Gurus of Blade Sharpening / Honing?

[jkenton]

I want to put an edge on my razor that is so sharp, you cut yourself just THINKING about it...

Failing that, I want an edge so sharp that waving it close to my whiskers makes them surrender and jump off my face.

But seriously, what advice would a master of the hone give to a novice trying to learn the basics and advanced techniques?

Getting a few cheap razors to experiment on...

 

[Fnord5]

1: Buy a shave ready straight from a reputable honester/honemeister, and use that as your benchmark. (It will save you a lot of hassle, and I wish I had done it)
2: Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice, PRACTICE!


Honing is no mysterious art, but it does take a bit of innate talent, or an understanding/symbiotic relationship with the metal. At least in the beginning.

By practicing, you will develop that understanding.

 

[jadam318]

Not to scare you away, but be prepared to get frustrated with it at some point. I'm learning as we speak, and I nearly decided to quit the other day. I spent an hour with a razor to find out I was doing it wrong. There is a lot of good honing advice around here. Read up before you start buying a ton of gear. There is a good thread that user Leighton started back in august that has TONS of good info in it. Read that and watch the videos that are stickied in the honing section. That should get you started.

 

[leighton]

1. OCD
2. Lots of Patience
3. More patience
4. More patience
5. lots and lots of time
6. A benchmark
7. Hones

 

[Ray-man]

It is imparative that you learn to set the bevel properly. There are two parts to this, one is the similar angles on each side of the edge and the other, and more important, the sharpness of the edge itself.
If you cannot set the bevel correctly or make one tiny mistake here, you will not know it until you get to the final strokes and testing of the finished edge. This is the foundation and is literally more important than the rest of the procedure.
Practice doing this part over and over until you can't get it wrong. The rest is simple.

JMHO

Ray

 

[professorchaos]

It is imparative that you learn to set the bevel properly. There are two parts to this, one is the similar angles on each side of the edge and the other, and more important, the sharpness of the edge itself.
If you cannot set the bevel correctly or make one tiny mistake here, you will not know it until you get to the final strokes and testing of the finished edge. This is the foundation and is literally more important than the rest of the procedure.
Practice doing this part over and over until you can't get it wrong. The rest is simple.

JMHO

Ray

+1

If you don't set the bevel well, all the work you do after it is a waste of time, metal, hone... Fortunately the TNT is, for me, a very reliable way to assess a bevel. Either the whole edge passes, or it doesn't.

 

[joshmpdx]

+1

If you don't set the bevel well, all the work you do after it is a waste of time, metal, hone... Fortunately the TNT is, for me, a very reliable way to assess a bevel. Either the whole edge passes, or it doesn't.

This is a touch off topic, but may help all involved.

im a little unclear on how to accurately do the TNT test. both how and why it works would be benefitial

 

[professorchaos]

This is a touch off topic, but may help all involved.

im a little unclear on how to accurately do the TNT test. both how and why it works would be benefitial

This is a most critical step, so I'll be happy to share my thoughts on it.

The TNT... well the first rule of thumb is to not use it on hones over 3-4K. You'll ruin the edge. Let's say that you are working on a 1.2K hone to establish a new bevel. 20 laps in, you want to assess your progress. So you wet your thumbnail, angle it down at about a 45 degree angle and place the razor's heel on your thumbnail, perpendicular to the floor. Using only the razor's weight as pressure, draw the razor slowly from heel to toe paying attention to how it feels. A good bevel grabs your thumbnail - you can actually feel it tugging - and seems like it is "squeaking," for lack of a better word, across your nail. Since you are only 20 laps in on the hypothetical razor, you may find that some parts are passing the test, others are not. Which tells me one of two things, either the razor just needs more work, or in the case of warped/smiling blades, I need to adjust my stroke.

So once you are familiar with how a good bevel feels in a TNT, it becomes really easy to tell if a blade needs the bevel to be set or only parts of it to be set.

 

[Fnord5]

This is a most critical step, so I'll be happy to share my thoughts on it.

The TNT... well the first rule of thumb is to not use it on hones over 3-4K. You'll ruin the edge. Let's say that you are working on a 1.2K hone to establish a new bevel. 20 laps in, you want to assess your progress. So you wet your thumbnail, angle it down at about a 45 degree angle and place the razor's heel on your thumbnail, perpendicular to the floor. Using only the razor's weight as pressure, draw the razor slowly from heel to toe paying attention to how it feels. A good bevel grabs your thumbnail - you can actually feel it tugging - and seems like it is "squeaking," for lack of a better word, across your nail. Since you are only 20 laps in on the hypothetical razor, you may find that some parts are passing the test, others are not. Which tells me one of two things, either the razor just needs more work, or in the case of warped/smiling blades, I need to adjust my stroke.

So once you are familiar with how a good bevel feels in a TNT, it becomes really easy to tell if a blade needs the bevel to be set or only parts of it to be set.

The spots that need work, will either slip(not squeaky or tugging) for a not quite set bevel, or will catch and almost stop in the case of a chip, or jagged edge.

Another way I have seen, and have tried(with varying degrees of success) is to make a loop out of a paper towel, pinching at the edges, and drag the edge across the rounded part(like slicing a salami). If it catches and drags the paper with it, you have a rough spot, if it travels smoothly over, you should be good to go, and if it travels smoothly and cuts, you have yourself a sharp little blade.

The advantage here is that you can use it at the higher levels of polishing without damage.

 

[leighton]

While I have not personally tried it on my face because I enjoy shaving with beyond-ridiculously-sharp objects too much, I am confident I can shave off the 1k Naniwa stone and get a decent shave out of it. Probably about the same quality as a disposable.

I'm going to reemphasize the start with a shave ready razor point again. Setting bevels is not an easy task.

 

[professorchaos]

The spots that need work, will either slip(not squeaky or tugging) for a not quite set bevel, or will catch and almost stop in the case of a chip, or jagged edge.

Another way I have seen, and have tried(with varying degrees of success) is to make a loop out of a paper towel, pinching at the edges, and drag the edge across the rounded part(like slicing a salami). If it catches and drags the paper with it, you have a rough spot, if it travels smoothly over, you should be good to go, and if it travels smoothly and cuts, you have yourself a sharp little blade.

The advantage here is that you can use it at the higher levels of polishing without damage.

Quite right! The TNT provides rather clear feedback about the state of your edge, including chips. I've caught a few hard to see chips with it.

Never heard of the paper towel technique...I'll have to experiment with it. Thanks!

 

[Seraphim]

Quite right! The TNT provides rather clear feedback about the state of your edge, including chips. I've caught a few hard to see chips with it.

Never heard of the paper towel technique...I'll have to experiment with it. Thanks!

The PTT?

Great-now we have the TNT, the HHT, and the PTT!

 

[azmark]

Starting to follow the threads in here more since I'm pretty sure Im getting a straight from WCS since they posted DOVO's a few days ago and come shave ready.

Im curiuos, does the term "shave ready" mean the bevel is already set? How often do you have to do this?

 

[leighton]

Starting to follow the threads in here more since I'm pretty sure Im getting a straight from WCS since they posted DOVO's a few days ago and come shave ready.

Im curiuos, does the term "shave ready" mean the bevel is already set? How often do you have to do this?

Shave ready means the bevel is set, the bevel is polished, and you can shave with it comfortably. Its the ultimate standard. Bevel setting is the first step in honing.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Your in a city with a pretty good contingent of straight shavers to help you out.

 

[azmark]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Your in a city with a pretty good contingent of straight shavers to help you out.

Ah..just noticed. Good to know.

 

[professorchaos]

The PTT?

Great-now we have the TNT, the HHT, and the PTT!

The PTT, also known as the SST (the Salami Slicing Test).