Ok, here is part two of the honing series I am starting. This section requires a bevel setting stone. Coticules can do everything with one stone, but I do not feel well versed enough to advise Coticule users. Hopefully a coticule user with experience will contribute their method since I am unqualified to do so. This thread will apply mainly to water stones and what to look for. There are many ways to look at bevel setting that are as good or better than this one. This is just a simple method that works for me.
NOTE: This thread will deal with hollow grinds and non-curved razors. Many wedges that lay flat on the hone can he honed using this exact method, but I recommend 1-2 layers of tape on the spine for wedge grinds. Curved blades require the "Rolling X" and rolling circles which are more technically difficult and usually cause me to double the number of strokes due to only part of the razor being on the hone during the stroke.
If anyone wants me to do a thread on honing curved blades, PM me and I will do a thread specifically for curved blades. Also, on brand new razors I do not do bevel setting, but rather start on a higher grit stone (4-5K) because I think many of the razors I have honed new come with fairly reliable bevels.
My Steps:
1) Take a feel of the razor. If it is sticky sharp to the thumb pad or cuts hair easily then bevel setting may not be necessary. Certain blades may have slight unevenness to the bevel in which case I would probably work on it especially if it barely cuts hair.
2) Prepare your stones/ This means make sure they are lapped and have been soaked or not soaked as appropriate.
3) If the razor has chips, I start with my DMT 325 grit stone and tape the spine of the razor and start working on the chipped area until the bevel is even on the 325 grit stone. This can take a lot of time, but using a grinder to remove chips can lead to disaster and using a low grit stone (<1K) speeds up the process. I also start bevel setting with this stone if the blade is blunted because its faster than the 1K stone.
4) After all the chips are removed, I remove the tape to being bevel setting with a 1K stone. I personally use the Naniwa 1K for this purpose because it doesn't scratch a polished blade like I have done with a Norton, though I love the Norton 1K as well.
5) I start with 50 small circles with slight pressure. Followed by 10 "X" strokes with the same light pressure.
6) Next: do 40 small circles with NO PRESSURE followed by 10 "X" strokes with no pressure.
7) Test: You can test blades a number of ways and everyone has their own. I hope others will add their methods of testing a bevel, but this is mine.
Fist, I do a thumb pad test down the whole length of the blade form toe to heel. Then, I test each portion of he razor to see if it genuinely cuts arm hair. This does mean trying to saw hair or using a huge amount of pressure on your skin, this means that the razor cuts hair as you slide it down your arm. In my opinion and experience if the razors does not really cut hairs, then the bevel is not ready. If you have a microscope its nice to look and make sure you have a nice refined bevel, but you need not purchase one for the purpose of honing.
Notes: If the razor does not pass the tests over the whole blade, then the spine may be uneven or the blade warped. In this case, I repeat the process again except I will do 100 circles with slight pressure as the only difference. This process does not always work and you need more laps or to use a different technique because often even the finer more expensive razor may have slight warping. Also, I do not use tape routinely anymore because hone wear for me is minimal now that I use little pressure. Even on new razor I do not use tape because usually I can't tell if the razor has been with the naked eye if no pressure is used.
Experienced Honers: please contribute to this. I do not get HHT positive blades, nor do I get comfortable shaves off a 1K. I do however stop my honing progression if the blade will not cut hair off the 1K stone. I have shaved off a 1K in experiments, but overall they are not comfortable to me.
Good Luck
Thanks
NOTE: This thread will deal with hollow grinds and non-curved razors. Many wedges that lay flat on the hone can he honed using this exact method, but I recommend 1-2 layers of tape on the spine for wedge grinds. Curved blades require the "Rolling X" and rolling circles which are more technically difficult and usually cause me to double the number of strokes due to only part of the razor being on the hone during the stroke.
If anyone wants me to do a thread on honing curved blades, PM me and I will do a thread specifically for curved blades. Also, on brand new razors I do not do bevel setting, but rather start on a higher grit stone (4-5K) because I think many of the razors I have honed new come with fairly reliable bevels.
My Steps:
1) Take a feel of the razor. If it is sticky sharp to the thumb pad or cuts hair easily then bevel setting may not be necessary. Certain blades may have slight unevenness to the bevel in which case I would probably work on it especially if it barely cuts hair.
2) Prepare your stones/ This means make sure they are lapped and have been soaked or not soaked as appropriate.
3) If the razor has chips, I start with my DMT 325 grit stone and tape the spine of the razor and start working on the chipped area until the bevel is even on the 325 grit stone. This can take a lot of time, but using a grinder to remove chips can lead to disaster and using a low grit stone (<1K) speeds up the process. I also start bevel setting with this stone if the blade is blunted because its faster than the 1K stone.
4) After all the chips are removed, I remove the tape to being bevel setting with a 1K stone. I personally use the Naniwa 1K for this purpose because it doesn't scratch a polished blade like I have done with a Norton, though I love the Norton 1K as well.
5) I start with 50 small circles with slight pressure. Followed by 10 "X" strokes with the same light pressure.
6) Next: do 40 small circles with NO PRESSURE followed by 10 "X" strokes with no pressure.
7) Test: You can test blades a number of ways and everyone has their own. I hope others will add their methods of testing a bevel, but this is mine.
Fist, I do a thumb pad test down the whole length of the blade form toe to heel. Then, I test each portion of he razor to see if it genuinely cuts arm hair. This does mean trying to saw hair or using a huge amount of pressure on your skin, this means that the razor cuts hair as you slide it down your arm. In my opinion and experience if the razors does not really cut hairs, then the bevel is not ready. If you have a microscope its nice to look and make sure you have a nice refined bevel, but you need not purchase one for the purpose of honing.
Notes: If the razor does not pass the tests over the whole blade, then the spine may be uneven or the blade warped. In this case, I repeat the process again except I will do 100 circles with slight pressure as the only difference. This process does not always work and you need more laps or to use a different technique because often even the finer more expensive razor may have slight warping. Also, I do not use tape routinely anymore because hone wear for me is minimal now that I use little pressure. Even on new razor I do not use tape because usually I can't tell if the razor has been with the naked eye if no pressure is used.
Experienced Honers: please contribute to this. I do not get HHT positive blades, nor do I get comfortable shaves off a 1K. I do however stop my honing progression if the blade will not cut hair off the 1K stone. I have shaved off a 1K in experiments, but overall they are not comfortable to me.
Good Luck
Thanks
