Help me with my RA

[Wiwicks]

Hello fello bladers,
I've got a big problem. I have a lovely African Wood Ralf Aust, and the bevel is off. I tried to bevel it without tap on the spine, and that seemed to be making it worse or not helping at all. So I put some tape on it and it seems to be a little better but that created my new problem. Admittedly, I am a novice to honing in every sense. But It seems every time I start getting into it, the tape gets rubbed off and I have spine exposed. Do you see where I'm going with this? I need to hone with tape (I think) but my tape gets honed to shreds. I tried to use a 1k but it didn't seem to be doing anything, so I flipped to the other side of the norton and am using the 220, and that destroys the tape in no time, and honestly after three pieces of tape I don't seem to be getting the bevel closer to being set.
Here's the story of why my bevel is off. I shave with other razors and I'm fine, I have confidence in my shaving technique, but I use the RA and it seems to tear me up a little, so I decided to tap and wobble and it seemed decently off. Next, I ran a marker down my edge and started to hone. One side removes the marker beautifully and straight, the other leaves the marker untouched about a 1/2 inch starting at the toe, and the rest of the blade has the marker removed but not very evenly. And I sadly feel like i am tearing up the blade trying to remedy this. I know what is going to be said is to send it off to an experienced honer to fix it. But This doesn't solve my problem for any other razor ( i have about 5 vintage razors I'm needed to hone). So any tips on how to semi-aggressively hone on an SR that uses tape on the spine? Thanks guys.

 

[clayglen]

Hello fello bladers,
I've got a big problem. I have a lovely African Wood Ralf Aust, and the bevel is off. I tried to bevel it without tap on the spine, and that seemed to be making it worse or not helping at all. So I put some tape on it and it seems to be a little better but that created my new problem. Admittedly, I am a novice to honing in every sense. But It seems every time I start getting into it, the tape gets rubbed off and I have spine exposed. Do you see where I'm going with this? I need to hone with tape (I think) but my tape gets honed to shreds. I tried to use a 1k but it didn't seem to be doing anything, so I flipped to the other side of the norton and am using the 220, and that destroys the tape in no time, and honestly after three pieces of tape I don't seem to be getting the bevel closer to being set.
Here's the story of why my bevel is off. I shave with other razors and I'm fine, I have confidence in my shaving technique, but I use the RA and it seems to tear me up a little, so I decided to tap and wobble and it seemed decently off. Next, I ran a marker down my edge and started to hone. One side removes the marker beautifully and straight, the other leaves the marker untouched about a 1/2 inch starting at the toe, and the rest of the blade has the marker removed but not very evenly. And I sadly feel like i am tearing up the blade trying to remedy this. I know what is going to be said is to send it off to an experienced honer to fix it. But This doesn't solve my problem for any other razor ( i have about 5 vintage razors I'm needed to hone). So any tips on how to semi-aggressively hone on an SR that uses tape on the spine? Thanks guys.

I'm no expert so take this with a grain of salt.
1. Don't go to 220. Yikes... imo. 1k should be enough unless you are planning on reshaping.

2. Are your stones lapped flat?

3. If one layer is good... maybe 2 is better.

I honed a razor a friend brought me that had s lot of home wear. With 2 layers it seemed to even things out. You could even go to three until you're close then drop to two or one.
What's the grind on your razors in question? I re-scalled a Maupin and Webb and when I went to the hones I had a similar problem. I ended up having to put pressure on the blade and press it flat. Be cautious, I'm not talking standing on it here. This wouldn't work on a wedge.
Another wonky one I had, the spine was unevenly ground. I had to rock it as I honed it. I basically visualized where I wanted the pressure and moved that the length of the blade as I honed.
I like to have a few fingers on the end near the toe to stabilize things. Rolling x strokes... try to keep the cutting edge perpendicular to the direction of travel.
I might also suggest putting the Aust aside until you've a few under your belt. Try some $20 eBay specials to learn on.
That's my two cents.
Best of luck.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[OtterLunacy]

^what he said. . . . Except that a new razor really shouldn't need more than one layer of tape. Honestly, if it were me I might just untape and go to town on the 1k and make certain my technique is fine. Oh, and sharpie the spine too. But, then again, my most expensive razor was about $20 shipped. . . And I'm really not that experienced myself. Hopefully one or more of the honing gurus will chime in.

 

[Wiwicks]

thanks a lot guys, that helps to give me some direction. @clayglen - if you look in my pictures, I have several on the RA razor that Im referring to. i only have one, its the one with black african wood with what looks to be half hollow. And in the beginning i did go untaped, and it seems that the spine wear from the attempted hone is thinner above the problem area on the toe. I added some pictures to this post, maybe you guys can take a look and get an idea. If i were continuing to work on it today, I would send you marker shots too, but unfortunately I won't have time tonight. So ignore the marker that is already on there, it is not an accurate pattern, its just some residual from the other attempts. But as you can clearly see, I'm scratching the hell out of it and its killing me.

 

[clayglen]

You could try laying it flat and see if it is warped at all. Try seeing if you can tip it or rock it. If it hones on one side but not the other the grind could be off. See if applying a bit of down pressure will even the marks.
I'd use tape. I always use tape. I don't like to but I hate scratching
up a blade or worse damaging it permanantly. I don't think the number of layers will hurt anything in fact more layers and removing them will speed up the honing process... so I've read.
Also... learn on a cheap one.
If it's really a bad grind or warped and you bought it from a reputable dealer... ask them about it. They might send you another. If you've gone too far they might not. Worth asking.
Dollars to donut holes... nearly any razor can be honed by one with the skills. Learning those skills can be frustrating. Tape keeps you from going way too far. Taking a break and trying again when you're more zen helps too.
I'm stubborn. I like to figure things out.
A bit of pressure and/or a rocking technique would probably get you there.
I certainly wouldn't go lower than 1k.
Try the 4k. My Norton's are funny. I love the 1k and 4k... hate the 8k. So I go to coti. If you are looking at wear in ink... it doesn't matter what the grit is and you're less likely to do damage. It'll also test if your stone is true flat.
Honing a flat in your tape can fix uneven grind too. Don't go through.
I'm surprised a Ralf Aust has a problem. They have a very good reputation. I've heard of issues with new TIs.
I ramble. In short, tape. Check to see if you can see a warp on a flat surface. If it is... apply a bit of pressure or rock it. Try a different hone... the 4k perhaps. Maybe your 1k needs relapping.


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[Steve56]

That razor has quite a bit of wear on it, likely from way, way too much pressure. The scratches above the bevel in the second image are most likely caused by pushing so hard on the blade that the steel deflected and the hone scratched the side of the blade. A lot of pressure will cause the bevels to flex and round and the bevel will not set properly.

The Sharpie on the bevel seems to be removed fairly evenly, but again, in the second image the Sharpie seems to be removed ABOVE the bevel assuming it was there as it is on the rest of the blade.

I think you have two choices at this point, go to to the 1k with about 1/100 the pressure that caused those scratches above the bevel or send it out.

I'm not trying to be snarky or anything, I did the same thing when I was learning to hone.

Cheers, Steve

 

[Doc226]

What ^ said

On a thinly ground blade there is no need to go to anything coarser than a 1K, I often use a shapton glass4k stone for these.

Hard to see but it also looks like you are almost honing a frown into it as well.

One layer of tape is enough for 99% of razors (if you are going to tape at all). More than that and you run into issues with compressing the tape and getting inconsistent results.

 

[Wiwicks]

@Doc226 - I think you're right about honing a frown into it. I thought I noticed that myself, but wasnt sure. But if you are seeing it as well, that's got to be what it is. I don't have full size hones, they are about 4 inches by 1.5 inches, so i'm having to do x's, so I think the middle is getting more contact it time than the ends. Any suggestions on how to fix that frown? And that's how the post started, that I was only using one tape and it was rubbing holes in the tape before I was making hone progress on the metal. So I am not sure what to do, think it is just the pressure i'm using? Should I be using light enough pressure that the tape doesn't get holes rubbed through? and how do I fix frowns? Thanks so much for your guys help. I'm ruining a lovely razor

 

[kcb5150]

Always learn with expendable razors... Seriously, send that to someone on here to get it back to a nice zero point. A frown is the last thing a person new to all this should be messing with.

 

[sfeile]

^^ This.

At this point, being in-experienced, and having small hones, your best bet for this razor would be to send it out.

Still seek advice on how to fix it for learning purposes, but that is a pretty expensive razor to continue learning on.
Pick up a couple cheap razors from the bay or someplace for learning. It is easy to ruin a good razor trying to figure certain things out. (Don't ask me how I know that...... )

 

[kcb5150]

Another good tip for all time is if you have a blade frustrating you badly, regardless of experience I find it best to put it down for awhile and come back to it.

 

[M14Shooter]

I would send it out to Doc226 .He does great work at a fair price .

 

[Wiwicks]

I think you guys are right...it's time to let the pro's handle it, I' don't want to keep messing up a nice razor. Thanks you for all the great advice.

 

[Jnatcat]

Send it off to @Doc226 he will work his magic and get it squared away

 

[Kaas]

+1 on the frown and the heavy honewear. The issue of tape being rubbed off still needs adressing. Are you using a lot of pressure? Or El Cheapo tape?

 

[migralda]

I bought an unbranded tape from my local hardware store and it wore through in a few strokes..buy 3m tape they actually state that it has high abrasion resistance in their specs.

 

[6Cuda6]

Good advise here...send it out. Part of the honing game is to know when you shouldnt hone it yourself based on your skill level.....as an example i have a lot of razors but one is a custom Edson with a very heavy smile and way beyond my honing skills (and i have honed quite a few of my collection) for what it costs to have it honed verses what its worth to replace if i ruin it = no brainer. Now someday ill possibly have the skill but then again the hone meisters will always have more...lol.