left over. Don't go crossways. Go for the real estate. LIGHTLY spray the back with spray adhesive. Just a dusting. Let it set for a few seconds while you peel the paper off the acrylic. Carefully apply one corner of the sandpaper, stretch it tight, and roll it down onto the acrylic. Very important that there is no debris or air bubbles and you only get one shot at this. Now you have a very flat, very large, 100 grit "stone".

Hold it IN HAND, not on a bench. Hone with circle strokes with very heavy pressure, like the full weight of your arm plus a little bit, 100 on one side, 100 on the other. Do not let the shoulder ride up on the hone. Now lightly drag your fingertip from spine to edge and then off the edge, as if you were driving a tiny car off a cliff. Do both sides. See if you can detect a burr anywhere along the edge. Where you have the burr, one side will feel different from the other, and have a very tiny "catch" to it. If no burr at all, go another hundred per side. And so on.

If you have a burr in one spot but not the whole blade, go 50 circle strokes on one side, heavy pressure, like with the full weight of your arm but no more. On the up side, you should feel the burr now along more of the blade. Flip the blade and do 50 on the other. Should now feel the burr on the new upper side. Whichever side is up when circle stroking, will have the burr. The down side will have no burr. Keep going until you have a burr on at least 50% of the blade. REMEMBER, HONE IN HAND!!!!!!!!! Now remove the sandpaper and switch to 200 grit. Go 50 per side with somewhat lighter pressure, like the weight of your forearm only. The burr should be present on a bit longer stretch of the blade. It may be fainter, harder to feel. Or it may be easier to feel. What you want is sone increase of the blade length that will present a burr. Switch to 400, repeat. Switch to 800, repeat. You should have a burr along the entire length of the edge, on each side in turn. As you reach 800 grit the pressure should be only about the weight of your hand. Now hone the burr off. Use ordinary alternating laps. In hand! Lighten up the pressure as you go. Optionally you could go like 10 circle strokes on each side, then 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, and then about 15 regular alternating laps, finishing with pressure of about a finger weight. Bevel is set. Iptionally, go another couple dozen very light laps on 2k paper. Razor might not treetop but it will effortlessly shave arm hair.

When switching grits, use acetone to remove all residue of adhesive from the acrylic. Very important.

You may also elect to do a bit of surgery before this process. Take a dremel and a sanding drum, or else a "dragster" type belt sander, and make a thumb notch, removing the stabilizer completely in the process. This is usually the first step in GD modification and often makes a great difference in ease of honing these razors, plus it is just kewl.

For a more refined GD, such as a 1996 or W59, start with 400 or 600 grit, then finish the bevel on 800 or 1000 or even higher grit sandpaper.

The advantage to this method is there is no guessing whether or not the hone is flat enough. You have unlimited choice of grit, within the range of sandpaper available. The surface is quickly and easily renewed. You have a hyoooge honing surface. The price is right.

Once your bevel is set, proceed through your stones. Pressure should begin with the weight of your hand and get progressively lighter. At the finish stage you should end up with only the weight of tthe blade. You can use the sandpaper bevel setter as a flattening stone to lap most synthetic stones. You must lap most stones when you get them and periodically thereafter, for best results.

Consider switching to lapping film. For so many reasons it is superior. See the Newbie Honing Compendium, AKA "The Method".

A GD is absolutely a poor choice for your first razor to hone. You want something with a good grind, preferably one that has already been properly honed and has just grown dull.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I meant 3/4" thick, not 3.4" thick, obviously

 

[aussie]

A GD is absolutely a poor choice for your first razor to hone. You want something with a good grind, preferably one that has already been properly honed and has just grown dull.

So what do you think of beginning with a Gold Dollar 66 that has already been honed and had the heel ground? That was my plan. MY GDs will soon need re-honing and I was planning to start with these.

 

[Slash McCoy]

So what do you think of beginning with a Gold Dollar 66 that has already been honed and had the heel ground? That was my plan. MY GDs will soon need re-honing and I was planning to start with these.

Somewhat better. But a higher quality razor, whether vintage or new, would probably be a bit better still. Also depends greatly on the skill of the person modding the GD.

Make no mistake, though. A properly honed GD shaves just fine. It is just the process of getting there that will give you fits as a beginner. Much more so than most decent vintage or good quality new razors.

 

[RobbyRobinson]

Somewhat better. But a higher quality razor, whether vintage or new, would probably be a bit better still. Also depends greatly on the skill of the person modding the GD.

Make no mistake, though. A properly honed GD shaves just fine. It is just the process of getting there that will give you fits as a beginner. Much more so than most decent vintage or good quality new razors.

Any website suggestions for new and used razors and maybe what to look for in a vintage that wont give to many problems?

 

[Slash McCoy]

Any website suggestions for new and used razors and maybe what to look for in a vintage that wont give to many problems?

Practically any brand vintage, but watch for damage such as cracks or severe pitting. Easiest to tackle in generall would probably be an American vintage razor with a nice straight edge such as a Union Spike. German, French, Swedish, English razors, all potentially very good. For new, my recommendation is for a Dovo Bismarck or any other Solingen razor of the exact same shape. The blades are all the same, from the same source. Only fit and finish differ. This is a very ergonomic design, easy to use and maintain. Dovo bought the original Bismarck brand and made the iconic thumbnotch version into one of their more popular models, and they also use the same basic blade in other models a bit pricier or cheaper, depending on the degree of embellishment. Personally I recommend avoiding the entry level Dovo razors. They can be even more wonky than a GD.

 

[RobbyRobinson]

Practically any brand vintage, but watch for damage such as cracks or severe pitting. Easiest to tackle in generall would probably be an American vintage razor with a nice straight edge such as a Union Spike. German, French, Swedish, English razors, all potentially very good. For new, my recommendation is for a Dovo Bismarck or any other Solingen razor of the exact same shape. The blades are all the same, from the same source. Only fit and finish differ. This is a very ergonomic design, easy to use and maintain. Dovo bought the original Bismarck brand and made the iconic thumbnotch version into one of their more popular models, and they also use the same basic blade in other models a bit pricier or cheaper, depending on the degree of embellishment. Personally I recommend avoiding the entry level Dovo razors. They can be even more wonky than a GD.

Good to know I was looking at a dovo best quality lol.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Good to know I was looking at a dovo best quality lol.

A "Best" MIGHT be okay depending on the vendor. If it is sold shave ready by a vendor who has a good reputation on this forum, then it is maybe okay. But really, why bother, when you can have a Bismarck?