Full progression. How often?

[CTM]

Honing for about a year now just want to know about how often you guys take your razors through the full progression (down to the 1k)

What I’ve learned so far is to touch your blade up on the Crome Ox. When that stops working you should take it to the Naniwa 12k or 8 than 12

And I assume once that stops working then you could take it to the full progression. But I know some people that just kill the edge And take it all the way down to the 1000 anyway.
But I don’t think most of the time it’s ever needed since the bevel is already squared away.

Thoughts?

Btw I have the Naniwa System
1k 3K 8k than finish on the amazing 12k

 

[rbscebu]

Being a diamond pasted balsa strop user, my SR's only go through a whetstone/lapping film progression once in their life with me. From there they go through a full pasted balsa strop progression and the are just maintained on 0.1um hanging balsa (about 2 or 3 minutes) after each shave.

If I damage an edge (now extremely rare), is the only time that one of my SR's touches a whetstone/lapping film again. What I drop down to will depend on the extent of the damage.

 

[CTM]

Yeah I’m talking about synthetics, Naniwa

 

[DrStrange]

Once each.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

My setup is similar to yours: Shapton Pro 1.5k, Naniwa Hayabusa 4k, Naniwa Fuji 8k, usually followed by trans ark or sometimes diamond pasted balsa.

I almost never revisit the 1.5k except to correct a big problem like a chip or a pit. An exception would be blades I honed early on when I was still learning the ropes and I come to realize that the bevel wasn't perfect the first time around. Even then, I can do a lot of that work on the 4k if I want.

 

[thp001]

If you maintain your razors on clean linen and leather strops, once you have the need to refresh you should never have to drop down to 1K. On an edge in good condition that just needs a bump back up to full sharpness, your finisher should suffice. Maybe down to 8K if you have a slow finisher and want to speed things up, but not below (imo).

If you use pasted strops and after a long time there is some convexity to the bevel you need to remove (which does happen but is much overblown) you could go as low as 4-5K, but a fast 8K+ stone might take care of it.

Only if an edge has chips/rolls/etc would one have to go to the 1K.

People on the forums love to hone so one can get an impression of always going back and re-setting bevels and messing about with a bunch of different stones, which can be fun on a beater/test razors, but for a personal blade you want to keep it simple and get the maximum longevity from the razor.

 

[APBinNCA]

So what I am hearing is after using my La Lune for a while, I should get a Naniwa 8k. Then I can speed things up plus have a synth. Or it might be completely unnecessary until I am ready to learn the whole process.

On a side note, why are the Atoma lapping plates as much as a stone and they aren't the most expensive?

 

[Possum092]

So what I am hearing is after using my La Lune for a while, I should get a Naniwa 8k. Then I can speed things up plus have a synth. Or it might be completely unnecessary until I am ready to learn the whole process.

On a side note, why are the Atoma lapping plates as much as a stone and they aren't the most expensive?

you are paying for the precision flatness guarantee and precise abrasive sizing and distribution on the plate. Money well spent compared to what jacking up a rare natural stone costs. I love watching people lap their super expensive natural stones with a cheap coarse lapping plate .

 

[Frank Shaves]

You should not need to go back to 1k unless the bevel was not properly set.

If you get a shave-ready razor that shaves but is not up to your standards, you should be able to kill the edge and start from 4k.

 

[RumpleBearskin]

The only time my razors see a 1k stone is when they first arrive (if not from a known source, then I want to be sure there's a proper bevel) or if I knock a real chip out of it.

For refreshes I start at a high grit (hybrid Les Lat under water or Naniwa 12k) and only move down (yellow under water or Norton 8k) if the higher grit doesn't get it done in a reasonable amount of time. I rarely have to go farther down than 12k/hybrid..

 

[Jnatcat]

I normally go to 8k most of the time but have gone to 4k, there’s nothing wrong doing a few lights laps on a 1k though as it won’t do much harm over the razors life.

 

[CTM]

Yeah i think I’ll start with just the 12k and see what that does. Since I don’t home that often I will probably do the eight first just because

 

[Legion]

All my razors get the full progression when I get them, and only see a finisher after that.

Stepping down the grit is unnecessary unless you are repairing damage, and will prematurely wear out the razor.

 

[Wid]

What everyone else has said. Unless I ding an edge.

 

[JPO]

Regardless of what route you choose, in principle you need to remove the same amount of steel to get the apex back to shape. Sounds easy enough, right. If I just use my finisher it can sometimes be a little hard to know when enough is enough, and what actually is too much. For a synthetic edge i usually drop down to 8k and progress from there. When the 8k is done i know i only need a few passes (10-15 max) on the finisher. I takes less time, and i have more control.
I have never gotten consistently good results just by using a high grit finisher for "touch up" honing.

In my opinion the edge experience some strain hardening with use, this makes some parts of the steel harder and more brittle. Each time you shave and strop the edge undergoes plastic deformation, which changes the characteristics of the steel. This steel will act a little differently then when you finished it the last time. Removing a little more material makes sense to me. The amount of steel being removed is still of no practical concern though.
I have tried frequent touch up honing using an Arkansas stone. I am never able the match the results i get with the same stone if it is used at the end of a progression. It gets sharp enough, but not as refined and comfortable.

 

[Ravenonrock]

In my early honing I see that I rushed through the 1-3k progression and bevel setting stages on some razors. Makes it more challenging to maintain on finisher alone. I’ve been taking a few back to 1k bevel set and starting over now more informed. Also some have pitting very near the edge and I’m checking for when removing more steel will be appropriate.

 

[Frank Shaves]

In my opinion the edge experience some strain hardening with use, this makes some parts of the steel harder and more brittle. Each time you shave and strop the edge undergoes plastic deformation, which changes the characteristics of the steel. This steel will act a little differently then when you finished it the last time. Removing a little more material makes sense to me. The amount of steel being removed is still of no practical concern though.

I have wondered about this particularly after a razor hasn't been used for decades. In this case, it does seem as if the edge does improve after some use and touching up, but my evidence is purely anecdotal.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I have tried frequent touch up honing using an Arkansas stone. I am never able the match the results i get with the same stone if it is used at the end of a progression. It gets sharp enough, but not as refined and comfortable.

That mirrors my experience. Now I just do a few laps (like 10-15) on the 8k before going to the ark.

 

[JPO]

I have wondered about this particularly after a razor hasn't been used for decades. In this case, it does seem as if the edge does improve after some use and touching up, but my evidence is purely anecdotal.

I have experienced the same. I have always thought it was caused by corrosion. It seems to help to do a good stropping session on linen and leather if the razor have not been used for a while. For some reason my razors seem to work best if I do not have to many in my rotation. I might just be looking for excuses for honing the blade again

 

[steveclarkus]

Honing for about a year now just want to know about how often you guys take your razors through the full progression (down to the 1k)

What I’ve learned so far is to touch your blade up on the Crome Ox. When that stops working you should take it to the Naniwa 12k or 8 than 12

And I assume once that stops working then you could take it to the full progression. But I know some people that just kill the edge And take it all the way down to the 1000 anyway.
But I don’t think most of the time it’s ever needed since the bevel is already squared away.

Thoughts?

Btw I have the Naniwa System
1k 3K 8k than finish on the amazing 12k

I finish on .1u diamond pasted balsa and leather between shaves and have razors that haven’t been below that for four years and the edge is good as first honed. I guess the answer is never.